Trade approved paint brand – Fenwick & Tilbrook paint is recommended by the professionals. Check out this wonderful review from Scott Barney, a professional painter and decorator from Kings Lynn.
“Paint. Paint paint paint painty paint. Massive part of my job is to do with the word I’ve already over used and probably will continue to over use. I’ve got a solid system at them moment. Zanders cover coat/Armstead contract Matt on the ceilings, Tikkurila Optiva 5 on the walls and Benjamin Moore on the woodwork depending on the finish. Wait…… what’s that…… (play street fighter 2 music, specifically Guile’s theme) WE HAVE A NEW CHALLENGER!!!!!
That’s right. Ive recently stumbled on to a new product. Fenwick and Tilbrook interior Eggshell. At first I mocked it. Another company going down the route of designer paint. A tin with a fancy label that might not be able to compete with the likes of Benjamin Moore. I sniggered to myself as opening the tin. No way. No way could this be any good.
The job was to touch up some panels and cornice of a kitchen that had been fitted. Not a massive job,but still it needed to be done just to finish it off. Upon opening, a quick stir and it seemed to be a great consistency. Not too thick, not too thin. The opacity on the stirring stick was solid after brushing it off. It was a dark grey and covered a stick previously covered in farrow and ball pointing. The paint went on a dream. It was magical. Flowed off the monarch brush fantastically. Didn’t pull and layed off great. Two coats and done!
After being stunned by this paint, I needed to find out more. Asked the foreman where he got the paint from. I was shocked to find out it’s made in Norfolk. That’s right on my doorstep. I then got in contact via Instagram to ask for a price list, then called to talk about this amazing paint. I Spoke to Simon Tilbrook at F & T HQ. It was great to talk to a member of staff who listened and was interested in what I had to say about the product. So refreshing.
The next step was to find a project I could use this paint on. I recently had a customer who wanted a boot room freshen up. It was already painted in Farrow and Ball Slipper Satin Modern Emulsion. Not only was this a place for wet coats and dirty boots, it’s where the dog sleeps and likes to rub himself against the wall. So it needed to be durable. Something that farrow and ball lacks when emulsion is concerned. Rather then going down the aesthetically pleasing look of a Matt, it made more sense to go for a practical Eggshell. After talking to my customer and discussing about this new product that I’d found, she was more then happy to be used as a trial house (top customer).
I ordered the paint through Simon direct and it came the next day. Even a time slot so I would know when to expect it. Bang in the middle of the time slot it arrived. The branded box was a nice touch as well as the careful packaging. Much like Benjamin Moore. It had a little sample on top showing the colour in the tin. It was bang on in my eyes. Holding the match to the wall I was impressed. Although my customer thought it was just a touch cooler.
The room had the usual prep done to it. You know the one. The wash walls, sand walls, rake cracks, fill cracks, sand again and caulk up technique. It was ready for paint. I do prime up bare filler for I fear of it flashing, but in this instance I wanted to push this coating to the limits. Again the paint was lovely straight out of the tin. They only thing I would of done differently would be to add a touch of paint conditioner just for it to flow a tiny bit better. Even so, it was a great paint to use straight out of the tin. After the full coat had been applied it was a waiting game. 2 hours went by and it was touch dry. All the areas I’d filled and caulked. You couldn’t see them. No flashing!! Was solid and covered amazingly.
There was a few areas that needed a quick mini roller over and I wanted to test the touch in ability. I rolled just the areas that needed it and left it over night. In the morning, You couldn’t see where I’d been and could of gotten away with one coat and a touch up. The sheen rate was on par with Farrow and Ball modern emulsion. Reasonable low which was great. It was over the same colour I know. The thing is. It had full prep, it was a different brand of paint and the amount of times i’ve done this and painted 5/6 coats because the paint can’t handle F&B colours. It was amazing. So blown away by this paint, I rang Simon and congratulated him on making a superb product.
I know i’ve only used it twice. I can see myself using more of it. The real challenge is getting it in white and seeing how it goes against the aura/scuff-x. I’ll keep you updated as soon as I get some. I’ll be getting a litre and paint some pre primed MDF so you can see the comparison.
Thanks for reading this rather long post. And if you made it through my grammatical errors and rather niche references…. I salute you
I look forward to using Fenwick and Tilbrook very soon. Some external sash windows will be getting the treatment.”
Scott
Thank you Scott – we really pride ourselves on making the best paint possible and its fantastic when the professionals agree. Fenwick & Tilbrook – Trade approved paint!
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