Know Your Dulux Contract Matt Emulsions

Posted Jun 26, 2025 | Featured industry news, Products | 1 comment

If you’re looking for some contract matt for an upcoming job, you could do a lot worse than visiting your local Dulux Decorator centre; they have a range of options available that are pretty much guaranteed to meet your needs.

Contract matt is inexpensive paint, made with fewer polymer binders than a vinyl matt, for example.  This difference in the formulation keeps the price low, and makes contract matt ideal for some jobs, but less suitable for others.  So, it’s great for new builds, for example, because it’s cheap, generally has great opacity, and allows new plaster to “breathe”, meaning it can be applied before the plaster has fully cured or dried out.

It’s great for rentals – the low cost and high opacity mean that a rental property can be given a quick coat of paint, so the cost (and the time the property is left empty) are both kept to a minimum – happy landlords! But I wouldn’t use it in a bathroom, a kitchen, or a high traffic area, because the paint simply won’t stand up to those conditions.

If you walk into your local Dulux Decorator Centre, you’ll have a choice of four different contract matts to choose from, depending on your needs and your budget:

Armstead Trade Contract Matt is manufactured by Akzo Nobel, the parent company who also make Dulux Trade paints. If budget is a key consideration, Armstead is probably your best choice – it’s available in 10L, 12L or 15L tubs in white and a light base for tinting, gives you a coverage of about 15m²/L, and is cheap as chips!

Armstead Trade Contract Matt 10L

Dulux Trade Advanced Contract Matt gives a professional white finish and is ideal for new plaster (perfect for new builds). It’s been tested and approved by professional decorators and, for further peace of mind, comes with the reassurance of the Dulux brand name.  It’s available in white (only) in 10L tubs, and is a step up in both price and quality from Armstead, but still very affordable when you look at £/L, and take into consideration that it will give you up to 16m²/L coverage.

Dulux Advanced contract Matt

Dulux Trade Supermatt is probably the best known of the options, and gives you superior coverage and opacity.  It’s a great choice for either new builds or rentals, and you can get up to 18m²/L coverage from it.  It’s available in 5L, 10L or 12L sizes, and as well as white there are three popular pre-mixed colours available (Magnolia, Gardenia and Almond White), plus it can be tinted in-store into many shades.

Dulux trade supermatt

Dulux Trade Spraymatt is (as the name suggests) a contract matt emulsion specifically developed for airless spraying, making it absolutely ideal for spraying newbuilds. It’s the newest addition to Dulux’s contract matt range, and the formulation has been proven to reduce overspray, meaning you get a superior spray finish in the most efficient way possible.  You can find it in 10L tubs in white and a light base for tinting.

dulux trade spraymatt
An explanation of the different contract matt emulsion options at Dulux Decorator Centre

So, whether you’re giving a rental flat a quick onceover, or spraying a newbuild townhouse, if you’re after a quality contract matt emulsion, head to your nearest Dulux Decorator Centre and take your pick from the options above.

Toney from Dulux Trade Explains Contract Matt

An explanation of the different contract matt emulsion options at Dulux Decorator Centre

Posted Jun 26, 2025 | 1 comment

About the Author

About the Author

Mike Cupit has been in the decorating industry since 2002 and has mostly worked as a Trade Decorator in the domestic sector (peoples’ homes). Self-proclaimed “product geek”, Mike has a passion for paint and decorating tools. Mike now spends most of his time testing paint products and tools, comparing them to similar products on the market, and blogging about the industry in general. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Related articles

Valspar Trade and RCB Healthcare

Valspar Trade and RCB Healthcare

Using the power of Tough Matt: Valspar trade and RCB Healthcare team up to ensure a high quality and homely environment for all residents.

Polyvine launch ‘Mouldguard Fungicidal Cleaner’

Polyvine launch ‘Mouldguard Fungicidal Cleaner’

Polyvine is proud to announce the launch of Mouldguard Fungicidal Cleaner, a ready-to-use, high-performance solution specially formulated to eliminate mould, mildew, algae, and bacteria on timber surfaces, specifically on wood.  Mouldguard’s thixotropic, water-based...

1 Comment

  1. Richard

    For value for money the Amstread superb, it’s a decent contract Matt less chalky than it’s competitors.

    It touches up pretty well,
    unlike Johnstones Jonmatt or Leyland contract superleytex which is a God send on new build sites

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *