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Should You Paint Your Walls with High-Gloss Interior Paint?

Should You Paint Your Walls with High-Gloss Interior Paint?

Should you take a walk on the glossy side?

Here's a quick recap.

You want your interior walls to look their best, but also to be durable, washable, and easy to touch up. Typically, this would call for a slightly higher-sheen interior paint, like a middle-of-the-road eggshell or satin. Popular options like these provide a pleasant balance of shine, durability, and easier application.

If you go with a glossier paint, like semi-gloss or gloss, the finish is super durable but the application is much more labor-intensive. Imperfections are obvious, both in your surface and/or your technique, making it crucial to invest in serious preparation and have strong painting skills. That's why high-gloss paint is typically used for surfaces like trim, doors, and cabinets.

Insider Tip...

Low sheen paint used to be used for ceilings only since it was easy to scuff and mark. It covers surfaces beautifully, and is very forgiving, but just not strong enough for higher-traffic spaces. That's all changed in recent years as paint formulas have improved. So, if you want a high-gloss finish, go for it! But if you're worried about durability, don't write off lower-gloss paint too quickly. Talk to your painting company about your goals and needs.

Painting a Wall with High-Gloss Paint - What’s Involved?

high-gloss-interior-paint-Oakland-1-edited.jpg#asset:5444

As you can see in the photo above, high-gloss paint covering a whole wall offers a simply stunning look. The sheen makes the surface appear almost liquid, creating a depth that just isn’t possible any other way.

Here’s another example, used in a bathroom ceiling we recently painted.

So, how can this effect be achieved? Here are the steps that led to the dark walls you see above, outlined by one of our talented Crew Leaders.

  1. Drywall Must Be a Level 5 Finish - This means it is flawless and smooth, often involving skim coating to make sure the surface is nothing short of perfect

  2. 2-3 Coats of Primer

  3. Sand the Walls - In this case, we used a sanding block with 320 sandpaper

  4. Wipe the Walls - There can’t be any dust left behind

  5. Finish Coats - 2-3 coats of acrylic high-gloss applied with a sprayer

Should You Hire a Professional for Your High-Gloss Interior Painting Needs?

Yes, we definitely recommend it.

There really is no margin for error; one misstep will create a blatant flaw. It also is an extremely labor-intensive process, calling for very specific skills, tools, and experience.

Let’s Discuss Your Bay Area Painting Project!

The MB Jessee Painting team is ready to help. Contact us today!

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Customer Reviews

“M.B. Jessee painted the exterior of my Spanish house over 9 years ago, and they did such an incredible job that they are still getting referrals from me today. The paint is holding up perfectly -- there is absolutely no peeling chipping or any other deterioration. I still remember that my final walk-through list consisted of items written on one side of a 3x5 index card (and I'm REAL picky about my house!) However, when Matt and I did that walk-through over HALF the items were no longer an issue, as his team had noticed them first and they had already been resolved.”

— JoAnn Newcomb

“Everyone I dealt with was nice, helpful, and very professional. The price was reasonable! (I didn't feel like I was getting the "San Francisco price." The attention to detail and work quality was excellent. They did what they said they would do in the exact timeframe they said they would do. Highly recommend!”

— Tim Tyson

“Our paint crew did a great job and the foreman, Gersson was exceptionally great to work with. He was always available to answer questions, good at problem-solving, very patient, kind, and highly professional with great customer service. We definitely recommend this company, and Gersson and his crew.”

— Andrea Y.
Berkeley, CA

“Awesome work by highly experienced, professional painters. They were: Conscious about the amount of time it would take. Ours had a lot of pre-work and took 3 weeks. Accommodating when we added a few last-minute changes Understanding when a heatwave hit and we remove some of the plastic sheeting over windows, which they had to put back up the next day. Accessible, especially the on-site crew (Hi Jose & Victor!) -- always answering questions and checking in. The end result is a perfect paint job that makes our 94-year-old house look brand new. I would definitely hire MBJ again”

— Stacey R.
Oakland, CA

“Edy and crew are hard at work. They are doing a great job. Very professional outfit you have. Your crew is a delight. You may use me for a reference!”

— Heidi B
Walnut Creek

“Dear Matt,You must be so proud of your men! They were fantastic to have around. Polite, courteous and hardworking. I am so pleased with the outcome of our home--in fact, I couldn't be any more pleased than I am!”

— Mrs. S
San Leandro

“It was a great experience working with MB Jessee. The crew was careful and thorough as they painted the house, sealed stucco cracks, repaired dry-rotted wood, stained the deck, etc. Robert, Gersson, Jose, and all of the people involved in the process from the estimate to the job completion were friendly and professional.”

— Mike C.
Livermore, CA

“My entire experience with MB Jesse was very professional. The crew were very friendly and super accommodating of my ridiculous schedule and geriatric pets in the house. The finished product, which was pretty much my entire house, far exceeds my expectations. Would definitely work with them again!”

— Heather Jordan

“I just wanted to thank you all for doing such a phenomenal job on our recent house painting. We are very happy with the outcome and can't say enough good things about the crew. Everyone working on the project was outstanding and made it a great experience. Thanks to everyone.”

— Daylan
Piedmont

“Hello Matt,Just another notice of thanks to your wonderful crew, Rigoberto, Javier and John. They did fantastic work, with Rigo providing meticulous and conscientious attention to the details and excellent woodwork finishing, as evidenced by the beautiful fireplace. Javier did a fantastic job in the bathroom especially, it looks "brand new," and John always does quality work, both with the interior and exterior. I can tell they care about what they do. Rigo's "punch out" was very thorough, too. I will call again when I need some more work and will definitely recommend your company and fine crew. I also felt as a homeowner, I could leave my house in their good hands during the day and that took a lot of worry from me, they were honest, prompt and reliable. They were also very kind, respectful and clean in their work, very professional. Thank you.”

— Beth Marx & Melissa Kirsch
Oakland

“MB Jessee just finished our exterior and we couldn't be happier with our experience. The foreman (Pedro) and lead painter (Ricardo) were incredible to work with: they communicated scheduling clearly, Ricardo was a joy to be around every day, the showed up early every day, were incredibly tidy and did great paint work. The final walkthrough experience was incredible. Pedro pointed out items I missed demonstrating a clear desire to complete another quality project. I highly recommend them. As others have noted they definitely aren't the cheapest but you quickly realize that you're getting what you pay for. The 3-year guarantee is also a nice touch since there are likely touch-up items that will show up after the job is done.”

— Joshua J.
Oakland, CA

“I highly recommend MB Jesse Painting to anyone looking for a professional team that does an impressive job. They are on time, efficient and clean up well each and every day they are on site. They pay attention to detail and listen to the needs of their clients. In addition, they give back to the community. A Five Star team all the way around.”

— Erin Troy