Types of Paint Sheens: Semi-Gloss & Gloss

There’s a rule of thumb to follow when picking paint sheens: The greater the sheen, the greater the shine. The greater the shine, the more resilient it is.

Flat paint doesn’t have shine, but gloss has lots of shine. When it comes to satin, semi-gloss, and eggshell, each has its own decorative, practical task to do. 

Here’s how to pick the correct paint sheen for your home painting project.
 
Paint Sheen: Semi-Gloss & Gloss
Semi-gloss sheens are the most resilient. These finishes produce a slightly reflective, smooth finish that is enduring. It’s a good option for kids’ rooms, bathrooms and other spaces where pets and children spend a lot of time.

Semi-Gloss
Suitable for rooms where grease stains challenge walls and moisture drips. Also excellent for trim work that takes a lot of mishandling.

• Practical application: trim, chair rails, bathrooms, kitchens,
• Durability: high

 
Gloss
High gloss finishes have the best reflective sheen. This sheen can be used practically anywhere you want to make a special, unique atmosphere. Though, surface prep is vital. This sort of paint highlights each bump and lump. High gloss paint is a good option for cabinets, doors, trim, and places that get dirty easily.

High Gloss
The simplest to clean and most resilient of any paint sheens, high-gloss paint is shiny, light-reflecting, and hard. Think appliance - paint is durable.

High gloss is an excellent option for spaces that deal with a lot of touching, like doors, trim, and cabinets. However, high-gloss delivers way too much shine for interior walls. Like spandex, you can see every roll. This means you indeed can’t be scanty when it comes to prep work.

• Practical application: window trim, doors, kitchen
• Durability: very high

 
 
Tips for selecting the right sheen
If your paint color is rich and dark, but you don’t want a real shiny effect, go one level down on the sheen scale. This is due to the darker and richer the paint color is, the more substantial amount of colorant it has, boosting its sheen level.

Raising the sheen also raises the cost, typically a dollar or two per gallon as you go up on the sheen scale.

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