What Is Satin Paint Used For – 19 Surfaces For Satin Paint!

As the popularity of satin paint continues to skyrocket with no signs of it slowing down anytime soon, we have noticed more and more people reaching out with a number of questions about how they are able to get the best results possible out of the paint. Although we see a large number of people reaching out to ask what satin paint is used for, we also see a number of questions about using satin paint on a specific surface too.

Due to this, we have decided to cover both areas with this single article in the hope that we will be able to help as many of our readers as possible. Although a satin paint finish does offer you some solid versatility right out of the tin, it definatley does perform better in some situations and use cases than others.

Our hope is that we are going to be able to help our readers ensure that they are getting the best performance possible out of their satin paint. Throughout the article will will be sharing a number of tips and ticks as well as various advantages and disadvantages to ensure that you avoid as many of the common mistakes that we see with satin paint as possible too.

What Is Satin Paint Used For?

Satin paint is an excellent choice for anyone looking to create a relaxing vibe in their home due to it reflecting 26-40% of the light that hits it. This is a great middle ground between full gloss and matte as well as the other paint options between them allowing satin paint to fill a unique slot.

The vast majority of modern satin paint formulas on the market right now are available in a wide range of colors too. Although pale and pastel colors tend to be the more common options for satin paint, you should easily be able to find the perfect color for your needs.

In addition to this, satin paint works well on a wide range of surfaces and in a wide range of situations. In our opinion, it is probably the most versatile paint finish available as it can work well with paints on the gloss side of the spectrum as well as paints on the matte side of the spectrum.

Is Satin Paint Good For Bedrooms?

Satin paint is an excellent option for bedrooms due to it being able to create a relaxing, chilled out vibe in a room. The more popular pastel and pale colors that satin paint is usually used in also adds to this effect and compounds it’s relaxing feel in your bed room.

Due to so many people leading such busy life’s these days, often having to work for many hours at a computer screen, the low amount of light reflected by satin paint helps to reduce eye fatigue. The less light reflecting around the surfaces of your bedroom that you have used your satin paint on can really change the vibe of the room too.

Many of the modern satin paint formulas will also work very well on the majority of the furniture in the bedroom too. This allows you to use your satin paint of the majority of the surfaces in the room to bring the overall relaxing vibe to the whole room.

Is Satin Paint Good For Bathrooms?

We would not recommend that you use a satin paint for use in a bathroom as it tends not to do well with high levels of moisture in the air. A semi gloss or full gloss paint will usually be much better options for you and offer considerably better results.

If you do choose to use a satin paint in your bathroom then there is a higher than normal chance that the paint will suffer from color fade and start to peel and flake sooner than normal,. These issues tend not to occur if you use semi gloss paint or gloss paint as they deal with moisture with ease.

Although there are some satin paint formulas that have sealing agent built into their paint formula to try and help with their performance with high levels of moisture, they are usually a waste of time. They tend to be overpriced and often suffer from the same issues as normal satin paint only a few months later than regular satin paint anyway.

Is Satin Paint Good For Living Rooms?

Many people choose to use satin paint in their living room to help create a relaxing, chilled out vibe. With satin paint reflecting 26-40% of the light that hits it, the paint is bright enough to avoid a dark, depressing look, but dull enough to be relaxing and chilled out at the same time.

This has skyrocketed the popularity of the decent satin paint formulas on the market to the top of the sales charts in recent years. Although the popularity of the various paint trends does come and go with the various trends, we feel satin paint is here to stay due to how much time we spend on digital devices each day.

At the end of the day, many people want a nice room to relax in that won’t add to their eye fatigue that has build up throughout the day. With satin and eggshell paint finishes being the best options for this, it is not surprising that more and more people are starting to use them.

Is Satin Paint Good For Dining Rooms?

The popularity of a satin paint finish in the dining room has skyrocketed in recent years. It allows you to create a nice and calm feel in the room where your family eats their meals together due to reflecting so little light when compared to a gloss paint.

Although personal preference will come into it, at the time of writing, satin paint, eggshell paint, and semi gloss paint are all very popular options for the dining room. Most people tend to try to stick to having a similar vibe for their dining room as the rest of their house so if you have used satin paint in other rooms, it can be a good option for your dining room.

One thing that may go against using satin paint in your dining room is if you have young children that may result in food ending up on the wall. Satin paint is not as washable as something like a semi gloss or a full gloss helping to push them ahead as the better option in this specific situation.

Is Satin Paint Good For Kitchens?

Due to the high levels of moisture in most kitchens, satin paint tends to underperform when compared to other paint formulas such as semi gloss and full gloss paint. They are much better options for a kitchen as they do a better job of dealing with the constant moisture in the room.

If you go with a dull semi gloss paint then its finish can look very similar to a bright satin paint finish kind of working like a workaround. This can offer a similar look to a satin paint while having the higher durability of a semi gloss with the moisture.

If you do use your kitchen on a regular basis and there are high levels of constant moisture in the room then using a gloss paint will almost always be the best option for the majority of people. This is why so many people stick to using as gloss finish in their kitchen but will use satin paint in other rooms.

