Paint type

Barry J

We are painting both my daughters rooms. Was just wondering which type of paint to use, flat, or semi gloss???
In the past we used just flat on our living room.
Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks Barry

Brushjockey

The paints between Flat and semi- ( matte and eggshell mainly) are what i use on most walls. BM regal matte is my fav.

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joecaption

I've found flat to be far harder to clean, great for hiding flaws, but little else.

ltd

daughters room .flat ceiling, satin walls, semi gloss trim

Brushjockey

ltd- whose satin? Makes a diff.
BM's satin I consider a trim paint- closer to a semi. SW's is more like what BM calls matte- so know which co's sheen level you are dealing with. They are not all equal.

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ltd

good point . Sherwin Williams

Grants Painting

I agree there are so many differences. Even within the same MPI#'s

Ultimately the question to the answer is to use a higher gloss for the younger they are. Unless you want to go with a high quality flat which many of those are a Matte finish these days. I use Silken Touch from PPG for a good scuff resistance.

Paint colorant also adds a bit of gloss to the paint. Then there is the fact that darker colors also appear to be more shiny.

This article goes a bit more in depth on paint sheens

Barry J

We are going with Benjamin moore,,, so what I 'm reading is a satin for the walls??

Mr. Paint

MPI sheens, although standardized between manufacturers, have a gloss level range that can vary 2 - 3 degrees. A manufacturer may stay within the lower part or the higher part of the range, sometimes even batch to batch.
I agree with eggshell on the walls and semi-gloss on the trim, flat on the ceiling.

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ric knows paint

Colorants don't add gloss to paints, if anything they take away from the gloss - The reason darker colors appear to be more shiny is because there's not as much pigment to absorb the binder (which is shiny). Which is the same reason darker colors (typically) don't cover as well as light to mid-tone colors - not as much pigment.

So...that'd kind of be a non-sequitur, wouldn't it?

ric knows paint

Hey Mr. Paint - good to see you again.

Grants Painting

Colorants will add gloss to a paint because the colorant by themselves are shiny. Get some and let a dab dry on something, you'll see for yourself.

Darker colors look shinier because the light shining off of them is usually lighter than the color. Its just a trick on the eye.

LOL. I see you looked up the word too.

ric knows paint

um...no, the paint binder is made less glossy by the amount of pigments added to the mix (not only paint colorants) - these pigments then absorb the binder creating a duller surface...while some of these pigments aid in hiding, that's not necessarily their main purpose. But it is the reason that flats typically hide better than flat hide better than sheened products (more pigment).

Typical glycol based colorants (universal colorants) are chalky flat when dry...some of the resin based type of colorants may have a little sheen to 'em, but they won't add to the overall sheen of a product.

Mr. Paint

Thanks ric, I usually can only contribute at work if I have spare time. I have been very busy of late and I think that with upcoming projects I probably will have less free time in the future. I always respect your valuable insights as do many on this forum.

Best Regards, Mr. Paint

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ric knows paint

I appreciate that Mr. Paint - and right back at you. It's always nice to have the perspective of a manufacturer in these discussions.