High Gloss Paint: The Ultimate Guide (Before You Make a Disaster)
A dream house means a lot of things to the ones who dream of a house. We want each and everything done according to how we envision it. A good living room, cozy dining, kitchen, balcony…everything needs to be just as planned. Yes, the color, too, needs to be just as planned.
When talking about the colors of your house, the Paint sheen plays a big role. Wait, you don’t know what paint sheen is? The paint sheen determines how glossy and shiny your paint looks. But that is not all– it also determines the durability, maintenance requirement, and moisture resistance of the paint.
So, if you are planning to use high gloss paint, you should really pay attention to the type of paint sheen and sheen finishes. There are different types of paint sheens offering other qualities and shades of paint to your house.
What Is A High Gloss Paint Sheen?
The high gloss paint sheen adds a new aesthetic to your walls. When you are ready to make a bold statement, you can go for extreme glossiness. But there are more. This paint finish is gleaming and will reflect your picture on the surface you paint it on.
When you want your room to look brighter, you can use a high gloss sheen to make the light bounce off of the wall. Extreme glossiness works best with darker and dull colors. But if you want the light to get absorbed, then the matte versions of the colors work better.
You can apply highly glossy paint to the exterior of your house or to your bathroom. But you must remember to get it done properly. The high gloss sheen extremely highlights the wall. So, if the wall is bumpy and the paint is not smooth, the most minor reflections might look bad.
Here are different sheens and where they suit the best.
| Type Of Paint | Durability | Best For |
| High Gloss | Very high | Bathrooms and exterior walls |
| Semi Gloss | High | Kitchen & living rooms |
| Satin | High durability | Family rooms and children rooms |
| Eggshell | Medium | Living rooms and dining room |
| Matte Paint | Medium or low | Bedrooms |
| Textured Finish | High | Interior walls |
Things You Need To Know Before Using High Gloss Paint
If you want to paint your room with high gloss white paint or similar, you need to know a few things before doing so.
Shines Bright Like A “Glass”
The high gloss shine of the glossy paint gives your walls mirror-like feel as if you can see your own face inside the wall. Especially if you want a little out-of-the-world touch inside the living room, then this is the paint you should choose.
- The high gloss finish is smooth.
- It has a mirror-like charm.
- It works best on the ceiling of your living room.
The High Gloss Paint Talks “Lavish” To Other Finishes
If you have different sheens on the walls of your room, why not pair them up with some high gloss paint? Believe me; they are quite talkative when they are together. The best idea yet would be to pair it up with different sheens of the same color.
- You can balance the dull and dazzling color with a mix of different sheens.
- The best idea is to pair it up with other gloss types.
- The glossy color pops and is suitable for the guest room and the ceiling of the living room.
Make A Contrast With A High Gloss Enamel Paint
You can make a contrastive effect in your house only with different glosses of paints. For example, high gloss paint on the kitchen sink, the cabinet, and the taps can make a bold contrast with the colors and the designs around the room.
- You can add a great accent with glossy paint if you have a flat pink wall.
- When you want a specific part of the interior to stand out, add some glossy paint to it.
Keep It Glossy, And It Will Keep It Clean
I, too, feel that urge to paint a wall completely white. While eggshell paint is what we madly desire, we cannot keep it clean. But if you want that pristine white on the wall, use some high gloss white paint.
- Glossy paints clean easily.
- It is stylish.
- And it is white and clean.
The Most Durable Gloss Goes To…
The high gloss paint is the most durable one. Do you know why the hallways or the family rooms are glossier? Because they are super durable and they are the easiest to clean. High-crowded areas do well with glossy paint as they are more durable and they are easy to clean.
- The exteriors of your house or the bathrooms need more durable paint.
- They make a bold statement and add extra glamor to the walls and the ceiling.
The Advantages Of Using High Gloss Paint
Here are the major advantages of using high gloss paint and why you must consider it…
Durability And Easy-To-Clean
This specific paint type successfully retains its classy and glossy look, along with its vibrant colors. Secondly, you can simply wipe off the dirt as well as smudges, just with the help of a damp cloth. This way, it becomes very easy to maintain in everyday life.
