Great Western Emulsion

For Edgeworth's fascia panel, I've decided against my usual varnished wood finish. Instead some proper Great Western Railway colours seem appropriate.

Obviously I'm not going to use my little pots of Railmatch enamel - that would cost a fortune. Instead I took them on a trip to my local Homebase DIY store. The plan was to wander around the racks of decorating supplies to pick some suitable big pot paints.

Once I got there though, an exciting prospect appeared. There was a Dulux paint station thingy which included a scanner. The idea is that you take in a vase or some curtains and they can precisely match the paint to these object.

So, the assistant had a go. First through the glass bottom of the jar. That didn't work, the glass confuses the scanner apparently. Next, to the inside of the screw top once the paint had been shaken and deposited plenty of pigment up there.

We got results and I had some 250ml matchpots mixed up. Sadly, only emulsion is available in this size (why?) but at the price, just over 3 quid, I wasn't going to argue. Well, that will be more than enough to do the fascia and fiddle yard front.

Top be honest, I felt the scanner had got the dark stone about right but the light stone was "Rum Caramel 4" and although the colour chart looked about right, the paint in the can didn't.

Still, assured that these things can change slightly as they dry, I went away and did some test painting.

Result - Dark stone (Velvet Truffle 3) looks pretty good. Light stone - rubbish.

So, the next day I tried again. This time I had a piece of plasticard I had sprayed with the colour.

Again we scanned and the results were even more laughable than before. So, the helpful assistant and I went through by eye and picked out Soft Almond 3. This looked better in the tin and just as good on the plywood.

So, the message is: Dulux colour scanners are made chocolate teapots but the mixing area is a good place to buy reasonably priced oddball colours in emulsion.