Talk To Your Painting Contractor About The Kinds Of Paint Finishes
When you decide that you will have the outside of your house painted, there are a number of choices you will have to make. You have to decide what color you want, if you want accent colors, and if all the walls have the same color. Another thing that you have to think about is what kind of finish you want the paint on your exterior walls to have. You should talk to your painting contractor about the different finishes and find out which one they recommend you use on your walls.
Paint Finish
The finish is also called the sheen. Basically, the paint's finish refers to how much light the paint reflects when it dries. The amount of light that gets bounced back determines how shiny or matte the color looks on the wall. So, what are the most common kinds of finishes that you might see used on exterior walls?
Flat Finish
A flat finish paint does not reflect any light when it is on the wall. It can make your house look shoddy because the finish just doesn't look good on an exterior wall. Another problem with using a flat finish paint on your exterior walls is that the paint is porous, which means that it will absorb water. The fact that the pigment absorbs moisture means that can become the perfect home for mold and mildew which can cause damage to the walls under the color. You also can't clean the paint easily.
Satin Finish
This is probably the most common finish that is found on exterior wall paint. It has a slight shine to it, but not too much. It is like satin fabric, just a little shiny, but not overwhelmingly so. This can be an excellent option if you live in a place that gets a lot of sun because satin finish paints tend to have more UV protection than other kinds of paints, making the color stay longer than it might otherwise. Satin finish paints can also be fairly easily cleaned with just a bit of soap and water, which means you should be able to get the gunk off your paint.
If you are going to have your house painted, talk to the painter to see what kind of finish they recommend you use on the exterior walls of your house. There are several out there; some will work better for your walls than others.
Reach out to a professional house painting contractor to learn more.