Fiddes Full Stop Review

Fiddes Full Stop is a shellac-based stain-blocking primer. For professional decorators reading this, that’s probably told you most of what you need to know about this product; I’ve used it in a variety of different situations in recent months, and you can read below how the product performed.

As you would expect from a shellac-based primer, it’s formulated to adhere well to bare or previously coated wood, metal, tiles, glass, plaster and dry wall, and can be painted over with any oil- or water-based paints. It doesn’t state anywhere on the tin or their website whether the product is suitable for exterior use; other shellac-based primers I have used state that they are only suitable for spot-priming outside, so I would assume this is the same.

Fiddes Full Stop – Where to Buy

You can order Fiddes Full Stop direct from various online merchants such as Next Day Paint by Clicking here.  It’s only available currently in a 1L tin, which is fine for me as most of my work is small domestic projects, and it’s handy to always have a litre of this in the van.

Fiddes Full Stop Stain Block in Use

I’ve used Fiddes Full Stop Stain Block Primer on a few jobs in recent months and got on very well with it. If you’re familiar with other shellac-based primers, it behaves in a very similar way, and has similar things you need to be aware of when using it:

•  It can be applied by brush, roller or spray. Personally, I’ve never sprayed it, and would be concerned about how to clean the equipment thoroughly afterwards, but the Fiddes website says it can be done, so who am I to argue? I like to apply material like this with a good quality paint roller.
• The product needs a really thorough stir before use; the solids in the formulation tend to sink to the bottom of the tin, and if you don’t stir them back in thoroughly each time, you’ll end up using a very watery liquid first (which won’t give you the desired result), and then be left with a gloopy mass at the bottom of the tin that you can’t paint with.
• It dries quickly – touch dry in 15-20 minutes, recoatable in around 45 minutes. That means you need to either wrap or clean your brushes/rollers etc immediately after use.
• And talking of clean-up, the recommended cleaning product is methylated spirit. So, I’d recommend either using an old brush that you don’t mind disposing of afterwards, or making sure you have a bottle of meths handy before you start the project. For larger areas I find disposable foam mini rollers work well.
• Remember that if you’re using a Fiddes Full Stop on plaster or drywall, it effectively seals the surface, making it harder for subsequent coats of emulsion to be absorbed. Therefore, on the areas that you have stain-blocked, an emulsion topcoat will take longer to dry.

I’ve used Fiddes Full Stop Stain Block over mould (once it had been thoroughly treated and cleaned first), water stains, and grease stains (after cleaning/de-greasing as much as possible first), and found it worked well over all these common stain types. Fiddes says that only a single coat is required; I’ll be honest, when I’m working in someone’s house the last thing I want is a call-back, so I played it safe and did two coats.

One thing you will notice that is different about Fiddes Full Stop compared with other shellac-based primers; it dries noticeably whiter. I’m not altogether sure what the benefit of this is; certainly, when treating water marks, it made it easy to see where I’d painted and where I hadn’t.

Final Thoughts

This is a good little product that in my experience delivers on all the stain-blocking promises it makes, and it’s nice to have some alternatives to the well-known brands in this market. It’s not a product that I use every day, but it’s one that I always carry for those jobs when it’s needed.

Summary