So, just a little follow up. I was recommended Tikkurila by another decorator on Decorators Forum UK , so I thought I’d give it a bash. This was the first time using tikkurila paint, and this is what I thought about it.
Nothing fancy colour wise just boring old magnolia.
My Experience Using Tikkurila Paint
Tikkurila Anti-Reflex is the dog’s boll***s!! Fantastic stuff to use, no splatter and looks great. It’s a water-based, low-reflective emulsion. The finish is sublime. I will be using that again.
I was decorating some bathrooms and decided to go for the Luja 7. It was quite creamy but oh so lovely to cut in with and rolled like a dream. It’s just a little pricey.
As for the Optiva 5, I have mixed feelings with this. The finish was fantastic, but it took some work. Mainly because it was far too thick despite a good stir. It was like rolling double cream on the walls, drying immediately and I could see the layers up and down where I’d been! It took a fair bit of watering down, close to 20% before it worked. But once I’d done that and 2 coats later it looked fab. Is this normal for the optiva 5?
I’m going to stick with Armstead trade vinyl for the time being, just because I like using it and know it’ll do the job without any effort. However, I will give the Tikkurila another go. Big thanks to the team at Sudbury Kent Blaxhill for their expertise though 👍
For more information on Tikkurila click here
What do Other Decorators Think?
I think optiva 5 is good gear and it sprays a dream, plus it very durable. Easily one of the best durable matt emulsions on the market.
Tikkurila paint is awesome. They’re very much the breakthrough brand who came from nowhere and started taking customers away from Dulux, Johnstone’s and Crown, which is frankly amazing!! The Anti-Reflex, Optiva 5 and Helmi are particularly good. It will be interesting to see just how far they can take it.
I find with optiva 5 it very much depends on the colour; lighter colours are straight out the tin but darker needs a splash of water. Opacity is a bit iffy on certain colours too. Great product though.
If you like Armstead vinyl matt, try optiva colour or nova 2 from Tikkurila.
Tikkurila emulsions in particular are good. For me, it’s like Dulux trade, but better and cheaper. No brainer really. Optiva 5, optiva 3, Anti-Reflex, even the new vinyl matt are all great products. I’m not too keen on Helmi as it isn’t very durable, although it does spray well.
Most decorators will use exotic paints to earn more money. A lot of them are better than the normal alternatives.
You need to thin optiva 5 slightly for ease of use. I prefer using Tikkurila optiva 3 because of the lower sheen level.
Tikkurila just gives you another option. They’re like any other paint company in that some of their products are great, and others are lacking. I generally love it though. Anti-Reflex is the best paint for a ceiling, Helmi sprays brilliantly. The new Tikkurila Vinyl matt is another top product.
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