Exterior painting Amador County, CA: Satin or flat?
Exterior painting Amador County, CA: Satin or flat?
When painting the exterior of your home in Amador County, CA, which paint sheen should you use – flat or satin?
Since the exterior of your home is subject to major stresses such as rain, snow, UV rays, and physical impact, this question is even more important than if you were considering painting the interior of your home.
Flat Sheen on the exterior: sophisticated finish but difficult to maintain
How it feels:
When you pass your hand over a flat finish, you have the impression porous and unpainted cardboard, slightly chalky and dry.
What does it look like?
The flat finish has a soft, velvety appearance. It will not highlight bumps and minor nicks like a shiny coat. Many owners consider flat finish to have a more contemporary and modern look.
Advantages and disadvantages:
Pro: The flat finish has a huge selling point: no overlap. The matte finish means you can abandon the second coat or spray near another existing painted wall and not worry about the overspray tarnishing the existing coat.
Con: The flat exterior is nearly impossible to clean. However, you can scrub flat finish with TSP or use a water pressure washer. Better yet, apply another coat of paint. Owners of exterior homes with a flat finish tend to have an extra gallon on hand for quick fixes.
Satin Sheen for the exterior finish: your sustainable choice
What does it look like?
Satin finish looks like the ‘cardboard’ mentioned above, but with a light coating of wax on it.
The satin exterior has a low sheen, with minor reflective qualities.
The colors will be slightly richer than with the flat finish.
Advantages and disadvantages
Pros: The satin paint can be wiped off easily when cleaning. If you want a slightly more chic look, choose satin sheen.
Cons: When applying, you will need to pay attention to overlapping bands and dull appearance. As you would with interior paint, keep a wet edge.
Also, improperly mixed paint can create an uneven overall shine, since the solids that produce the satin appearance can sink.
Boxing your paint (the process of mixing several different cans into one) or taking the paint to the store for machine mixing are two solutions to this problem.
Our recommendation
All things considered, the satin finish is preferable for outdoors. It satisfies basic maintenance points while providing a pleasing appearance that appeals to the widest range of buyers.
The choice, however, is based on your situation. Factors to consider:
Do you want to paint the house yourself? If not, you don’t need to worry about overlap. Professional painters can flawlessly apply all kinds of paint. If they make a mistake, they are responsible and you can expect they will fix it.
Do you have children? Just like you would choose a washable finish for the interior, the same applies to your exterior. Ideally, satin or semi-gloss are the best options.
If your exterior is riddled with texture-related imperfections, the satin finish will help hide them.
Do you want to finish your project with more ease? The flat sheen will help because the shine will always be consistent. Remixing and boxing would then be used only to maintain color consistency.
Need Help Repainting Your Home Exterior?
If you require exterior home painting in Amador County, California, our team at Michael Hines Painting can help.
Please give us a call at 209.256.4587 or email us any time to schedule a meeting so we can discuss your needs.
You May Also Like:
Galt House Painter, our other painting company serving Galt, CA. Still full of high-quality painting with the best finish so visit now!
