Which interior wall paint brand has the flattest flat finish?

10 years ago

I am looking for an absolutely flat good quality paint that has the flattest finish. I just finished paint with Behr Premium Plus Ultra Matte and it has a shine to it. The sales guy said it was flat 3 gallons later, it is not flat. My walls are textured and I want no shine at all on them. Can anyone tell me which paint will be absolutely flat.

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Lori A. Sawaya

10 years ago

Can anyone tell me which paint will be absolutely flat.

There is no paint industry standard for gloss or sheen. It's the subjective names that brands give to their different finishes that cause the confusion. For example... WTH is "pearl". WTF is "delicate". And so on.

Generally speaking, however, paint brands follow the same-ish process to ascertain gloss levels of their paints.

Remember, however, we cannot confirm that all the data was obtained exactly same way brand to brand so the comparisons you make are at best an ESTIMATED GUIDELINE of gloss levels.

But, hey, a guideline is better than nothing. So, here goes:

First thing you need to know is gloss is measured in units. It's called Gloss Units and you'll see it referenced as GU. Gloss units, GU, run on a scale of 0 GU to 100 GU. 0 is dead flat, 100 is ridiculous-mirror-like shiny.
Find the GU for the brand/grade of paint you want to use on the paint can label or Google the Technical Data Sheet (TDS). Here's one for PPG's Manor Hall Flat . Here's what it says about Manor Hall Flat - SHEEN: Flat: 0 to 5 (60º and 85º Gloss Meter). The 0 to 5 is the Gloss Units (GU) and it goes on to tell you that measurements for those GU's were done at 60º and 85º.
Measurements are done at a 60° angle, an 85° angle, or both. 60° applies across the board and is most common. 85° is used for the low-gloss end of the sheen spectrum because of math. One might say it (85° angle) helps to dissect units of flattness into smaller bits so they are easier to discern.

Now you know how gloss is measured and why the confusing, subjective finish names are not consistent across paint brands.

Now you know of two places where to find Gloss Unit (GU) information for the brand/grade you want to use.

Now you know why you will see measurements at 60º and 85º. And that 85º speaks to the lower-gloss end of the sheen spectrum.

What you need next is some context for the Gloss Units you now understand and know where to find.

So you need a table. And here it is from the Mater Painters Institute, MPI. They got rid of the subjective finish names that paint brands made up and created this table of Gloss Levels 1 to 7 based on Gloss Units (GU). Gloss Units that all brands use to measure gloss and sheen.

Hope this table from MPI helps you find the flattest flat finish out there.

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Comments (11)

graywings123
10 years ago
I don't know the answer to your question, but Behr makes an interior flat paint:
Behr Interior Flat
User
10 years ago
If you look at the interior paint products that Behr has posted on their site, the Premium "Ultra" does not appear to have a flat paint option; only the Premium does. If you made it clear you wanted flat, whom ever helped you certainly should have pointed that difference out to you. The description on the "Ultra Matte" clearly says it has a low reflective sheen where as flat is described as a non reflective sheen.

Three cans is a lot, if it were me, I would be making a trip down to the store to speak with the manager and see about getting 3 new cans of flat on them, some kind of credit or maybe a refund. The worst he can do is say no. That said, I've used their flat paint and was very happy with the results; much more so than with Sherwin Williams paint which streaked horribly.
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Amy Krane Color Consulting
10 years ago
Ben Moore's Regal Select flat says its sheen ranges from 1 - 3.5% at 85 degrees. Sherwin Williams says their Emerald flat ranges from 0 - 4% at 85. Almost identical, but quite a range and it differs by color. Check the stats on the paint you are considering.
PRO
Amy Krane Color Consulting
10 years ago
Brilliant Lori, thanks for the clarification.
graywings123
10 years ago
Reading Lori's posts is like taking mini color classes!

So, I found the technical data sheet for Behr interior flat white paint and the gloss level is 0-4 at an 85 degree angle.
PRO
Lori A. Sawaya
10 years ago
There ya go. It's that easy.

The fact that it has a measurement at 85 degrees indicates - right there - that it's going to be at the lower end of the gloss/sheen spectrum.
borofam
10 years ago
I had the exact same thing happen. The paint guy at home depot said the flattest they I could get was the Behr Premium Plus Ultra Matte. It is NOT flat. I will be asking for my money back.
bobjax
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I had a bad experience with an expensive flat. Because they want it to be easy to clean, the formula dries with a light sheen. You can not easily clean a true flat. But you can touch it up.

Problem is: try to cut in a paint with a sheen and then paint over it. Sheen over sheen compounds sheen, so you see the cut in the right light. You have to paint very fast to go over wet with wet. But guess what, the paint today dries very, very fast. So you are scrwed.

My enemy was Valspar Optimus and the Lowe's comparable. High end, but with that major problem.
llilibel
6 years ago
Sinclair Sinwall White I remembers pretty flat (cool white)
Barbara Brady
5 years ago
Based on recent experience, I can say that Benjamin Moore flat is not truly flat. I just painted an accent wall in my living room, and it has a definite sheen. A couple of years ago I painted my kitchen with Kelly Moore flat paint (probably not recommended but that's what I wanted) and it is truly flat. If you really want flat, try chalk paint. I did an accent wall with some leftover chalk paint a few years ago and it was wonderfully flat.