As the popularity of satin paint continues to sky rocket for home decoration, more and more people have been reaching out to ask various questions about the paint finish to try and ensure that they are able to get the best performance possible from it. We have noticed more and more people reaching out to ask if satin paint goes yellow with age so we have decided to make this the main focus of todays article.
Our hope is that we will be able to help as many of our readers as possible ensure that their satin paint will last for as long as possible without having any issues or problems with it yellowing. If you stick to our tips and tricks throughout the article below, then you should have no problems at all with your satin paint and it shouldn’t yellow with time.
All of our tips and tricks are quick, simple, and easy to implement too so the vast majority of our readers should be able to implement them with ease to stop their satin paint from yellowing. Although there are some specific products that you are able to purchase to specifically stop the yellowing of the paint, there is usually no need to use them.
Does Satin Paint Go Yellow?
Satin paint can go yellow over time and due to the satin paint formula, it can be more common for a satin paint to yellow than other paint types like gloss. This is usually due to a number of often easily avoidable factors so even though the satin paint can yellow, most people can avoid it and keep their paint true to its original color.
Due to health and safety laws in North America and Europe, the majority of paint formulas that are on the market have switched some of their core ingredients away from the more common reagents that causes yellowing too. This helps to score a decent, modern satin paint satin paint formula even more points over the competition when it comes to preventing yellowing.
That said though, the majority of the common causes of your paint yellowing in this day and age are usually down to user error or simple things that you can avoid doing that will prevent the paint from yellowing. We have laid these out below to try and helps ensure that you won’t have any problems with your paint yellowing after its initial application and that it will be able to last you for many years to come.
Avoid Cheap Satin Paint!
Cheap satin paint products have the highest chance of yellowing due to the low quality ingredients used in the paint formulas. A decent satin paint is usually only around $10 yet offers considerably better performance in general as well as the ability to avoid yellowing right out of the tub.
With the price difference usually only being a few dollars from the cheap paint that has a bunch of problems and the decent satin paint, the majority of our readers should be able to go with the better option without having any problems with their budget.
Another advantage of the decent satin paint formulas in addition to it usually not yellowing as easily is that it is much easier to apply too. This helps you get the paint applied to the required surface considerably quicker than you would be able to otherwise.
Clean The Surface!
This is a very common mistake that is so easy to avoid as so many people apply their satin paint directly to the surface they want to paint without cleaning it. The oils and grease that can build up on the surface can cause your paint to yellow rapidly and result in a number of problems that can easily be avoided.
A visual inspection is usually difficult as the oils and grease that cause these issues will often be difficult to see. The easiest way to find them is to run your finger over the surface and you will easily be able to feel a build up of oil or grease with ease.
There is no need to purchase any special products for cleaning the oil or grease from your surface, a regular cloth is usually enough to get the job done quickly and allow you to apply your satin paint directly to the surface. With the oils and grease cleaned from the surface, you should easily be able to remove any risk of your paint yellowing due to contamination.
Don’t Smoke In The Room!
A major cause of all types of paint yellowing is due to people smoking in their home. This is a bigger factor if your satin paint is pale or pastel as the smoke will cause the paint to yellow even quicker with the yellowing effect being more pronounced and easier to see too.
We would usually recommend that you do everything in your power to avoid smoking in the room. Not only will this prevent your satin paint from yellowing quickly but it will also help to prevent any issues with your paint flaking or peeling if you did use a cheaper satin paint formula.
It usually doesn’t take too much effort to stand outside if you are a smoker and it can be one of the best ways to prevent your paint from yellowing quickly. Your own personal circumstances will come into play for this one though as some people would rather let their paint yellow and just smoke indoors.
Consider The Lighting In The Room!
Depending on the amount of sunlight that your room gets throughout the day, the UV rays from the sun that hit your paint can be a factor in how quickly it will yellow. This is often overlooked and can be hard to avoid for many people due to the locations of the windows in their room and the direction that those windows end up facing.
There are some special satin paint formulas on the market that do have UV light protection built into their paint formula that can prevent this but they do come with a higher price tag. You can also try to use a darker color of your satin paint too as darker paint colors tend not to yellow as easily.
Some people will switch over to using a gloss or semi-gloss paint if they are in a room that has a large amount of sunlight each day. Although this can drastically increase the brightness of the room due to both types of gloss reflecting more light than satin paint, the both tend to be more robust and resilient to the effects of yellowing over time from UV light.
Use A Sealant!
Depending on your situation, a sealant can be a great way to prevent your satin paint from yellowing and a decent sealing agent applied on top of your dry satin paint can protect it from most causes of yellowing. For example, most modern sealants will be able to help protect your paint from smoke, UV light, and oil or grease being applied to the paint after it hard dried.
This can be a great way to prevent your satin paint from yellowing but the decent sealants are usually more expensive than the actual paint so there is a trade off. If you are planning on purchasing your sealant in bulk then you are able to get a small discount from some online stores but it will still double the budget required for the task.
If you do have the budget available for a decent sealing agent and you know that you will be leaving the paint on the walls for many years then it is a great investment to make. It can prevent some satin paint formulas from yellowing completely, especially if you clean the surface prior to their application as explained above.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over if satin paint will go yellow to an end. Although most satin paint formulas can yellow, there are often a number of things that you are able to do to prevent the paint yellowing with some of the methods that we have covered above being able to prevent the paint from yellowing entirely. Most methods are easy to do too so the majority of our readers should be able to take something from our points above and prevent their satin paint from turning yellow.