Enhances Aesthetic Appeal
Through high gloss paint, you can achieve a highly polished as well as high-end look that can positively elevate any style of your room.
On top of that, the surface strongly reflects both natural as well as artificial lights, which effectively brightens the entire area.
Light-Reflections
The glossy surface of high gloss paint is excellent in reflecting light. This way, you can make your space look expensive. On top of that, the high glossy paint also helps in enhancing the overall brightness of the room.
On the other hand, the light surface, there will be less need for artificial lighting. This way, you can easily save energy.
Suitable For Certain Areas In Your House
Due to its high resistance to moisture as well as easy-to-clean features, you can use the high gloss paint for your kitchen areas and bathrooms. This way it would be very easy for you to keep the area clean or grease-free.
The high gloss paint is also ideal for trims, moldings as well as doors. The paint will be able to highlight the details in your architecture and can be useful for cleaning and handling.
The Disadvantages Of Using Gloss Paint
If you are planning to use high gloss paint in your home, then you must stay aware of the drawbacks that may occur with high gloss paint.
Highlighting surface imperfections
Yes, you can achieve a high gloss finish for your surface preparation. However, the surface must stay smooth as well as flawless to avoid all the imperfections.
Every single flaw, no matter how small it is, can be accentuated by the high gloss paint. This is the reason why you must avoid highly glossy paint on your old, damaged walls.
Long Drying Time
When you are using high gloss paint, it is crucial to plan for a longer completion timeline. This can affect the overall cost and time needed for the painting project.
Cost Comparison To Other Painting Finishes
The cost associated with the high gloss paint is high. This can make an impact on the overall budget. Now, high-gloss paint also requires you large investment. However, the melodramatic effect and the durable finish are worth the expense.
Requires More Preparations
The process of high gloss paint requires a lot of steps, even before the proper painting process begins. Each and every step is crucial for a perfect application. This is the reason why high gloss paint is also very time-consuming as well as labor-intensive.
The Overview of the Cost Structure Of High Gloss Paint
The high gloss paint can cost around $12 to around $80 per gallon. This is usually more expensive than all the other paints, such as matte and eggshell. The major reason behind the higher price is the formulation that is required to achieve the shiny finish.
When you are calculating the overall cost of painting, it is necessary to consider the following:
- Surface area: Try to measure the area that you want to paint.
- Paint type: Different types of paints come under different types of coverage rates.
- A number of coats: How many paint coatings are needed?
- The overall cost of labor: The overall cost of hiring a painter.
- Clean up: You may even have to pay to clean up after painting.
- Equipment costs: The total cost of any equipment that is needed for the painting purpose.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Here are some popularly asked questions, and I have answered them for you-
These paints are the easiest when it comes to cleaning. You can use these paints on the doors and on your cabinets. When exposed to dirt and oil, you can easily clean them.
There are different types of glosses. High gloss paint contains more than 70 percent gloss, while semi-gloss has 41% to 69% gloss. More glossy paints are easy to clean. The matt paints are great for bedrooms. It depends on where you are using the paint.
The high gloss paint is high sheen paint. It makes the light inside your room bounce off of each other. The gloss paint can make your room look bigger than it appears. These colors work well in the hallways, the exterior, and the bathroom.
Bottom Line
When it comes to coloring your own home, you need to try out the mix of not only different colors but also different sheens. The high gloss paint is great for different parts of the house, like the exterior, the bathroom, and the hallway.
I hope you can better decide where to use glossy paint. If you need any more info, you can ask me in the comment.
Read Also…
All Comments
Deb Armstrong
08th Aug, 2023
Your mode of describing everything in this post is really good, every one be capable of effortlessly understand it, Thanks a lot.
Reply
Gussow
04th Nov, 2023
The post gives a lot of valuable information. I have it extremely useful. Thanks for posting such a comprehensive post.
Reply