Semi-gloss paint It's not advisable to use on surfaces with imperfections since she says the light reflectance will accentuate those flaws.
Flat paint has a velvety, matte look and is the best choice to hide any wall imperfections.
2. Durability: Semi-gloss paint is more durable than satin paint. However, if dings, dents, or blemishes appear, they will be more noticeable with a glossy finish.
Although it does not cover the blemishes like flat does, it is much more durable. It is better to scrub and clean from markings while is tolerable to rooms with high moisture. Consequently, semi-gloss paint is great for high traffic and high used areas in your home.
Satin is preferred for painting walls, as it hides imperfections much better than semi-gloss paint. The flatter the paint, the more hidden imperfections are, but durability is sacrificed by going too flat.
A paint that has high coverage and a thick texture, such as our Claypaint or Lifestyle emulsions, will even out any hairline cracks and slightly bumpy surfaces. Both products can go over a multitude of wall substrates.
Semi-gloss has a much brighter and more noticeable sheen than satin. Light reflects off of semi-gloss easier than satin, since satin has a flatter finish. This makes semi-gloss a more appropriate paint for the fine trimmings of your house: railings, cabinets, crown molding, etc.
Semi-gloss paint explained
Less shiny with a lower sheen than high-gloss, semi-gloss is still more glossy than satin and isn't advised for use on interior walls. It's ideal for woodwork in high traffic areas such as entryways, living areas, dining rooms, kitchens, powder rooms and children's rooms and playrooms.
Semi-gloss paint is perfect for rooms where moisture, drips, and grease stains often end up on the walls—like your kitchen or bathroom. It's durable paint and can be easily scrubbed clean of any imperfections due to its high level of sheen—which also makes it the perfect choice for kids' bedrooms and playrooms.
Even more reflective than satin with a smooth sheen, semi-gloss paint gives rooms a shiny, sleek appearance. Because it offers high resistance to moisture, it works well in areas with higher humidity, such as bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms, as well as high-traffic spaces like doors and utility rooms.
Patchiness usually happens if you don't use enough paint, or apply it unevenly. Using a touch more paint, and painting in small sections one at a time, usually does the trick. Also, rolling in a grid fashion will get you an even finish too. But, sometimes, changes in the gloss level leave things patchy.
The secret to eliminating streaks in your semigloss paint is not always how you apply it; it could be what you put in it. Add a conditioner to the paint to increase its leveling power. Paint conditioners are made for either water- or oil-based paints and can be found at your local hardware store.
Why it happens: Uneven or blotchy paint occurs when you've either skipped priming or not adequately primed your wall before painting. This can also result from not applying enough coats of paint to get a uniform finish.
Flat finish is also known as matte finish and has the least amount of shine. Because it doesn't reflect light, it's the best choice to hide any imperfections like bumps or small cracks on walls. It also goes on smoother over rough surfaces, so it's a good option for textured walls.
Polycell BaseCoat is a unique undercoat for walls that completely covers all common wall imperfections in one easily applied coat.
Paint the ceiling a dark color to hide any imperfections. While darker paint can sometimes make a room appear smaller, dark paint also reflects much less light than paler paint shades, therefore making imperfections virtually unnoticeable.
If your space has huge windows and lots of natural light, a flat paint finish can work well. If you want something more shiny and reflective, choose satin or semi-gloss. If you don't want your walls totally lustrous, you can paint trim or crown molding with a semi-gloss sheen.
The traditional choice for painting doors, trims and skirting boards has always been oil based gloss because it's practical and hardwearing. Gloss paint holds up better for cleaning. Doors and the trims can get grubby which makes gloss type paints the preferred option, but some argue it's outdated.
The high gloss option will produce the highest shine possible; the semi-gloss category falls in between a high gloss finish and a zero gloss finish (matte). Though not as intense as a full gloss finish, semi-glossy photos do make photo colors pop, but with the benefit of less light reflection.
Paint becomes sticky and tacky when it isn't able to dry thoroughly. Paint has trouble drying when the air is overly humid, or the weather is extremely hot or cold. Also, paint can have trouble drying if applied in thick coats.
It depends on the surface you are painting. For interior walls in high-traffic spaces like a mudroom, satin or eggshell finishes work best. Flat or matte finishes work best for most ceilings and semi-gloss is recommended for interior trim and doors.
Semi-gloss paints are ideal for surfaces and fittings, such as doors, trim, window casings, door frames, baseboards, and even retouching and restoration of furniture pieces, cabinets, built-ins, etc. This type of paint also works well for rooms with high-humidity levels, such as kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms.
As a result of the way light reflects, the same paint color may appear slightly darker in a semi-gloss finish and slightly lighter in a satin one.
Semigloss is the best paint finish for interior doors and trim. The reason being, semi-gloss can take up quite an abuse and stand up to nicks and scrapes better than any other sheen, flat or eggshell finish. The large surfaces gather dust just like your furniture.
A gloss finish used to be a preference as it was hard wearing. But due to paint technology rapidly moving on in recent years, this isn't the case anymore with just gloss paints. One drawback when using a shiny gloss paint, if your woodwork is old the high sheen can be less forgiving and highlight imperfections.