Picking The Right Paint Is The Key?

Where, what, and why will determine the quality & sheen that is best for your job!

There are many reason why a home may need to be painted from turning a rental over to decorating the baby's room. Here we will discuss the pros and cons of different types of paint, sheen's and applications for each! The paint you may choose for your  own home versus a rental or a flip are all going to be different.

Paint Basics

Cost Vs Quality- Generally the more you spend the better coverage you will get out of one coat. So if you are operating the sprayer or the brush factor your time into equation. With a high quality paint you may well be able to do just one coat if the under layer is a similar or light color! That said, if you are painting over a dark color and you will need two coats anyway, you may save some cash by buying the cheap stuff. Additionally with advances in paint technology there are some of the high end paints in duller finishes that have a high scrubability score. That means if you have a high end rental and want the warm soft look look of an eggshell. It might be worth the money to buy the better paint that you can clean up when you needs to flip it. Saving the cost of a repaint while getting the better look of the eggshell, which would hopefully make renting easier and for more money.

Sheen Means Shine

Flat Sheen– Flat is dull as a stick of wood. No shininess at all.
Matte Sheen– Matte will reflect very little light and will have a smoother feel than flat.
Eggshell Sheen– This is where the shine begins, but only minimal amounts will be noticed. The wall may pic up a little color from nearby objects.
Satin Sheen– Satin finishes are slick and shiny enough that you begin to be able to scrub off the kids finger prints rather than paint over them.
Semi-Gloss Sheen– Think trim, the shine of the semi gloss really make it pop if you are reselling and really make it easy to clean.
Gloss Sheen– If you can hold a pencil up to the wall and see a distinct reflection, you have a gloss sheen.
High Gloss Sheen– Only in oil based paints will you be able to get a high gloss finish, reflects like a mirror.

Durability vs Looks

Typically there is a trade off between using a dull finish to hide the imperfections in the paintable surface and the cleanability or the ability to scrub clean a painted surface. The more imperfections you want to hide in a wall the duller the finish. If your sheetrocker is a god you can go with a higher gloss finish and enjoy the ability to scrub it clean rather than repaint again later!

Best Sheen For Bathrooms

Eggshell would be a minimum sheen level for Bathrooms. 

 Best Sheen For Walls

Any sheen will work for walls, with eggshell providing a good trade of between looks and the ability to clean them up

 Best Sheen For Dark Colors

Dark colors should never be flat and will seem a bit shinier than there rating.

Only Sheen For Ceilings

Flat, flat and flat again

Best Sheen For Areas With High Traffic

Lets face it high grade paints hold up and clean up better than there less expensive counter parts. For high traffic areas if you go with cheap paint you have no choice but to use a satin or a semi gloss.

Best Sheen For Trim

Trim should make your whole paint job pop. You want it to be at least 2 levels above the adjacent wall color. So if your walls are eggshell, then a semi gloss would be the ticket. If the trim is new and with few dents and nicks you can even go up to high gloss. If it is an older home or a rental with a lot of distressing in the trim then you may be better served to back of to a satin.