With the unique light reflectancy of satin paint helping it see a surge in its popularity right now, we have seen a spike in the number of people reaching out to ask various questions about how they are able to the the most out of their satin paint. Due to seeing so many people reaching out with so many questions, we have decided to publish more content based around them to try and help as many of our readers as possible.
One of the more common questions that we have seen people asking about is how to make satin paint flat. As we have noticed so many people reaching out about this as well as there being so much bad information out there on how to reliably make your satin paint flat, we have decided to publish this dedicated article on the subject to try and help as many of our readers as possible.
Our hope is that we will be able to help our readers change the finish on their paint from satin to flat without having to resort to sanding their paint. Although sanding can work on dry satin paint and offer a similar finish to flat paint, it has a high fail rate and we usually recommend against it and going with one of the methods covered below instead.
How To Make Satin Paint Flat!
The easiest methods to change the finish of a satin paint to that of a flat paint is to either mix a flat paint in with your satin paint or to use a paint de-glosser. Both options can work well but usually have to be implemented in different ways to each other for the best possible results.
We feel that mixing in a decent quality flat paint with your satin paint prior to applying it to the surface usually offers the best possible performance. On top of this, it tends to be cheaper and more beginner friendly but the results may be closer to a matte finish than a true flat paint finish.
Using a decent quality paint de-glosser can work very well depending on your situation. Some of the paint de-glossers need to be added to your paint prior to applying it where as others need to be applied to your paint on the surface once it is dry. Always check the label of the particular de—glosser that you are using as the two types are not interchangeable with each other.
Do De-Glossing Products Actually Work?
Unfortunately, there are a huge number of low quality paint de-glossers on the market these days that offer very poor performance. Always try to find a reportable paint de-glosser that has a decent reputation amongst the community for the best possible performance.
In addition to that, due to the low amount of gloss in a satin paint, some of the better de-glossers on the market, especially the ones that need to be applied to your paint after it has been applied to the surface struggle to make much of a difference. For optimal performance, they are usually used on a full gloss or semi gloss paint and can offer excellent results.
This is why our default recommendation is to try and add flat paint to a current satin paint formula to tweak the finish to what you want. De-glossing products are just too inconsistent to be relied upon and some of the cheaper ones can cause the color of your satin paint to fade quickly too.
Is Going With Flat Paint From The Start The Best Option?
One thing to consider if you have not actually purchased your satin paint yet is to just go with a high quality flat paint formula from the very start. It tends to be much easier for most people, especially beginners as you get the paint finish that you want without having to add any other products to it.
One draw back for this is that some satin paint finishes are available in colors that are not available in a flat paint finish. Other than this specific situation, many of our readers will often be better just going with a decent quality flat paint instead of trying to change the finish of their satin paint.
If you have already purchased your satin paint then one of the options explained above are probably going to be your best option when looking to change its finish to that of a flat paint. If you do have to mix a flat paint with your satin paint to try dilute the amount of gloss in your paint then color matching may be a problem if you are using a satin paint finish in a color that is not available in a flat paint finish though.
Is It Worth Trying To Change A Satin Paint Into A Flat Paint?
In our opinion, trying to change the finish of a paint is usually a waste of time and money and the majority of the people will usually be better just going with the paint finish that they want in the first place. If you are a beginner to home decor and paint mixing then we would highly recommend that you seriously consider taking this route instead.
If you are dead set on trying to change your satin paint to a flat paint finish then the process is not as complicated as many people think but you do have to account for some sacrifices. The main ones are that the actual finish will be closer to a matte finish if you add flat paint to satin paint or that you have have problems with color fade if you go with a de-glosser.
If you are a more experiences painter or are using a professional painter and decorator for your home decor project then things tend to become much easier though. This opens up the methods that you have available to you when looking to change your satin paint to a flat paint as easily as possible.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over how to make satin paint flat to a close. Ideally, we would recommend that you just go with a flat paint from the very start rather than trying to tweak the performance of your satin paints finish. If for whatever reason, you have to go with your satin paint then the methods covered earlier in the article should be able to help you tweak the paint finish as required.
