Questions

Ever wonder about sheens? What is sheen? What’s the difference between sheens and what’s the protocol? Do I have to use certain sheens in certain places? Is there sheen etiquette? Good news is, it’s not that complicated and you’ll know everything you need to know about sheens by the end of this post!

What is sheen?

Sheen is the amount of light that is reflected from a painted surface at an angle of 85°, unlike gloss, which is very similar, but calculated at a 60° angle. In simple terms, sheen is the  luster, or brightness of a painted surface. A high sheen surface will reflect a lot of light, like a mirror would. Low sheen surfaces would reflect less light, like most types of fabric. The official unit of measurement for sheen is called a gloss unit, and those can be calculated with a glossmeter. A glossmeter will simply shine a set amount of light on a surface at 85° and then measure the amount of light that is reflected into the sensor. It’s science! 

Sheen is adjusted in paint by altering the ratio of adhesive binder to powdery pigment. More binder results in higher sheen whereas more powdery pigment results in less sheen. These illustrations really helped me to visualize how the binder to pigment ratio impacted sheen. As you can see here, all incoming light is coming in at the same angle of 85°.  In order to calculate sheen using a glossmeter, the reflected light would need to bounce back at a negative 85° angle. But, when more powdery pigments are exposed to the surface we can see that light reflects at lots of different angles. 

When the binder ratio is increased, the surface becomes smoother and light reflects at a more uniform angle, resulting in higher sheen surfaces.

Finally, when binder accounts for the entirety of the painted surface, we see high levels of sheen due to the uniform angle of reflection.

Paint Sheen Terms 

Now that you know the fundamentals, like what sheen actually is, it’s time to look at some of the terms that you will see when you shop for paint. Unfortunately there isn’t an easily accessible standardized list of defining the different degrees of sheen according to the percent of light reflected at an 85° angle. 

There is actually an International Standard ISO 1283:2014 that goes over the standardized definitions with regards to paint sheens, but it costs more than $100 and companies use their own terms, so there might not be that much value in buying the international standards. The fact that businesses just use their own standards can make this confusing if you are trying to compare sheens between brands. If you are really serious about comparing different paint sheens between different manufacturers, you can buy a glossmeter and measure sheen for yourself!

Lets look at some of the most common terms that you will hear with regards to sheen, and the rough reflection values that they correspond to. Please keep in mind, I made this graphic based off of four of the biggest paint brands in my area, but the terminology should be similar to that used by the majority of paint companies out there, both big and small.

Is there a practical usage difference between the different sheens?

Yes, because lower sheens reflect less light, they hide imperfections better. So if you know you’re not the best painter, but you’re trying to save a few bucks and paint some rooms that already have a bunch of little dents and nicks in the drywall, go with a flat or matte finish. Maybe you’re trying to refresh the walls in your garage on a budget. This finish would be ideal. 

The downside is that they are difficult to clean, so this might not be the best for use in a high traffic area or if you have kids or pets. That being said, a lot of the newer lines of paints today are advertised as being easy to clean and it’s likely that as time goes on sheen will become more about aesthetic preference rather than a functional choice.

High sheens on the other hand tend to show all the imperfections underneath. That’s because a smooth surface will reflect light in a single direction. A rough surface will reflect light in many directions (like the graphic of the low sheen example above, highlighting all of the gaps, dents or cracks present).

The plus side is that these surfaces are relatively easy to clean, so would be ideal in high traffic areas. An uneven surface will show uneven sheen. That being said, a lot of the newer lines of paints today are advertised as easy to clean and it’s likely that as time goes on and paint technology improves, sheen will become more about aesthetic preference rather than a functional choice. Below is a video we made covering sheen.

What parts of the inside of our house do we see certain types of sheen?

Low sheen – Flats and mattes – Almost all ceilings are painted with flat sheens. It’s also common in living rooms, bedrooms and dining rooms.

Medium sheens – Satin eggshell pearl – You will see it in some of the same areas, maybe in houses with kids or slobbery pets it would be more common. You also see it start to show up in hallways because of its ease to clean in high traffic areas.

Semigloss to  high gloss – Great for mudrooms, kitchens, kid’s playrooms, bathrooms, doors, trim and cabinetry.

Ultimately the choice is up to you. There is no hard rule that says what type of sheen you need to use for a specific area. You can take into consideration how easy to clean the paints are and how reflectivity will highlight imperfections in the paint. The last factor to consider, is that it’s virtually impossible to have touchup work done with high gloss paints due to flashing, or lap marks. Flashing is when you can see the difference in sheens on a single surface.

There are a number of factors that can result in flashing including poor drywall installation or use of different paint types. Flashing can also occur when you improperly apply high sheen paint. One example would be cutting in ceilings. If you brush in the edges around a ceiling before rolling the walls you won’t get flashing. However, if you brush after you roll, you’ll see a difference in sheen. This will also happen if you touch up spots on a high sheen surface. It’s best to paint the whole face at once so that the paint can dry uniformly and provide an even sheen.

Exterior

Exterior is pretty much just flat, satin or eggshell. These no to low sheen paints are ideal because they hide imperfections in the surfaces they are covering and are easier to apply without getting flashing or striping. When using a high sheen paint, it’s important to keep a wet edge. Paint tends to dry so quickly in the summer sun that by the time you have a chance to move your ladder over and start spraying a new line, the previous one has dried already. When using higher sheen paints, this results in a form of flashing, called striping or leaving lap marks, where you guessed it… There are stripes up and down the side of your house. 

It is possible to get the right conditions where it’s not too hot or cold, not too sunny or cloudy, just the right amount of wind and you could pull off a high sheen paint. Painting companies simply aren’t able to accommodate that kind of schedule for the majority of their customers. Another reason that these tend to be common sheens for exterior painting is because HOAs often require no or low luster.

Rough exterior surfaces like brick and stucco are always painted with flat paints. Like I mentioned earlier, high gloss on rough surfaces highlight all of the imperfections, so that’s why these materials are always painted with flat paints. In fact, a good chunk of the stucco products are only produced in flat.

Purchasing

If you’re looking to buy some paint for various parts of your house, you may have to shop around and buy different types of paint. For example, let’s say you are a really big fan of Benjamin Moore’s “Ben”, and you’d like to paint your whole house with that. You find that satin and eggshell you’re looking for but unfortunately, the flat finish in Ben that you were wanting for the ceilings was discontinued. Fortunately Benjamin Moore has a line called ceiling paint. If you are looking for Benjamin Moore’s Ben in flat, it’s still available in some stores, but really was discontinued so go buy ’em up if you’re a fan!

As usual, thanks for reading and feel free to drop any questions in the comments below or shoot us an email.