Product warning if using Farrow and Ball Full Gloss Black paint

If you are considering Farrow and Ball full gloss paint, read this article!

High Gloss finishes on a entrance door make for a dramatic entrance to your home and nothing does it better that a bright or bold color. Do you want to have a high gloss finish, and thinking of Farrow and Ball paint? Then you need to read this article to avoid having a bad experience.

If you don’t read this, your results could be worse than ours

What most people do when they paint their from door is .. pick a color…pick a sheen… prep the door..paint the door and in a few hours your door is painted ready to go. But when you are using Farrow and Ball- there are a few things that differ

• Most paint stores do not carry Farrow and Ball paints on their shelves
• It can take up to 2 weeks to receive the paint from Farrow and Ball
• You have to use their primer for their warranty
• The dry time are LONGER!!

Don’t let this happen to you!!

When we started to paint the door of this project, we did so with everything we needed to succeed. 2 days prior we applied primer to the door to make sure the primer was set and dry enough to paint over. With the color we needed, the dry primer  all of our materials, and a full day to allow the paint on the door to dry it was time to paint.  All hardware on the front door was removed to make room for new parts being installed.  We cleaned the door, wiped it with denatured alcohol, did a scuff sand and a final wipe to remove and dust from the sanding.

The client had selected Farrow and Ball full gloss and black #57.  We read the label, talked to the paint rep to see if there were any issues we may need to know before using the paint- and there was nothing out of the ordinary. The can was clear- dry to the touch in 2 hours and dry to recoat in 4 hours.

So we started to paint

At 8 am, brushes and rollers were busy and the door painted in One hour!.  No problems-went on and covered very well. We went to lunch at 12 expecting to be able to get hardware back on the door when we returned and be able to shut the door before we left for the day. When we returned to the job site the door was still wet to the touch.  At 4pm the door was still wet to the touch!!

A little worried and panicked- we called the store we purchased and the following conversations ensued:

• We applied the paint at 8am- it is still wet, I am not sure what to do about this.. “bring the product in -there may be a defect”– how or what do we do about wet paint? “nothing- you have to wait, unless you come in and get paint stripper”
• We then called the Farrow and Ball paint number. The person who answered the phone, told us that because it is black it could take 4 hours to dry. I told them it has been 8! what do we do… after being placed on hold- we were hung up on
• When I called back- the next person said that the gloss paint acts like a hybrid and takes longer to dry than normal paint.  How long?- they said – we cant tell you that, it just takes longer. I asked why it is not on the can – The rep said that I should have read the product advice sheet because it clearly says that it can take longer. Again-how long? “Well, due to the color and high gloss it can take anywhere from 8-36 hours to dry”. (it was at this time that I may have sounded slightly angry) Why would you sell a product that clearly says on the label- 2-4  hour dry time and the real dry time is over 8 hours! No answer.
• We had to leave the customers home- (with no one there) by closing the door and wedging the door shut.
• The next morning- it was still WET!!!!  if we touched it, it left finger prints
• I called Farrow again. Asked to supervisor- same song and dance.  The can says 2 hours but the product advice sheet says over 8 hours to dry. Why is that not on the can? Well- they said we can’t write instructions for every product because we only use one can for all our products- we can’t be that specific.  But all of the information is one the product advice sheet. I will give the link to their advice sheet- IT DOES NOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT 8 HOURS to DRY!!! I pretty much demanded to talk to someone else who could give me an answer- what do I do about this problem? There was no one else to talk to, no solution and made it clear that who’s fault (me) in not reading the product advice sheet.
• That afternoon- we installed the new hardware as it was Friday at 3:30pm, and we were leaving for the weekend. Could not leave the door with no lock for 2 days.  The door was still sticky!!
• Monday when we came back- it was dryer- there STILL was a tack to the door!  5 days later- dry to the touch.

So how do you prevent this ?

You can’t.  If you are using this product- you can’t do anything to have the product dry sooner.  Now, at least, you know what to expect.

Take a look at our review video:

So it’s your turn to decide!

At the end of 9 days we had a door that was shiny, and dry. I would not advise anyone else to take this course. We have had 3 jobs requesting Farrow and Ball, we have had product issues with all 3. At $120.00 per gallon- I expect a great product-yet it is not. This is a review of OUR experience. We don’t want anyone else to have a problem, so this is meant for information for you to make a informed decision.