House Paint Finishes

If you’ve never stepped into a paint store or the paint section of your local home improvement store, then prepare to be overwhelmed by choices – and I’m not just talking about paint colors. When I went in to pick out a simple light blue color for our bathroom, the store employee immediately started shooting off types of finishes to find out which I wanted. Of course, I had no idea at the time. Now I do so let me share some basic definitions with you:

·Matte (flat finish) – Very basic finish that does not reflect light
·Flat enamel – A more durable version of matte
·Eggshell – Very low sheen like an egg – more durable than matte
·Satin – Has a smooth, velvet look and is easy to clean
·Semi-Gloss – Has a nice shine to it but requires the walls be prepped
·Gloss – Very shiny, almost reflective

The finish you pick should depend on what you are painting. Matte, flat enamel, and eggshell are good choices for most of the walls in your home. They cover nicely and aren’t distracting from the rest of your décor. Satin finishes work very nicely in bathrooms and kitchens – they stand up well under cleaning and give a beautiful look to these rooms which are already some of the most important in the house. Satin also works well for children’s homes.

Semi-glass and gloss are better choices for painting trim, cabinets, and other small areas which could use a dramatic look. You want to be careful about choosing these finishes for larger jobs because if your wall has any imperfections they will stand out with this type of paint.

Choosing House Paint

Whether you’re choosing an interior or an exterior paint, you’ll find they generally break down into two categories: latex and oil-based. Most of the paint sold today is the latex variety because it’s easier to clean up after, easier to apply, has less odor, and dries faster than oil-based types. On the other hand, you may want to choose an oil-based paint if you’re working with an area already covered in several layers of oil-based paint or if you are painting an exterior with a lot of chalking. Otherwise, latex is probably your best choice.

Also, remember to pay attention to whether you are getting an interior or an exterior paint. Exterior paints are formulated for greater resistance against the elements so they are your best choice for outdoor painting. That greater resistance doesn’t mean they would be a good choice inside your home, however. When it comes to paint, always remember to pick the one that’s made for the job you have to do – you’ll get better results.

House Painting Tips: Pick the Right Paint for the Job

As you may already know, paints come in different finishes. Each finish has different properties that make it ideal in certain situations. Therefore try matching the right finish for the needs of each room. In our children’s rooms we chose egg shell paints because they look nice and clean up well. Dirty handprints wash right off without messing up the paint. The kids’ rooms were also not very brightly lit so the shininess of the paint helped brighten up the rooms.

Our dining room was a bit small so we chose high gloss paint. All of the light pouring in from the French doors leading onto the patio reflected off the paint and made the room feel huge. Thankfully, the walls were in good shape since high glass paints do have a tendency to show imperfections.

I was going to choose a flat paint for the master bathroom because the walls were slightly worn and a flat finish is good for covering up these problems. However, flat finishes are also notoriously difficult to clean and bathrooms have a tendency to need a great deal of cleaning. Instead, I did some wall patching and chose a semi-gloss. We ended up choosing a satin finish in the kitchen, living room, and hallways even though it’s one of the more expensive choices. This type of finish is very durable which is nice in these busy areas.

Interior Painting Tips

If you do much do-it-yourself work, then you’ve probably already learned the importance of having the right tools for the job. The same is true for interior painting. We started off trying to use a paint sprayer in our bedroom but because of the room’s size it just didn’t deliver the look we were looking for. Once we switched to traditional rollers, the paint job looked beautiful.

Another tip is to make sure you take the time to prepare the walls before you paint. You need to wash the walls thoroughly with a mixture of hot water and mild detergent. Let the walls dry then go through and patch up any sections that are flawed. Make sure you use sandpaper to sand down the patched areas.

Make sure to place drop cloths around the room to protect the floor and carpeting from the paint. No matter how careful you are accidents do happen. It’s a good idea to purchase blue painters’ tape to protect your molding, your door knobs, window frames, light switches, etc. The tape can be removed easily and won’t do any damage.

Don’t forget to get everything you need before starting. Running out of paint in the middle of the job can result in poor quality results and that’s definitely not what you want. If you’re not sure how much paint you’ll need, ask a professional at the paint store for advice. And remember if you’re in doubt it’s better to have too much paint than not enough.

What happens when you clean your brush all the paint slim that collects in the brush that doesn’t get washed out settles to the end of the bristles. You can wash the brush forever but it is almost impossible to get everything out.

A way to prevent crusty and stiff bristles is to store the brush upside down with the tip of the brush pointing towards the ceiling after washing it. This way all the stuff that didn’t get washed out will settle in the handle area to dry. This allows the tip to remain soft and pliable and will add years to your brush. Be sure to store your brush in the package it can with after it dries. This will also keep the bristles clean and together add years to your brush.