Which paint?

I also prefer eggshell and satin top coat paint on woodwork. But I recently found out, by mistake, that gloss primer/undercoat gives a better finish. X

Yes it isDragonfly gave me great service on my dresser - I used a pale creamy yellow co,our so would not have noticed if it went off colour a bit but the finish is excellent.
I have used other finishes in Farrow and Ball and I like the fact you can get most of the colours they do in most of their finishes. It was only the water based eggshell or satin I had issues with but maybe used it in the wrong place!

Is that Dulux eggshell you mean Bez?

I used Farrow and Ball water based eggshell on interior woodwork but found that if the vacuum cleaner touched the skirting board it flaked off. The Dulux one is oil based - gives a nice low sheen and is very durable - had it on an old kitchen dresser.
White paint shows it has gone a tad off colour should you need to touch it up. We had a ball on the top of a newel post on the landing of one house and because everyone touched it I often had a ball painting job! That was where I noticed the changing colour of the white paint.

I do like the satin finish but it doesn't seem to stand up to the knocks and cleaning like gloss does. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll trot off to b and q later and have a look.

My husband always used off-white waterbased paint for woodwork. Most of the houses we lived in were built before brilliand white paint was invented. BS 10B15 everywhere except the BS numbers have changed now. Saves worrying about it going yellow if it starts off off-white.

I buy pale cream, I prefer it, or ivory. At least i shan't be disappointed in future.

I prefer to use satin or eggshell as I don't like a glossy finish. I think white paint looks better when it has yellowed mellowed a bit.

They had to change the formula for making gloss paints several years ago, the newer ones all go yellow after a few years. Diamond White wasn't, in fact they were sued by quite a few building companies. It isn't the manufacturers' fault, it's down to legislation and being greener. Go into B&Q and you will see that many paints are now missing, and in fact many paints are not even advertised as being suitable for outside use. As a gardener who used to design gardens for people, this caused much havoc. The acrylic gloss is pretty good but will never be as glossy as real gloss paint. You just get used to it. They are constantly trying to make something as strong and durable as the old gloss paints but haven't yet succeeded.

DD used to work for Akzo Nobel so I asked what she thought about the various paints "all do the same job, whatever takes your fancy" from a chemist that developed paints it wasn't quite the answer I was expecting.

We have never found that white gloss or satin goes yellow! We don't smoke, is that significant?I prefer the satin gloss, and there are quite a few 'one coat' does the job paints out there now.Non drip paint is good, as some glosses are a bit runny.We used the Homebase paints I think.

I always go for eggshell. It has a subtler effect and the colour lasts. I also keep a tin for touch ups as white/ivory/beige suits me for paintwork and I can stick to the same colour for a few years. Farrow and Ball do lovely paint, but there's some great similar ones in B and Q.

Bez I hope our hall doesn't go yellow in a very short time !! Couldn't face all that palaver again

Interesting what you say Jean I found that water based satin went yellowy in a very short time. I have used as much water based paint as possible because DH has asthma and the fumes of oil based gloss affect his chest for days.
I found eggshell finish to be a nice not too shiny one if you can get the shade you want. Read the label fully though as some of them do not take much wear - depends where used.

dragonfly mrA recently did the hall and staircase and used a water-based gloss paint for the woodwork, because of the non-yellowing properties and the fact that they don't smell as oil-based gloss paints do. I think it was Dulux.
But he found it difficult to apply and didn't like the finished result. There was a fair amount of sulking and use of profane language too.
Hope that helps.