Dulux Super Enamel Semi Gloss

This one seals the deal – I was recommended this product by my trade store chain that has recently sold out to Dulux, as a hard wearing product for kick boards/trim. I believe it is Dulux's premium product. I've used house, automotive and industrial products extensively and I have to say this product in this instance was a fail and cost me alot of re-prepping time. I'm… Read more

writing a review because Dulux's reaction to my technical advice inquiry was that they had no technical knowledge of the flattening agent or the composition of this product that they could use to help he identify the issue, and for any one else who has a similar outcome so at least you know you are not crazy. Their advice was to write an email and send pictures to the "lab" for analysis - yeah ok, I'm too busy re-sanding all my work pieces sorry. After a very poor/unexpected finish on a work piece, I tried brushing samples and spraying samples with a conventional spray gun to make sure it wasn't just an odd one-off issue. This product appears to be a high gloss product that is flattened by using some sort of aggregate. Typically it would be extremely finely ground silica or glass spheres which disrupt the gloss surface to give it a semi gloss appearance. Its a common technique with 2 pack epoxies as 2 pack coatings are hard to flatten chemically. With products like this it is important to stir it very well to ensure the flattening agent is fully dispersed through the paint. In this instance I followed the product data sheet, applied two coats, temp approx 22 deg. Manufacture date was May 2020. Application on Dec 2021. Batch GF08446. The sample does not appear smooth or semi-gloss. It is runny to apply (probably has an agent in it to help with flow and eliminate brush marks) and has the appearance of a high gloss enamel with fine sand grains evident in the surface. It is rough to touch like worn fine sandpaper. Pics attached. Seems unlikely Dulux would be able to sell such a bad product so the next possibility is that it may have been a badly formulated batch. At a guess perhaps the flattening agent has caked together or some other attribute of the product has broken down. Dulux customer service did concede that is was a "fairly new purchase" so is probably not due to age. Note that the product was not opened any time before application and it was 3 months old when sold. I took the sample back to the distributor and they were also surprised and in good faith replaced the paint with a new batch. They were helpful as always. I will update this review with the outcome.

There was a time when I bought a lot of Dulux products because I believed they made a product that justified their market leading prices. If you read a few of their reviews, it seems those days are gone. They push their "trade" relationship, but I can tell you that companies like Haymes and Wattyl actually have technical understanding of their products when you ring them, make very reliable top quality products and have better prices.

My advice is that if you are having problems with products you have trusted in the past, try shopping around because things change.

Pic1 Sprayed onto primed steel, 1.4Tip 2 bar,narrow fan,5% spray thinner. Pic2 Brushed on primed MDF. Taken after second coat (still tacky after 22 hours).

Sooooo BAD. Scratches so easily! – We followed all the right steps to prepare our timber cabinet - cleaning, stripping it back to bare timber, primed it, waited extra long to reapply etc but even after 60 days, the paint scratches sooooo easily. Bunnings told us that we need a rep to come out and see it because we have done all the right things so I contacted Dulux. They basically… Read more

came back and said that because of the humidity since October, the paint isn’t setting and that’s not their problem and shut down the case. That was their only comment, didn’t even want a sample of the batch to test it. Didn’t want to send a rep to us even though they are only down the road from us. Really shocked with the product and even more shocked about the way I was treated even though Bunnings backed me up. So much time and energy wasted. Now the cabinets are in a special room with a non-stop dehumidifier going... no difference yet. Wonder what dulux has to say about that.

Use this not aquanamel if you want a beautiful finish in less coats – Tried aquanamel for stained wood trim over both water based and oil based primers. Big fail. Found a tin of super enamel I had for about 6 years but never used it. Opened the tin, gave it a good stir and already after just 1 coat on an oil based primer it’s looking amazing. See my other review on the cruddy finish from Aquanamel and you’ll feel my… Read more

pain. This is 2 thumbs up. Don’t get paint expert from a dulux rep, he said there were no advantages of oil based over water based enamel. Come to my house buddy and I will show you!