Flat paint

leeddsd

Someone gave us 5 gallon of flat paint. I hate flat paint because we have kids, and pets. Is it possible to add/mix gloss paint of equal amounts (1gal. flat + 1gal. gloss = 2gal. semi-gloss) to end up with a semi-gloss paint? I would like to use this up. Any suggestions would be helpful.

USP45

I am not a painter by trade, but I thought I once heard there was something you could add to flat paint to make it more scrubable.

End Grain

I'm no expert but this is what I've learned or come across on the subject over the years. Some will say it's okay as long as the paints are within the same product category and from the same manufacturer and earmarked specifically for interior. The caveat is that exterior paints generally have additional chemicals or higher concentrations of additivies in them to combat mildew and such and are therefore not appropriate for indoor use. From what I have read, even if you mix the two very, very thoroughly and in a specific ratio that you can reproduce as needed, there's still a chance of inconsistency in the finish where certain spots will have little or no or different sheen when the paint dries. It has something to do with the specific qualities inherent within each paint. That's about all I can contribute to the topic.

troubleseeker

Save yourself from lots of wasted labor, buy the right paint. That is like believing that one gallon of black and one gallon of white equals two gallons of grey , or if you want pink, just add white to some red paint.

sirwired

Unless somebody just gave you a fiver of Duration or Aura, I would just get rid of the stuff on Craigslist. I do not think you really want to be experimenting with paint chemistry on your walls, unless you feel like doing the job all over again if it doesn't turn out.

SirWired