Is Satin Paint Good For Kitchen Cabinets?

There are two main issues with using satin paint on kitchen cabinets, the first is the higher levels of moisture in the kitchen and the second is the lamanet on the cabinets. Both of these make it a paint to use satin paint on your kitchen cabinets and present a number of issues.

These issues range from the paint not bonding correctly to the cabinets due to the surface of the many kitchen cabinets being less than ideal to the paint peeling and flaking due to the moisture. A gloss or semi gloss paint formula will often be the better option for you in this situation offering better all round performance.

There are some satin paint formulas out there that are marketed towards performing well in the conditions in a kitchen as well as when used on wooden surfaces but they are hit and miss. This coupled with the fact that they tend to be expensive too forces us to recommend that our readers avoid using these paint formulas and just go with a gloss or semi gloss option.

Is Satin Paint Good For Walls?

Using satin paint on your walls is a very popular option that many people opt to use when decorating their home. Satin paint offers the best middle ground between matte paint and gloss paint helping to create a nice and relaxing vibe in the room while being very easy to apply to the walls in your home.

You are able to quickly and easily apply satin paint to the walls of your home using paint rollers while using a paint brush to get right into the corners where your rollers may struggle. Satin paint also works well with many paint sprayers making the application process even easier.

This really does allow you to use your satin paint on your walls with as little fuss as possible getting the coats of paint onto the required surface in the shortest possible time frame. Once dry, the satin paint should be able to last you for a long period of time without issue too.

Is Satin Paint Good For Ceilings?

Satin paint is increasing in popularity when used for painting a cleaning as it is a great way to drastically reduce the over all light in a room. Due to satin paint reflecting considerably less light than gloss or semi gloss, it is able to reduce the amount of light from the bulbs in the room from reflecting downwards to help create a relaxing feel in the room.

Satin paint is easy to apply to a ceiling too scoring it additional points and due to it being located on the highest surface in the room, there is minimal risk of wear and tear taking its tool on the paint either. This allows you to use satin paint on your ceiling in a household that has young children or pets and not have to worry about washing and dirt and grim off the paint causing issues.

Eggshell, matte, and flat paints are all growing in their popularity when used to paint ceilings for these same reasons too. One advantage that satin paint does have over these other paint finishes is that it is not as dingy and potentially depressing as them as it does still reflect a decent amount of light with ease.

Is Satin Paint Good For Doors?

Using satin paint for your doors is becoming more and more popular, especially if you are also using satin paint for the walls in your home too. The majority of the regular indoor satin paint formulas will work well on doors in your home without you needing to go out and get a formula specifically designed for use with wood.

If you are looking to create that relaxing vibe in your home then opting to use a satin paint formula really is an excellent choice. Due to the wide range of colors that satin paint is available in, you can mix and match the various colors in the room for different surfaces too.

Although the colors that you use may be different, the light reflected by the satin paint will stay within the 26-40% bracket. If you have used satin paint on the other surfaces in the room then this can really help you create a nice and relaxing atmosphere in the room with ease.

Is Satin Paint Good For Furniture?

Although you are able to use satin paint on some types of furniture, the performance of the paint can change drastically depending on on the of furniture. Using satin paint on wooden furniture that does not have much glass or plastic can work very well though.

Depending on the overall vibe of the rest of the room, you can sometimes still use satin paint on furniture that has glass or plastic on it too. It’s just that in some situations, the lighting change from the glass or plastic can look a little out of place when used with satin paint.

If you are looking to use your satin paint on furniture that is all wood like a table or shelf in the room, satin paint will work well though. This is usually the main use case that we would recommend to our readers when it comes to using satin paint on furniture.

Is Satin Paint Good For Wood?

Satin paint can work well on wood that is both inside and outside of the home. The majority of indoor satin paint formulas will work well on indoor wood. If the wooden surface that you are looking to use your satin paint on is outdoors then we would recommend that you use a specific outdoor satin paint formula.

Depending on the condition of the wood prior to painting, you may want to sand it down or clean it too as a smooth, clean surface can drastically improve the ease of application of the paint. This tends to be easy to do in most cases while offering a much better end result too.

If the wood that you are looking to use your satin paint on has already been painted then you can often paint right over the current paint too. Just keep in mind that if it is currently painted with a dark color and you are looking to use a pale satin paint on your wood, the dark paint may show so you will need to use multiple coats of satin paint to hide it.

Is Satin Paint Good For Cabinets?

You can use satin paint on most cabinets but you have to factor in the moisture in the room. Cabinets in the kitchen or bathroom may not perform as well as cabinets painted with satin paint in other rooms due to the higher moisture content.

You are able to get some specialist satin paint formulas that are able to do well in rooms with moisture but we usually recommend them. Going with a gloss or semi gloss is usually better or using a sealing agent on top of the satin paint to protect it from moisture is usually a better option.

