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Exterior Paint Sheens
In one of our earlier blogs, we discussed interior paint sheens and tips on where they are best applied. In today’s edition, we’ll discuss exterior paint sheens! Like interior paints, exterior paints are available in a variety of sheens. The tips below will help you choose the best sheen for your exterior surfaces.
Flat
Like its interior counterpart, flat exterior paint is appropriate on more blemished or uneven surfaces, as its low sheen conceals imperfections. This is why we tend to use flat exterior paints on older homes, especially those with cedar siding. Cedar siding tends to be a rougher surface and this is more easily covered with a flat sheen. While a high-quality flat paint is still durable and washable, it’s not as easy to clean as its higher-sheen counterparts. It also will not stand up quite as well to abrasion. All in all, flat is still a great choice for the exterior body/siding of a house.
Favorite products: Benjamin Moore MoorLife Flat, Benjamin Moore Aura Flat
Low Lustre/Satin
This sheen is known as Low Lustre in most of the Benjamin Moore product lines and Satin in Sherwin Williams lines. Low Lusture or Satin is our most commonly used exterior paint sheen. We often use this sheen for the main body/siding of a house or building exterior. This sheen provides a soft finish that looks great on siding in good condition. Without being too shiny, it’s also ideal for surfaces that must be cleaned occasionally.
Favorite products: Benjamin Moore MoorGard Low Lustre, Benjamin Moore Aura Exterior Low Lustre, Sherwin Williams Emerald Satin
Semi-Gloss/Gloss and High-Gloss
Gloss sheens require skillful application. Even as professional painters, we seldom use gloss paint on exteriors due to its tendency to amplify imperfections on the surface. Keep the condition of your siding in mind before selecting a gloss sheen. However, glossier sheens are more washable, resisting dirt and cleaning up much more easily. A gloss sheen may be the perfect choice on accents like shutters and doors where added shine is a benefit. And the shiniest of all, High-Gloss provides the richest colors and highest level of washability. But as you may have guessed, it magnifies surface imperfections more than any other paint.
Favorite product: Benjamin Moore Aura Semi-Gloss
What about Stain?
Stain products also come in varying sheens as described above. They also come in different opacities, such as Clear, Semi-Transparent, and Solid. A clear or translucent finish will allow the natural beauty of the wood to display as much as possible. Semi-Transparent is a great option to add some subtle color or darkness. Solid stain is a great option when the highest level of coverage is needed. Solid stain offers the most in terms of masking imperfections, and like paint, can be tinted virtually any color.
Favorite products: Benjamin Moore ArborCoat Solid Body Stain, WoodScapes Exterior Solid House Stain, Sikkens/ProLuxe Cetol SRD Semi-Transparent
Comments
very informative info… thanks
Thank you for posting this informative article
We are a small town suburb painters and we get this question a lot. Thank you for posting this important information.
Thanks for giving this very useful information.