Paint for Rentals (Brand, Type, etc)

[Jeremiah House]

I'm getting ready to have my 3 bedroom / 2 bath upper-scale house painted. This house was newly built in 2010 and needs freshening up. My painter is telling me that he recommends Sherwin Williams Cashmere Flat Enamel paint. I've typically always heard that eggshell is best for durability. What brand and type (eggshell, enamel, latex, etc) paint do you guys use? 

[Jim K.]

@Jeremiah House

You're all over the place, Jeremiah. YI think it would help if you knew a bit more about paint. Here's a primer:

The two basic kinds of paint of oil-based and water-based. With the years, old-based for interior painting has become rarer and rarer. But all trim paint was originally oil paint, and it only came in gloss and flat sheen levels.

So basically, all water-based trim paint is an attempt to replicate the performance and durability of oil-based paint. All water-based paints are frequently referred to as "latex" instead of "water-based" although this is incorrect.

The term "enamel" refers to a hard, glass-based substance applied as a glaze and fired in some kind of furnace, oven, or kiln. It used to be that paint makers would refer to their hardest-drying gloss oil-based paint as enamel, because it looked and glistened a bit like real enamel. But it was never ACTUALLY enamel.

With the death of oil-based paint for interior painting, paint companies have tried to produce similar water-based paints that dry to a hard, glossy coating that they also (misleadingly) call enamels.

Paint manufacturers have also been able to greatly expand sheen levels in water-based paint. The scale now goes: flat, matte, eggshell, satin, semigloss, gloss. Of course each manufacturer has their own decision about sheen, so levels really vary and it gets confusing.

Sheen level helps you determine how much and how often you can scrub paint. Full gloss paint is the easiest to clean and last practically forever, especially the oil-based variants. It also takes the most skill to apply correctly. Semi-gloss is still very good when it comes to cleaning.

Traditionally, you would only have flat and matte paint on your walls. There are many, like me, who believe a room without a white ceiling isn't really a room at all. People break the rules all the time in the interest of convenience. And for rentals, yes, you don't want to be scrubbing for nothing.

So, I paint all bathrooms and kitchens in satin, often with oil semigloss or gloss trim. And surfaces that are likely to be touched usually get semigloss or gloss.

Gook luck to you!