What Sheen of Paint Should I Use on My Ceilings?

On any surface you paint, it is important to consider what sheen of paint you should use.

What sheen of paint should you use on your ceilings? The answer to that question can differ according to each unique situation.

In the picture above and below, we see a ceiling above a pool that has been painted with a semi-gloss sheen.

In these photos you can clearly see every deficiency in the ceiling and workmanship.

The semi-gloss paint was likely chosen as a way to protect the ceiling from potential splashes and accruing water damage.

Chances are, you would not want to choose this sheen to paint most of the ceilings in your home.

It is used most often on flat ceilings in bathrooms in homes for the same reason; to prevent mold and mildew from growing.

In the picture below the right sheen was applied, but just applied very poorly or attempted to be “touched up” and you can see how it does not look right.

(Below) is a ceiling from the same home where someone clearly tried to do a “touch up” to this spot in the dining room.

The same rules apply for ceilings as do for walls, but generally worse. You can not plan for a touchup to your section unless it falls under very strict guidelines. You generally must still have the same batch or gallon of paint as was used originally. And even then, the surface color can change over time. You must always plan to paint the full surface, “corner to corner” as we say, to achieve professional results.

This dining room would have had to have been painted all the way out to the walls. It is impossible to match a ceiling paint, all ceiling paints have slightly different formulas.