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Painting Walls – Do You Want a Smooth Commercial Look or an Architectural Look for the Home?
Painting walls is something I will be doing a lot of in the next month. An old customer of mine is renovating his offices on two levels. He is installing new carpet and wants us to paint the walls and add a darker color for an accent wall in each office. The last time I painted for him I used a matte finish that was super washable. The only trouble is, is that nobody seems to wash the hand marks off the high traffic areas so why use a washable low sheen matte? Why not go with a more commercial looking, smooth finish like a satin sheen offers? Also, when I was on the lower level, the original paint job felt really smooth. I checked out the left over paint in the back room and it was a satin finish. It looked like a commercial grade satin but it had a high wash ability, a high hide and high touch up ability to it according to the manufacturer’s label on the side of the 5-gallon bucket. Here Are Some Tips for Doing A Good Job Painting Walls 1.) I like the smooth feel for commercial use. I want to ask the customer if he would like the higher gloss (satin) instead of the more architectural look of the matte finish, which appears more like a flat. 2.) In your home you will want to use a washable flat or matte finish. Oil base flat is a smooth creamy flat that washes well. If you use a latex paint a high quality matte finish is the answer. 3.) Using 3/8” or ½” shed-resistant roller covers work best. Wooster, Purdy and AllPro have excellent roller covers. For best results, always apply two coats of paint on the walls for a uniform finish. Wait four hours between coats. 4.) On new drywall I will use a quality wall primer. I will tint it to the finish coat’s color for good coverage. You can use a quality wall primer all the time if you wish as a first coat. It also helps to bring out the sheen level of the final coat. 5.) When doing commercial jobs a satin finish does look good. When painting your walls at home a matte (latex) or a flat (oil base) look really good. After all, you don’t want to sit around your home and look at shiny walls.
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