Painting

Painting Services:

• Interior painting
• Exterior painting
• Spraying and rolling
• 24-hour turns
• Texturing and patching
• Hanging, mudding and taping
• Wallpaper removal and skim coat
• Staining and refinishing
• Custom pricing based on floor plan

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Finding the Right Paint for Your Project

Paint Sheen

The novice painter walked into his local paint supply store, approached the counter, and announced, "I need a gallon of blue paint." He soon found himself buried under an avalanche of questions, and wondered to himself "what's the difference? Paint is paint!"

Contrary to popular belief, all paints are not created equal! Ordering paint before you consider the differences is like buying a pair of shoes without bothering to check the size. When choosing paint most people will focus on one consideration.... color; but sheen is just as important! Simply put, sheen is a measurement of paint’s gloss or shine. The amount of light a finish reflects can make your color look dramatically different. Perhaps more importantly, sheen has a significant effect on the performance of the paint.

Flat paint is pretty easy to identify. It reflects very little if any light, so it essentially has no shine. Flat paint is good for hiding surface imperfections and is a good choice for ceilings and slightly damaged walls. It is somewhat washable, but has a bit of a rough feel to it that can grab the fibers of a cleaning rag. Generally speaking, it is less durable than glossier paints. It also doesn't stand up well to humidity and splashing; keep it out of the bathroom and kitchen. The single biggest benefit to flat paint is that you can easily “touch it up”. That means you can paint over a section of a wall and it will match the existing paint pretty well.

Eggshell and Satin paints have pretty similar levels of sheen, but that can differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. These paints are most commonly used in rooms that might see more traffic or areas where contact with the wall are more likely, such as the kitchen or baths. They are rarely ever used on ceilings. The most significant performance difference is that paints with sheen make walls easier to clean. The surface is slicker, so foreign materials will wipe off more easily.

Gloss and semi-gloss paint have a higher sheen than eggshell or satin finishes. These paints are even more resistant to dirt and scuff marks, and easier to clean. This paint is traditionally used in kitchens, bathrooms, and on trim, windows, or doors. Any area that requires regular or vigorous cleaning will benefit from using a gloss or semi-gloss paint. So always go with paint with a sheen right? Well here’s the downside. As sheen increases coverage decreases. Coverage that can be achieved with one coat of flat paint can typically take two or more coats of semi-gloss or gloss paint to produce similar results. More importantly touch-ups with paints with sheen are much more difficult, so if you want to repaint a part of a wall to cover some spots, you are going to need to paint floor to ceiling and corner to corner. The paints have an additive that determines the sheen. If you have more coats of paint on one part of a wall that you do on the rest, that additive is stacked, and it will cause those areas of additional coats to “flash” or shine more than the rest of the wall. If you’ve never seen it, it looks bad, and you’d probably be better off with a big scuff on the wall. The difference in shine is visible from every angle and really draws the eye to it. Paints with sheen will cost more in product and labor to apply, but will last longer and clean up easier. Flat paints won’t hold up as long, but will be easier to touch up. So it’s not quite as easy to pick paint as you thought, but you’ll never regret putting a little extra thought into your next painting project!