matte v. eggshell

matte ... you can hedge your bet by using a "flat enamel" latex.

I like matte, matte is good

stay as flat as you can be happy with, unless whatever you are painting is near-perfect, and your painter is meticulous

i did walls once in eggshell and liked it much, but they had just been skim-coated

If you dont skim your walls or if they half the slighest imperfections i would go Matte everytime

My walls are far from perfect because I didn't skim coat. But they were decent. I dislike chalkiness of matte. Against contractor advice, I went eggshell. I love it. The very slight sheen is just right. By a quart of each and test them out if you really aren't sure. Pick an especially imperfect area of the wall for them and see what you think.

Kyle,

You don't mind seeing the imperfections?

The imperfections weren't (aren't) especially noticeable with the eggshell in the type of light we get apparently. Realize, I'm here mostly in the early morning and evenings. Not midday when I suppose the light may hit differently. But with my southern and eastern exposures, the light just doesn't seem to highlight the imperfections in my particular apartment. So much of this dependent upon light, so blanket rules for paint should always just be a starting point, imo. Also, painting is done when the place is empty and the imperfections that are apparent often all but disappear once you actually furnish and decorate the place--your eye doesn't focus on the walls. If they are an utter mess, that's different. But many walls are fine enough without the expense and mess of skim coating.

Of course, I like the greater washability of eggshell and the aesthetics of the slight sheen.

Flat. Windex and paper towel cleans most small scoffs.

The sheen is great but most of my clients homes would not look so nice with the eggshell finish, unless we do a level 5 skim I try to stay away from it.

I think the best way to decide is to do some tests on a few 3x3 spots with the matte and eggshell right next to each other.

for test and any app, youd best use a fine roller to the edge of all wall planes--brush marks look bad too

dont get me wrong--i prefer eggshell and even schreuder gloss where surfaces are near-perfect

"Flat. Windex and paper towel cleans most small scoffs."

And it'll clean that flat paint right off the walls, too.

That rarest of moments: Matthew is correct.

A few drops of nonautomatic dish detergent in a whole lot of water is far preferable. Light circular application with a sponge. That goes for any sheen.

but, hey, the stain will be gone

Eggshell for walls, semi gloss or satin for trim and doors. Eggshell can be cleaned easily.

Satin for walls. Semi-gloss for trim and doors. Eggshell strictly for ceilings that will never be touched.

Great to see that everyone agrees :)

Flat for ceiling. Not eggshell.

Consensus: paint to taste.

chocolate with pumpkin accent wall

Flat for ceiliing, however if you can afford venetian plaster for the ceiling that is a great way to go

I'm currently doing flat ceilings in living and bedrooms, eggshell on all walls (new construction only been painted once before-very good shape), eggshell in bathroom, kitchen and closet ceilings, and semi-gloss on doors and baseboards.

I think it's personal preference in a lot of ways...kind of surprised to see so much anti-eggshell sentiment here. Seems like eggshell is much easier to clean, too, which was definitely part of our consideration.

NYC10007: the anti-eggshell isn't so much people against the slight sheen which can be quite nice. It is that once any sheen is introduced, light is more likely to reflect in such a way as to highlight imperfections. If the light hits it wrong, the spackled over picture hook hole will show as will any imperfect taping of the drywall, dried past paint drips, nicks, etc.

Eggshell has no sheen.

You're thinking of *satin*.

Eggshell is terrible for anything but ceilings.

I don't even know what satin is. What's satin?

Matthew, WRONG.

Eggshell is a step in the sheen-level progression, just above flat, the only possible exception being "flat enamel", which is a teensy bit sheenier than flat.

Afro-Sheen is terrible for ceilings ... is that what you meant to write?

happyrenter, satin is a gloss-level indication used for flooring, not paint, and corresponds approximately with semi-gloss.

A microfiber cloth with just water will remove just about any dirt.
Can't vouch for the finish but test in a small area first. But I cant imagine microfiber harming or removing any level of paint.

Satin is a finish offered by at least Benjamin Moore if not others. Their sheens are (from flattest to most shiny)
Flat/matte
Eggshell
Satin/Pearl
Semi-gloss
Gloss

Not every BM paint product is available in all sheens. Matte and Pearl, for example, are traditionally available only in their non-water-based lines if I recall correctly. Flat and Satin would be the water-based equivalents.

Their website has a lot of information, such as this excerpt: "Eggshell & Satin -
The slight sheens of eggshell and satin reveal color with a softly polished glow with an easy-to-clean surface that's great for all high-traffic areas including living rooms and hallways. This is also a great product for colored ceilings to help reflect some light onto the color."

Benjamin Moore website: http://www.benjaminmoore.com/bmpsweb/portals/bmps.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=fh_findproducts&cachebuster=Wed%20Apr%2013%2012:12:15%20EDT%202011

I stand corrected ... plus Behr and Valspar also offer satin.

I was thinking of the flat/matte designations in walls/floors (respectively).

I have eggshell walls throughout my apartment - love it. Very, very,very low sheen, almost imperceptible. Actually visible only with light hitting walls in a particular way. Super cleanable (though the paint used was oil-based, which is no longer available).

"Super cleanable (though the paint used was oil-based, which is no longer available)."

Duh. That's why -- it's OIL-based.

Latex eggshell is as delicate as real eggshells.

"Latex eggshell is as delicate as real eggshells"

WTF?

Matt - then you'll be happy to know there is a company still making oil-based eggshell. It's Little and Greene, though, since the "stockist" is Zoffany in the D&D building, I cannot begin to imagine how much the stuff costs. Even Farrow and Ball bowed to environmental pressure and discontinued their oil-based paint.

What's so anti-environment about oil?

Oil base paint is being phased out to comply with EPA regulations,it varies state to state.

Don't worry, Matthew -- you can still sniff glue.