Fine Paints of Europe Eco: A Pro's Review

Fine Paints Of Europe Eco Brilliant Paint: Could this be the best gloss paint?

Fine Paints of Europe Eco Gloss should be your first choice when you are willing to pay for premium high-gloss paint.

Eco Brilliant steals the show and pinches your wallet. At $80.00 a liter, you might look for it to jump out of the can and onto the wall!

Is Eco Brilliant worth it?

First, let’s discuss the pigments. US companies grind their pigments for hours. Fine Paints Of Europe grind their pigments for ten days. Finely ground pigments spread easier and cover better.

Excuse the analogy, but Fine Paints of Europe compares to US paint, like spreading warm butter versus cold butter over white bread.

Secondly, Fine Paints of Europe does not sell paint. They sell paint systems. By paint systems, they mean their paints should not go directly over other paints without using their primers first.

Eco paints should not go over Shellac, Kilz, or Bin.

In addition to the primers, they also advise creating a wet floor or a kiddie pool in the room. Yes, a kiddie pool in the room for a couple of days! Wet surfaces on the floor or pool attract dust, pulling it away from the wet paint.

How is the workability?

The workability with the white paint is better than the darker colors. The Eco Brilliant (gloss) is thicker than most paints. It does glide more than it drags, but when painting a dark, brilliant color on a door, it was impossible not to see breaks in the sheen.

I called Fine Paints of Europe for advice, and they recommended adding water. Besides making the paint go on a little easier, it still dried too fast. I tried Flotral, and that made things worse. Mark Coale from Maryland Paint recommended I use an MI paint conditioner and added twice the recommended amount. It worked beautifully and retarded the drying time to eliminate the breaks in the sheen.

It is also necessary to put the paint on moderately heavy. In painting terms, we call that loading up the brush.

In conclusion, the paint has a steep learning curve when brushing.

When brushing white gloss, I had a different experience.

With one brush dip, I could spread the paint about 30″. That is considered excellent compared to other gloss paints. . With the Eco Brilliant, one dip in the paint can extend about 72″.

I also consider the working time of the paint. How long can I go back and touch up the paint before it starts to “set up.” With Fine Paints of Europe Eco, I had 1:45 seconds. I consider anything over 1:00 to be excellent.

Washability and durability of Fine Paints of Europe Eco

After Eco Brilliant was cured for two weeks, the products had 36 hours to dry before being cleaned.

Catsup
Mustard
Pencil
Crayon
Coffee
Red wine

I cleaned the Eco Brilliant with a microfiber cloth using the following:

Krud Kutter
Bleach and water
Simple Green
Spray Nine

All of the stains came off with little effort.

Coverage of Eco Brilliant!

Fine Paints Of Europe is a different paint. The paint is thinner than most US paints. If you have tried Ben Moore Advance, it is almost the exact opposite. Ben Moore goes on thick and covers well. Eco Brilliant goes on thin and covers well.

Keep in mind; coverage will always be better if you use FPE “high build- high tooth” primers.

I always found 2 top coats of Eco Brilliant gave 100% coverage after applying their primer.

Self-Leveling

Gloss paints highlight imperfection. Hence it is best to only use on smooth surfaces unless highlighting defects is not an issue.

Eco Brilliant after two coats on a smooth surface

Therefore, it is desirable to have the paint self-level as much as possible. There is not a water-based product that self-levels better. Eco Brilliant self-levels slightly better than Ben Moore Advance Gloss. However, it is slightly better than PPG UltraLast Semi-Gloss and C2 Cabinet Grade Paint.

The difference may be hard to see in these photos. However, to the naked eye, there is a subtle difference.

Self-Priming of Fine Paints of Europe Eco

Eco Brilliant is not a self-priming paint.

Many times I have applied Eco Gloss on previously painted surfaces without priming. With few exceptions, there were no problems. However, the experts at Fine Paints Of Europe advise to always prime and sand with 220 or 320 grit sandpaper. I certainly recommend priming with FPE to avoid any problems.

Overall Value of Fine Paints Of Europe Eco Brilliant paint

Eco Brilliant is a hybrid paint.

This is how Fine Paints Of Europe define Eco Brilliant

Eco Brilliant is a low VOC, acrylic-based urethane-alkyd emulsion. It combines the advantages of both today’s acrylic technology and traditional oil formulations. It is available in both gloss or Satin finishes. There is no difference in durability..

If cost is not an issue I don’t see any reason not to choose this paint it scores across the board are all excellent. The only downside is the priming. It is a best practice to prime first to avoid any possible adhesion issues.