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.
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 UK several times over.
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 Crown vinyl matt, meaning it can drag when you’re applying it and the overall finish is not very durable. It 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 Oil-Based 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. Unfortunately, Crown Trade gloss is one of the oil gloss products that seems to discolour rather quickly. This is a massive issue
4/10 – one to avoid
Crown Next Generation Gloss
I’m unsure why Crown have two different versions of the same product, but Crown next generation gloss is probably one of the best products of its kind. The finish is nice and it maintains it’s colour for a lot longer than the Crown Trade gloss does. If I need to use an oil-based gloss on the interior of a property, then this is generally the one I go for. We also have a comparison blog for the best oil-based gloss products on the market.
9/10 for Crown Next Generation Gloss
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 Crown Trade satinwood 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 Trade PX4 – Water-Based Adhesion Primer
Crown Trade PX4 is a water-based adhesion primer and stain block in one. It is one of the most underrated products in Crown’s arsenal and to be honest, not a lot of decorators even know about it. The adhesion qualities are brilliant, especially for a water-based product. It works great over things like melamine or previously varnished surfaces. As it’s a stain block as well, it also stops any tannings coming through old timber so your paint finish will last. That said, it’s only an average stain block and sometimes you need a second coat of the product for it to fully work. The other downside is it seems to take an age to dry.
Crown Trade PX4 gets a steady 7 / 10 from me
Crown Trade PX3 – Solvent-Based Adhesion Primer
Crown Trade PX3 is a solvent based, stain blocking & adhesion promoting primer for interior & exterior use. Ideal for difficult surfaces including glass, tiles, melamine and previously painted surfaces, as well as most wood and non-ferrous metals. It also has excellent stain sealing properties and can be used on most surfaces subject to staining by smoke, crayon, tannin, water stains.
A brilliant product and easily earns 8 / 10
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 a mention 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 and the durable matt emulsion is fantastic.
Crown Trade Paint review, product guide and the best place to buy Crown Paints
crown next generation gloss doesn’t yellow mike
Hello, I am looking to paint my living room a warm white tone. I want a cosy feeling as it’s a room where we relax in. Which Crown paint in white a warm tone would you recommend, in a Matt finish?
if you want to use a crown paint crown trade clean extreme is the way to go but for better durability be better of going a eggshell which is the next sheen up
Crown Trade Fastflow Quick Dry Primer Undercoat. High opacity, good flow, almost no smell. Re-coat after 4 hours no problem. Can be sanded by denib or scuff. After over 30 years using oil based undercoat I can no longer see the point of it, to my great surprise. Highly recommended. The lack of smell is excellent, unlike its breatheasy gloss, which smells for 10 days.
Crown Trade Fastflow Quick Dry Gloss. As a paint it does what you expect: hard wearing, easy flow, good opacity, quick drying. What it does not do is have low odour. It is sold as Breatheasy but we found its odd unpleasant smell lasted for 10 days, preventing use of a bedroom for a week. We will not use it again indoors.
Crown fastflow quickdry Gloss. As a paint it does what you expect: hard wearing, easy flow, good opacity, quick drying. What it does not do is have low odour. It is sold as Breatheasy but we found its odd unpleasant smell lasted for 10 days, preventing use of a bedroom for a week. We will not use it again indoors.
Dulux Quick Dry Gloss. It has good opacity and flows well but I would always use an undercoat, regardless of what it says on the tin. Its low Odour formulation is the best I have come across. Almost no smell at all, either whilst painting or once dry. The room could be used again the same day. Brilliant!
I am at the moment using Crow trade brilliant white gloss I can honestly say I have never come across a worse paint in my life I am not a trades man but I have been painting my own homes and my parents since I was about 18 I am now 68 and this paint is awful
I used breath easy granite grey on a wall in my kitchen and I’m not a happy bunny. It wasn’t the easiest to apply but it looked good on the wall once done till I had to wipe a couple of marks off, the paint came off on my cloth and it left marks where I had wiped them 😱😱😱 I’m frustrated as I had put quite a large wall decal sticker on and I now have to ether take it off or try and get a colour match to paint round it.