Tikkurila Luja Review and Guide

Tikkurila have established themselves as a serious player in the UK paint market in recent years.  Products such as Anti-Reflex ceiling paint, the Optiva range of durable emulsions and their more recently launched Vinyl Matt are all deservedly popular with professional decorators like me, even if our customers may not have heard of them. 

Tikkurila’s full product range is vast and includes stains, oils and varnishes for wood, fillers and even cleaning agents and specialist products for use in saunas.  But among the more mainstream products that sometimes get overlooked is the Luja range of paints.

In a nutshell, Luja is a range of exceptionally hard-wearing emulsions for use in the more challenging interior environments, e.g. bathrooms and kitchens, but also hospitals, swimming pool changing rooms, etc.  Basically, anywhere where the paint is going to have to withstand not only daily wear and tear, but also high levels of humidity and/or frequent washing.

There are currently five products in the UK Luja range (primer, finish coats in three different sheen levels, and a tile paint), all tintable to a vast array of just about any colour you can imagine.  In this blog we’ll take a quick look at each of the products individually and then sum up the pros and cons of the range.

Luja Yleispohjamaali Review

OK, I’m not typing that again!  This is the primer, and henceforth I shall refer to it as Luja Primer.

In this situation, talk to Tikkurila or your stockist and ask them to tint the primer as close as possible to the finished colour – it may not be possible to get it exact, but it will still help to mask the old colour.

On the other hand, I recently used Luja 7 in a downstairs toilet; the customer asked for something hard-wearing and highly washable, because her kids were forever splashing water up the walls when washing their hands. It wasn’t a high humidity room (there was no shower), and the colour change wasn’t dramatic, so there was no need for the primer.

Tikkurila Luja Finish Coats – 7, 20 and 40

With Class 1 Scrub rating and mould and antimicrobial additives, the Luja finish coats are perfect for any room that is subjected to high moisture/humidity levels and wear and tear.  So yes, it’ll do a great job in Mrs Johnson’s shower room, but it will also be ideal for places like hospitals, food preparation areas, breweries, swimming pools, etc.

It’s dead easy to apply, the second coat in particular just glides on.  Opacity in the colours I’ve used has always been great, but I must be honest, I haven’t used it in white myself. But I recently painted a room pale green that had previously been dark grey, and it almost went in one coat, the opacity was superb.

I do find that you must work fast with it.  It dries quickly (especially in warm weather or on absorbent surfaces), so adding a little water or a paint conditioner helps, as does working in smaller sections, otherwise you risk it pulling when you roll over your cutting in.

I’ve also heard other people say that the sheen level (particularly on Luja 7) is too high; my feeling is that this isn’t a problem – it seems to take a while to dull down to its final sheen level, particularly in high humidity environments, but it does get there eventually, and for my money I think it’s a great finish.

Luja Ceramic Tiles

The most recent addition to the range, Luja Ceramic Tiles is unsurprisingly a paint to go on tiles.  Yep, what it says on the tin.

But if it does what it says on the tin and sticks to tiles without the need for a separate primer, that’s a win, especially when you combine it with Tikkurila’s superb colour-matching service.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t cheap paint – it’s one of those premium quality products which bridges the gap between domestic and commercial use.  So, it’s just as happy in Mrs Johnson’s bathroom as in a hospital waiting room, the gym shower, or the pub kitchen.  It’s mould- and microbe-resistant and extremely hard-wearing; I once tried sanding some Luja 7 with 120 grit two hours after I’d painted it, and it was bullet-proof.

So yes, it’s a premium product and you pay a premium price. But if you want something that is going to last in those challenging environments, you’ll struggle to find anything to beat Luja, especially when you combine the quality of the product with Tikkurila’s superb colour-matching capability.  The price may be prohibitive for some jobs, but if the budget can stretch to it, the value-for money argument becomes interesting when you take into account how long this stuff will stay looking good.

Summary