Selecting The Right Paint

So you are choosing to DIY your painting & decorating project! Find out more about selecting the right paint.

At Swoosh Decor we understand the immense sense of achievement when you finish a home improvement project yourself. But what if it goes wrong? Or you just don’t have the time to finish the job properly?

Hiring professional painters & decorators like Swoosh Decor can save you time, hassle, mess and even money. See more reasons why you should hire a professional painters & decorators.

We are happy to provide a free, no obligation quote for your painting & decorating project. Call us on 01604 926060 or send a message through our contact page.

Still Want To DIY ?

OK, respect to you! At Swoosh Decor we want to help you achieve the best results from your painting & decorating project. So here is another one of our top tips for getting the best out of your project.

Selecting The Right Paint

So you have been looking for inspiration from Pinterest or Instagram for the last 6 months. You have been studying the colour charts from Dulux, Crown, Farrow and Ball etc. to narrow down your colour choices, now you are ready to go. But wait, do you want Matt or Silk for the walls? Do you want Gloss, Eggshell or Satin for the woodwork? And what about water based or solvent based paint – what do you need? Aaaggh!!

If making the correct paint selection brings you out in a cold sweat you would like us to provide you with a free, no obligation quote then get in touch

Selecting the Right Paint - Matt or Silk

Emulsion paints used for walls and ceilings tend to come in a choice of Matt or Silk finish although chalky finishes which offer an ultra matt finish have become popular in recent years, especially for the darker / heritage type colours.

Which one you choose is ultimately up to you and your preferences. Some people prefer the duller look offered by a Matt finish where some find the practical wipeable nature of Silk a better option, especially where young children or animals are concerned.

Matt Finish

A Matt finish in our opinion looks a little more “classy”. It offers a duller, flatter, velvety finish than the shinier Silk. This finish helps to hide imperfections in the wall or ceiling surface as it does not reflect light as readily. It offers a great depth of colour and is generally the standard sheen for walls and ceilings, particularly for bedrooms, living rooms, hallways etc.

On the downside, it tends to mark much more easily than Silk. There are wipeable / more durable Vinyl Matt paints available but they still tend to mark quite easily and so semi-regular maintenance may be required to keep your room looking good. In our opinion this is a small price to pay for a quality looking finish.

Silk Finish

Silk offers a shinier more durable finish. With it having a sheen, it will reflect light sources more than Matt which can highlight imperfections.

Silk is somewhat more durable however, and is often used in for demanding environments such as kitchens, canteens, locker rooms, bathrooms etc.

Silk finish repels water splashes and is easier to clean with a damp cloth than its Matt equivalent.

Selecting the Right Paint - Eggshell, Satinwood and Gloss

It is not advisable to use wall and ceiling emulsion paints on woodwork. Woodwork tends to get more knocks and so needs to be more hard wearing. Woodwork paints are often solvent based rather than water based, and when properly cured (dried) they provide a much tougher surface. Generally, the glossier the finish, the more hardwearing it is due to the formulation of the paint.

Again there are different levels of shininess for woodwork paint and the three main finishes are Eggshell, Satinwood and Gloss.

Which one you choose is ultimately up to you and your preferences.

Eggshell

Eggshell is the least shiny of the woodwork paint finishes. It is named as you might expect from its’ resemblance to the surface of the shell of an egg. It does not reflect as much light as it’s Satinwood and Gloss counterparts and which many would say gives a more classy appearance..

However, it is less hard wearing than other woodwork finishes and so is not advisable for use in high traffic areas,

Satinwood

Satinwood paint offers a finish with a slight sheen but not the full on shiny effect of gloss. It is often refererred to as a “Mid-Sheen”. Satinwood offers a good combination of durability and class. For many people Satinwoood is the woodwork finish of choice for their home.

When using White paint, Satinwood will retain it’s brightness for longer than solvent based Gloss due to the lower concentration of solvents which tend to yellow over time. There are also water based Satinwood and Gloss paints which stay whiter for longer but see below for more information.

Gloss

Finally Gloss paint offers the most glossy / shiny finish and is the most hard wearing once properly dry but it has become less popular in more recent time with people for their homes.

Whilst hardwearing, the shiny finish reflects much more light than Satinwood and Eggshell finishes and to many this is a less desirable quality. It does of course depend on the application. High traffic areas (such as commercial applications) or where the paintwork will be handled regularly such as stair banisters may warrant the use of good quality gloss paint.

Selecting the Right Paint - Water Based or Solvent Based Paint

In general the Emulsion paint used for internal walls and ceilings is water based and this provides an easy to use paint, that can be thinned with plain water and that dries quickly (typically a couple of hours before another coat can be applied). It is also easy to clean up any minor spills and splashes and to clean brushes and rollers after use.

In the past, woodwork paints were nearly always solvent based. These provide a hardwearing finished surface but are more problematic in their use (especially for amateur DIYers). Solvent based paints take much longer to dry. It is usually advised to leave 24 hours between coats. They need solvent based solutions such as White Spirit to thin the paint and to clean up spills and equipment, and if not cleaned properly the brushes will harden and be rendered useless.

So should you use water based paints for your woodwork? They are certainly easier to work with, and to clean up. If using white paint, water based tends to stay whiter for longer too . However, water based paint has a lower opacity than solvent based paints. What this means is that water based paints are more “translucent” and so you will generally need more coats to achieve a good solid finish. A water based paint may need 3-4 coats where a solvent based paint may need only 1-2, so you painting time will be much reduced.

If a quick drying time is more important to you, then water based may be a good solution but if you want a good quality, hardwearing paint finish we would still recommend solvent based paint for woodwork.