How To Make Flat Paint More Durable!

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Flat paint is becoming more and more popular for home decoration due to it being so good at hiding imperfections on the painted surface with ease. With the increased popularity of flat paint as well as there being a large amount of contradicting information out there about it, we have noticed more and more questions being asked on a regular basis about how you can get the most out of your flat paint.

One of the more popular questions that we have noticed being asked time and time again is based around how to make flat paint more durable due to regular flat paint being one of the least durable paint formulas on the market. This is due to the lack of gloss in the paint as well as some other ingredients that decrease the durability of the paint to prevent it from reflecting light so that it is able to hide the imperfections on the surface you paint with it.

As we have noticed so many people reaching out and asking about increasing the durability of flat paint, we have decided to publish this dedicated article. Our hope is that we will be able to help our readers increase the durability of the flat paint that they use and ensure that it can take plenty of wear and tear and last for many years to come.

How To Make Flat Paint More Durable!

You can increase the durability of flat paint by adding a little gloss to it, applying a sealant or clear coat over the top of it when dry, or by going with a robust flat paint formula from the start. Each of these have their own advantages and disadvantages to them but they will increase the durability of your flat paint with ease.

The vast majority of our readers will probably be using a decent, regular flat paint formula so we will be basing the article around this. As this is the type of paint that the majority of our readers will be using, we feel that taking this approach will offer the most benefit to our readers as we can focus on the methods you can use the increase the durability of the normal flat paint formulas with ease.

Please note, there are some other flat paint formulas on the market though that do have higher levels of durability in them. These are usually designed for outdoor use and are often considerably more expensive than indoor flat paint. We usually recommend that you try a regular flat paint formula for indoor use with one of the methods below to increase its durability.

Add A Little Gloss

The quickest, easiest, and cheapest way to increase the durability of your flat paint is to add a little gloss or semi gloss paint to it. Although this will cause the paint to reflect a little more light than usual, it can drastically increase the durability of the paint.

If this is a path that you want to take to try and improve the durability of your flat paint then it may actually be worth looking at just using a satin paint Formula instead. Satin paint is a nice middle ground between gloss and flat paint that is available in the same colors as flat paint, reflects a less than 40% of the light that hits it but it more robust and durable than normal flat paint.

If you are considering making your flat paint durable by adding some gloss or semi gloss paint to it then simply going with some satin paint may be the better option. It prevents the need of having to mix two paints together and worrying about matching the colors up correctly making the process much easier for most people.

Sealant

Depending on your specific situation, using a sealant on your flat paint once the paint is dry may be the best option for you to increase the durability of your flat paint. The majority of sealing agents on the market are very cheap and although they are available in a brush applied or spray applied form, the spray based sealants do tend to be more beginner friendly.

The majority of sealing agents are available with a matte and a gloss finish so be sure to opt for a matte sealant to keep the look of your flat paint. If you do end up using a gloss sealing agent on your flat paint in the hope of making it more durable, you will end up giving it a gloss look making it reflect considerably more light.

Although there are a number of home made sealing agents on the market that you are able to consider, we always recommend that our readers go with a pre-made, store bought sealant. This tends to offer their best end result once dry while also ensuring that the product is as easy as possible to apply to your flat paint, especially if you use a spray applied sealant.

Opt For A Robust Flat Paint Formula!

As we touched on earlier in the article, there are some outdoor flat paints that have a more robust and tough formula than regular flat paint. Although there are a number of robust flat paint formulas on the market that are designed for indoor use, we usually recommend against using them.

All of the robust flat paint formulas are considerably more expensive than a decent, normal, high-quality flat paint. This is due to how difficult and expensive it is for these companies to make a flat paint with low light reflectancy to hide imperfections on your surface while also being tough and robust.

The majority of the time, it will work out to be just as effective yet much cheaper if you just go with one of the options that we have covered above. This should be able to save you a surprisingly high amount of money while offering you very similar results when looking to make your flat paint more durable.

Is Flat Paint Durable?

Flat paint is not a naturally durable paint and should not be used in areas of your home with large amounts of wear and tear. If you have young children or pets that frequent the room you are considering using flat paint in, a different paint type is probably a better option.

This is due to flat paint being a pain to wash and often peeling or flaking if washed on a regular basis. If young children or pets will be getting the surfaces in your home dirty requiring them to be washed on a regular basis then something like a satin paint or even a decent semi gloss paint could be the better option. You can check out this article going over our satin paint vs semi gloss paint comparison to find out more about the two if you wish.

If you live in a home without small children or pets and won’t need to wash the flat paint on your walls and other surfaces then a decent flat paint is a great option though. Although it is not the most durable paint, it is ideal for a home with adults in it and it is great for creating a relaxed atmosphere or hiding imperfections on surfaces.

Conclusion

That concludes our article going over how you can make flat paint more durable. Although flat paint is vulnerable right out of the tin, there are a number of quick and easy options that you are able to take advantage of as covered above to help you increase just how robust your flat paint is with minimal cost or effort being required on your part.