To paint the bathroom, satin or semi-gloss?

16 years ago

I am going to have a handyman paint the bathroom for me. To prevent mildew, I should have him use the satin or semi-gloss paint?

Thank you very much.

Featured Answer

katdip

16 years ago

Good question. My new bathroom has an eggshell finish, whereas my old bathroom has FLAT (which is HORRIBLE). It's true that the finish probably isn't related to mildew, but a slight sheen does help the paint look better when it does get wet. Even with a fan, there will be some condensation on the walls, and I can tell you that flat paint looks really bad when some parts are damp and others are dry. I think semi-gloss will be too reflective, especially if you have decent light. Just my two cents.

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Comments (8)

sdello
16 years ago
"satin" and "semi-gloss" refer to the aesthetics of dry finish of the paint. Satin has a sheen similar to satin material and semi-gloss has some reflectivity (but not as shiny as a glossy finish). To the best of my knowledge the dry finish has no relation to the ability to prevent mildewing. To prevent mildew be sure there is adequate ventilation/air circulation (think about adding an exhaust fan if you don't have one) to avoid condensation and you might ask the painter to have a fungicide (bleach additive)added to whatever paint you decide to use if it isn't already in the paint.

Hope this helps.
janesylvia
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you very much for your very helpful information. An HVAC contractor has just put a new fan of 80CFM above the tub. I'll ask the painter about the fungicide.
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zebra_grow
16 years ago
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jakkom
16 years ago
I normally use latex semi-gloss in the bathroom and kitchen. Unfortunately for our last remodeling I was so tired of doing stuff I hired a "friend of a friend" painter to do the master bath. Told him the type of paint, brand and color. Being an old school type, he used oil semi-gloss before I realized what he was doing.

I was horrified by the difference. It is considerably shinier than latex semi-gloss and magnifies any/all surface imperfections. It's almost as bad as a mirror, you can actually see the lightbulbs reflected on the surface of the wall. By that time I was so exhausted, I decided to just live with it. But I would never use oil semi-gloss again for ANYTHING. The latex semi-gloss paints I used in the kitchen and second bathroom are just fine, a little bit of shine but nothing obnoxious like the oil semi-gloss.
janesylvia
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you very much for sharing of your experience. I will not use the oil or flat paint. I'll use the satin paint.
Michael
16 years ago
zebra,

What kind of wine are you drinking?

Michael
moonshadow
16 years ago
A nice dry red to compliment the spam? ;)