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Flat/Matte sheen for walls?

12K views 53 replies 21 participants last post by  Tlapaints  
#1 ·
What do you think of flat or matte sheen for walls? I know that it can hide flaws/imperfections better, but does it look lifeless ,boring, etc...
 
#15 ·
Last year I was painting for a couple on a new construction job and the wife decided to help out and move things along by painting some of the rooms herself. She used a gallon off the mistint shelf. Advance high gloss in a very exciting pink over brand new drywall that was primed but the primer hadn't been sanded or dusted yet. It looked absolutely awful. Shortly after that she decided to keep helping by prepainting the trim. Shortly after that I walked off the job.
 
#37 ·
Ultimately it's up to what the customer themselves want. I guess you can sell sheens to a certain degree, but I've put up say, satin on walls where I've wanted a matte. Oh well. Sometimes the worst thing to do is try to talk a customer out of a sheen they want, but sometimes it's the best thing, too. Hard on that front.

One thing I think to consider is with sheen and perception of color, besides the issue of often a deep base ending up a higher sheen than advertised due to more pigment, a room in the same color can look very different in flat, eggshell, or satin or semi-gloss, and be essentially a different color due to the way light bounces around the room. I would say in some situations if you wanted to go flat or matte, you might be better going 1-2 shades lighter in color compared to the same color in satin, because the color's perception is going to be different just from the change in sheen, with a darker color in a higher sheen presenting basically as a brighter color due to light reflectivity.

Personally, to me, the finest looking paint around for a wall is Regal Matte. I love the BM matte finish. It seems to work and look good everywhere and on any surface.
 
#51 · (Edited)
Just a little update. We used Regal Select EggShell and have them mixed in SW Shoji White. It turned out beautiful, very happy customers!. I hav always used SW Cashmere or Promar 200 due to large discount I got from them but now maybe using BM more for high end jobs. It tends to dry a little faster than SW paint but something to get used to.

Does Regal Select EggShell touch up well? How does Regal Select look in Matte and touch up capability? Any insight is greatly appreciated for my next job (hopefull soon.) May even paint my sister's home now with it... What do you recommend for Trim/Doors, and cabinets besides Regal Semi Gloss that we just used?