Crown Trade Paint Review

By Mike Gregory

Ok, let’s talk about Crown Paint! Please note, I’m only going to review paint from Crown’s Trade range which is available from Crown Decorating Centres, as it is much better quality than its retail counterpart. With that in mind, let me take you through my review of Crown as a whole, as well as a few of their mainstream products.

The Best Place to buy Crown Paint

The best place to buy Crown paint is Crown Decorating Centre, a trade counter that suppliers paint to both professional decorators and the DIY sector. In fact, out of the big three paint manufacturers, I’d say Crown Trade is best equipped to sell directly to the homeowner without the very expensive price tags. They provide some good products from several different brands. My advice to anyone wanting to use Crown Trade Centre is to just go in and have a chat with the manager. If you’re a professional you should convey exactly what you want out of them, what is most important and what you’re comfortable spending.

Sometimes it’s a lot cheaper when you buy your paint online. The beast place to buy Crown paint online is the Paintshed in my opinion.The pricing is good, they have pretty much everything you could ever need and you can use discount code FORUM5.

Crown Trade Clean Extreme

I thought I’d start with the jewel in Crown’s Crown. The Clean Extreme is a durable emulsion which can be tinted into any colour from Crown’s vast range. It is available in a matt or eggshell finish, as well as having the options of added mold inhibitors, or anti-bacterial. It is by far Crown’s best product and it is cheaper than the Dulux or Johnstone’s alternatives. Full bodied, high opacity in colours, great finish and lovely to apply. Clean Extreme has been voted the best durable emulsion on the Decorators Forum several times over. You can read my full review here

Crown Clean Extreme gets a 9/10 from me

Crown Trade Vinyl Matt

Crown Trade Vinyl matt has a lovey matt finish to it. That might sound like a daft thing to say, but the sheen level on some other brands is an issue. I don’t think there are a lot of polymer binders in the paint, meaning it can drag when you’re applying it and the overall finish is not very durable. Crown Trade Vinyl Matt is value for money though. Considering it is better than any retail vinyl matt, they deliver the product for a good price. The opacity is outstanding too!!

Crown Trade Vinyl Matt gets a 7 / 10. If it was a bit more durable this would be an amazing product.

Crown Trade Undercoat

Most people would think me petty adding an undercoat review to the blog. After all, you don’t even see the undercoat, so what does it matter? Well I wanted to give it a mention because Crown Trade is the best trade undercoat on the market. Opacity is brilliant, it is touch dry in no time, it goes nice and flat on a surface and it’s very easy to use. Crown Trade undercoat is the perfect base.

Easy one, 10 / 10 from me

Crown Trade Gloss

Crown Trade Gloss has a party trick! As you apply it the paint has an apple green tinge to it. As it dies it turns into a brilliant bright white. The flow is ok for gloss and the finish is fantastic. Oil-based gloss starts to discolour and go yellow within a few weeks of being applied. It isn’t a Crown problem; it happens with every brand. In my opinion the product is no longer fit for purpose. It is all down to the restrictions on the chemicals paint manufacturers are allowed to use.

I’m not going to score it. Crown Trade Gloss is one of the best oil-based gloss products on the market. Unfortunately, that isn’t saying a lot.

Crown Trade Satinwood

Crown Trade Satinwood does not come in a “brilliant white”, but that isn’t much of an issue as I feel a satinwood should be dull anyway. Opacity is bang on, as is the ease of use. You can add a little bit of white spirit to dilute this product and still get a solid finish in 2 coats over previously painted surfaces. This does everything it’s supposed to. You can read my full review here

I’ll give it a 9/10. You’ll be far stretched to find a better oil-based satinwood

Crown Trade Fastflow

Crown Trade Fastflow is Crown’s waterbased trim paint range (undercoat, satinwood, eggshell and gloss). It is relatively easy to use if you follow the correct steps when applying the paint. Always ensure your brush is kept wet, proper prep has been carried out, you use the correct system and you wipe a surface down with a damp cloth as you apply the paint. Fast Flow is a hybrid so it will yellow over time, however it will stay white for years before you notice the difference. The gloss has a really nice sheen to it. It is a good product

Fastflow gets an 7/10, simply because it isn’t a fully water based system

Crown All-Purpose and Translucent Woodstain

These two products don’t get enough of a mention in my opinion. Opacity isn’t a strong point, so it isn’t the best choice for previously stained timber, but on bare timber it looks amazing. The all-purpose woodstain penetrates deep into the timber and brings out the grain. Translucent woodstain is the finish coat for exterior work. The finish is rich and lasts for years.

7/10

Macpherson Alternatives

I thought I’d give Macpherson as it is owned by the same company as Crown, made in the same factory and often sold side by side. Think of Crown as the premium brand, and Macpherson the budget. Expect to pay less but the products to not perform quite as well as it’s Crown Trade counterparts. There are still some brilliant products to look out for, Macpherson Eclipse is one which is awesome ceiling paint.

Crown Trade Paint review, product guide and the best place to buy Crown Paints