[sumitagarwal]

Hi all, I've recently moved into a 100+ year old NYC apartment and am aiming for a traditional finish in traditional colors. To simplify the color selection process and because I like their colors, I've selected my three colors from Farrow & Ball's collection, although I am having a Sherwin Williams store produce the paint (I've been very happy with their ability to do this, and they already had tested formulations for my selected F&B colors in their database).

My question is: for a rich, historic, non-****** finished appearance as similar as possible to Farrow & Ball's "Estate Emulsion", which Sherwin Williams paint would you choose? So far I've mostly been familiar with painting SW's Superpaint in flat, but have been wondering if the richer look of SW's Cashmere in flat enamel might be a closer match.

Does anyone have the first-hand experience with Estate Emulsion, Cashmere enamel flat, and Superpaint flat to voice an opinion on this?

Thanks!

 

[sumitagarwal]

Wow, nobody has an opinion on this? Is there another forum you would all recommend?

 

[chrisn]

Wow, nobody has an opinion on this? Is there another forum you would all recommend?

Cashmere enamel flat

 

[jsheridan]

You have to understand two things, availability and preference. Of the thousands(?) of gallons I've applied in a lifetime, only one or two of them have been Farrow & Ball, and maybe about 6 or 8 of them have been SW Cashmere. I used the F & B years ago, and couldn't remember what I used or where, but I do remember at that time the woman had it shipped in to the job. There's not an F & B dealer on every corner, and is less available than more. I've only seen it available once and that was in limited offerings, and that was years after I used it. I think I speak for a lot of people across a large part of the country.
I used Cashmere a few times, had problems with it twice, walked away, and never looked back.
Finally, pros have their go to paints. Even if F & B was available, a painter may not use it because Product X delivers their tried and true results. And unless a customer chooses it, it may never get tested.
The likelihood that you're going to find a handful of people who have enough experience with those two particular products is low.
You say your SW dealer is very helpful. I would order a quart of your chosen F & B finish, ask SW to do a draw down of that and their Cashmere, both in your chosen color, and see the difference for yourself. Don't order a sample pot because many times sample pots are not actual paint but just color samples, you need a real paint sample. That's the only real way to answer your question.

 

[Brushjockey]

What Joe says is right on. I don't think I've ever used F & B, and I also dislike most of SW. For that matter I think I've only used FPoE once.

 

[sumitagarwal]

Thanks guys, helpful guidance. I'll try to do what Joe suggested.

Do you think that F&B is a true flat or not quite?

 

[Brushjockey]

I wouldn't know- see above. But the only paints that should be a true flat are ceiling paints and really cheap builders flat. I would think a quality paint like F & B 's wall flat would be called washable, which almost always means just a little bit of sheen. flats are dirt sponges otherwise.