I have been asked to write a Johnstone’s Perfect Matt white review for the Decorators Forum UK. I have recently used the emulsion on a kitchen ceiling that was separated into two sections. So couldn’t really test it over a large ceiling for how it’s meant stop overlap marks and picture framing from occurring.
The ceiling was fresh plaster, I normally apply a mist coat of contract matt in the same brand I’m using as a top coat, unless there’s a specified undercoat. Unfortunately, I had already bought the paint for my current job, so I ended up doing the mist coat in Tikkurila Optiva Primer. I couldn’t wait to get going with the Johnstone’s Perfect Matt.
Johnstone’s Perfect Matt is a premium emulsion developed by PPG. It can be tinted to just about any colour. Touch dry in roughly an hour, the recoat time for this paint is roughly 3 – 4 hours. You can buy this paint from any Johnstone’s Decorating Centre, but unless you qualify for a trade discount, it will almost certainly be cheaper to buy it online. Click here to see online prices.
Once the ceiling was ready to be coated up, I cracked the Johnstone’s Perfect Matt open and give a real good stir. First impressions – it’s a very crisp, bright white and very thick and creamy, you can tell from opening the tin that this is a completely different type of paint altogether, you can see it’s not a typical matt emulsion
First coat of Perfect Matt applied typically on fresh plaster and contract matt. Opacity and coverage were very good.
Second coat applied, very good, smooth and silky too apply, and it does dry to very flat matt finish. this paint really is a joy to use.
I did have to apply a third coat, could be because I didn’t use a Johnstone’s contract matt, I do think that if I was putting it over an existing white ceiling it would go in two coats.
Johnstone’s Perfect Matt is an excellent product that’s easy to apply and has a smooth, silky finish. I won’t hesitate to try it again, but the only downside I can see if the price. I asked when I picked it what the cost is. I don’t have a Johnstone’s account, and the retail price is £133 Inc vat. If I had an account with good terms it would be £92 Inc vat. I would take a guess that the most popular white emulsion is Macpherson eclipse, or a product along those line, which would cost close £20 inc vat!
I personally use Tikkurila Anti Reflex 2, which is about £60 Inc vat, that works out at £6 per litre. Let’s say I do have an account at Johnstone’s and get Perfect Matt for at £100, that’s £10 per litre! That’s a massive jump in price! On my current job, I’m using six 10ltr of Anti Reflex 2, so that’s £360. If I went for Perfect Matt that cost would cost over £600!! Remember that’s on an account with good terms, imagine if I wasn’t and had to pay £678!
Say a standard 3 bed house needs 2 to 3 x 10ltr to do all the ceilings, that’s £246 just on white emulsion, compared to £60 for Eclipse or £180 for Anti Reflex 2. That could easily make the difference between winning the job and losing it. Pricing has to be something that Johnstone’s need to look at if they want to sell to smaller firms/one-man bands.
Anti-Reflex 2 in white and Macpherson Eclipse don’t picture frame, go patchy and I’ve touched it in without issue. The big difference the Perfect Matt is how white the paint is. I’m a big Anti-Reflex fan, but the Perfect Matt is definitely the crispest, bright white I’ve ever seen.
The Perfect Matt is designed to be touched up, up to 4 years later, but I would point out that I’ve never been asked to touch up a ceiling up 4 years down the line. In most cases the lady of the house will take the opportunity to redecorate the whole room.
I suppose it comes down to budget. If budget is not an issue and you want the best paint money can buy, then Johnstone’s Perfect Matt is the ideal product.
For more information on Johnstone’s paint, click here
The best website I have found to buy Johnstone’s Perfect Matt is The Decorating Centre Online.
Johnstone’s Trade Perfect Matt has been designed for use mostly on large areas where critical lighting is an issue – we understand it’s a high value product, so wanted to provide a bit more background as to why we’ve introduced it to the market. In a survey we recently carried out, 73% of decorators told us that visible application marks are a problem in the industry – Johnstone’s Trade Perfect Matt has been designed to eliminate the risk of visible application marks, particularly on those larger jobs, or where the light in a room makes these issues more visible. It differs to others on the market due to its class 1 scrub resistance, full colour offer and its opacity – it’s not just a ceiling product, it’s also designed for use on walls as well.
Additionally, where professional painters and decorators are called back to a job to spot repair where other trades have unintentionally damaged fresh paintwork, we know that labour and time on site will often outweigh the cost of product, and it’s this unexpected cost that can damage an overall project. The idea behind Johnstone’s Trade Perfect Matt is that it allows you to retouch an area without having to paint the whole wall. With all this in mind, even though Johnstone’s Trade Perfect Matt costs more than a standard matt emulsion, choosing Perfect Matt up front can reduce the overall cost of the project.
Every project is different and this product won’t be the right solution in every scenario. That’s why we have a full range of matt emulsions, each created with specific technology to tackle the challenges on each individual job. We want to ensure we are always providing a full range of products for professional painters and decorators, so you have a choice depending on what your project requires.
Although we’re confident the product will withstand the test of time, the claim about being able to return to a project after four years to retouch areas isn’t something that’s come directly from us as a manufacturer (we’ve seen it mentioned a couple of times). It’s not about the length of time, it’s more about providing confidence to those using the product that they can return to complete spot repairs as required, without needing to repaint the whole wall.
Agree re the Tik anti relfex 2, superb product for a cheap price, its actually a cheap durable matt at same price level as Amstead vinyl matt.
The macpherson eclipse is my go to for most non durable ceilings. No banding and excellent touch up properties.
Johnsones Perfect matt is a good product but vastly overpriced. The spread rate is pretty low also.
It’s to expensive for a ceiling paint. For a commercial project with critical lighting on large high walls i can imagine it making sense. I like the fact that it exists but it’s not going to get much use from me, pretty niche i think.
I have just applied two coats of perfect Matt in Midnight blue over walls previously painted in 3 coats of Covaplus Matt viynl. I can see application marks from both roller applied and brush applied areas. Also, if you touch the paint with your fingers when dry it leaves smears on the wall. I’m not a happy bunny due to the painting time and cost wasted so far. I would like to hear from others who have painted a room in a very dark colour. Thanks
Hello mate, I’m having the same issue!! Mixed to a F&B colour Railings which is very dark! Did you find a solution ? The tech help desk told me I should have most coated using a watered down perfect Matt But that’s too late now. I’m 4 coats in last one watered down. I did a mist coat at the start of Dulux super Matt. Would love to know how you sorted it ? I’m thinking a coat of Zinsser Guardz
Have to agree that when it dries it’s one of the best looking paints I’ve used – crisp and bright. I disagree it can be touched up, I tried a few weeks later and it’s very noticeable. Good product but far too expensive.