Wattyl has completed an extensive piece of Australia-focused consumer research that tells all on our relationship with paint.
Among the more revealing findings is that 58 per cent of consumers think painting is easy and therefore lean towards doing it themselves.
Other findings reveal that by far the most important factor for DIY painters is the finish – it must be smooth and show no brush marks.
This is followed by how well the paint sticks and then how well it conceals or hides previous paint colour.
Actual colour choice is way down the list at number eight in our key decision factors, followed by resistance to dirt at number 12.
Technical Services Manager, Wattyl Ray Harcourt shared the top five problems its consumers seek help on, and his answers:
- Wall touch-up is visible. Even the patch before painting. Then apply undercoat followed by finishing colour.
- Unhappy with finished colour. Always check colour before commencing. Do this by applying a few coats to a piece of cardboard and placing it in the room, to view.
- Enamel painted doors and trims have gone yellow. This always happens with enamel paints. Today’s water-based enamels or acrylic enamels do not yellow – they also dry faster and brushes wash-up in water.
- Cracked and peeled area painted over but continues to peel. Flaking and cracked areas of paint must be completely removed before sanding edges of the area to feather in new product. Clean surface thoroughly, allow to dry, then undercoat before painting.
- Run out of paint on second coat. After first coat, check there is enough paint to finish the job. If not, purchase more product and mix with initial batch to ensure colour consistency and then continue to paint. Ideally check with the paint quantity app on www.wattyl.com.au to calculate exactly how much paint is required.
And while colour is what gets us all talking, Wattyl’s research shows that we are still conservative when it comes to hue.
A massive 90 per cent of residential interiors are painted in neutrals and 60 per cent of exteriors.
Wattyl recently released its Colour Palettes for 2018 that may well convince us to try more colour – go to colourtrends.wattyl.com.au
You can start planning from home – go to www.colourdesigner.net.au to download colour swatches from the entire Wattyl range.
These are the starting point; it is always advisable to test sample pots in the actual space.