If the cabinets that you are wanting to use your satin paint on are in a room with minimal moisture, regular satin paint should be fine though. This allows you to use your satin paint on the various cabinets throughout your home in the rooms that you have used satin paint on the doors and walls to bring the overall look together.

Is Satin Paint Good For Garage Doors?

We usually recommend against using satin paint for garage doors due to the exposure to the elements and many satin paints simply not being able to tolerate the punishment from the sun, wind, and rain. This is true for many paint types though and a specialist outdoor paint will usually be the best option.

We often see people drastically underestimate the amount of punishment that the UV light from the sun is able to do to the paint on a garage door too. This can cause a satin paint to fade in color rapidly unless you use a protective UV sealant on top of the satin paint on the garage door.

Another issue with many satin paint formulas as well as other paint types is that the garage door can become very hot due to it being metal. This can cause additional issues with your paint resulting in it peeling and flaking so we usually just recommend that our readers go with a different type of paint.

Is Satin Paint Good For Front Doors?

If you use satin paint for the front door of your home, there is a high chance that the exposure to the elements will cause the paint to fade, peel, and flake quickly. Due to this, we would usually recommend that our readers opt to go with other paint types over using a satin paint.

There are some excellent door paint options that you are able to use that will be able to take the punishment from the sun, wind, rain, and snow without having any problems. This will ensure that the paint on your front door will be able to last you for as long as possible without you having any problems with the paint.

Although they are rare at the time of writing, there are a number of door paints on the market that have a satin paint finish. You may be able to get everything that you need out of these paints for your front door while still having the satin paint finish too.

Is Satin Paint Good For Skirting Boards?

You are able to use satin paint on skirting board with the paint usually performing very well. One thing to note is that satin paint is not very washable and young children or pens may increase the wash frequency of the paint on your skirting boards leading to issues.

If you do have young children or pets in your home and expect to have to wash your skirting boards on a regular basis then a semi gloss paint finish will often be a better option than a satin paint finish. A semi gloss or even full gloss paint is much easier to wash on a regular basis without you having any problems with the paint fading.

For the most part though, using satin paint on your skirting boards is a great option and will perform very well for you. It can really help to bring the overall look of your home together and complete the relaxing, chilled out vibe many people tend to go for with satin paint.

Is Satin Paint Good For Trim?

Using satin paint on the various trims on your rooms is becoming more and more popular due to so many people using satin paint on their doors. Using the same satin paint on your trim allows you to maintain the same color and texture of the paint without having any inconsistencies.

You are able to use satin paint on almost all types of trim in your home without issue too, not just the standard wood trim around your doors. This allows you to keep the same flow throughout your home with the nice and relaxing feel of the colors and paints keeping the same vibe throughout.

As we mentioned earlier though, satin paint is not as washable as some of the other paint formulas on the market. If you have small children or pets and your trim is low enough for them to get it dirty, a different paint type may be a better option.

Can Satin Paint Be Used On Metal?

Some satin paints can work well when used on metal where as others do leave a lot to be desired, especially if the metal is outdoors and in direct sunlight. There are satin paint formulas specifically designed for use with metal that perform much better than regular paint formulas though.

If you are just wanting to paint some metal furniture (not a radiator, we will cover them below) then you can often get away with using regular satin paint without having any issues. You will usually be about to clean the metal surface using a cloth to get any oils or grease of it and then apply your paint without issue.

Smaller metal surfaces definitely do tend to be better with satin paint than larger metal surfaces too but the difference is minimal in many case. Using a satin paint formula that has been specifically designed for use with metal will often reduce this and drastically improve the end result though.

Can Satin Paint Be Used On Radiators?

Due to most people using their radiators to provide heat to their home, we usually recommend against using satin paint. If you know that you will never be using the radiators in your home and you just want the radiators to match the rest of the room then you can use satin paint.

If you will be using the radiators in your home then a specialist radiator paint will definitely be the better option to take. It will perform considerably better when use as satin paint will peel and flake quickly when the radiator is hot.

If you have other heating sources in your home and the radiators in your home are just left overs and will never be turned on and get hot then you can use satin paint. Although we would still recommend that you use a satin paint formula designed for metal, it can work provided you will never turn your radiators on.

Can Satin Paint Be Used Outside?

We usually recommend against using satin paint outside due to most satin paint formulas not holding up well to the elements. This can result in your paint fading, flaking, and peeling very quickly when compared to other paint formulas.

Although some of the outdoor paint formulas are decent and perform well when used outside, they are few and far between with them usually being very inconsistent. This is often due to the “outdoor” paint formulas having only been designed for use in the cold or in heat and not both.

Due to most places being seasonal and going through phases of hot and cold weather, they tend to start to have issues within about a year. With the higher price point of these outdoor satin paint formulas pushing your budget upwards, it is usually better to go with a different outdoor paint formula without the satin finish.

Conclusion

That brings our article going over what satin paint is used for as well as out list of the various surfaces that you are able to use your satin paint on to a close. We hope that you have found our article helpful and that we have been able to help you avoid some of the common areas that people make mistakes when using their satin paint on various surfaces too.