Warehouse Safety Solutions offer a wide range of paints for internal and external line marking and surface coating for various industries, including warehousing, facilities, car parks, highway markings, docks, and airports.

All our paints have different finishes depending on their purpose. So why is the finish important? It has a significant impact on how the paint markings will look, particularly after they have been trafficked.

A few key elements affect the finished look of a painted line or marking. These are:

• The Finished look of the paint
• The Texture of the paint
• The Substrate of the paint
• The Additive of the paint

This blog explains what effect different finishes of paint have on the final look. Warehouse Safety Solutions classify the finishes of their products as follows: Matte, Satin, Medium Gloss, High Gloss. Each different type of finish will give a distinctive look.

Matte Paints

Matte paints have a flat finish with a sheen level of less than 10%, therefore non-reflective in appearance, and they are susceptible to attracting dirt easier. Matte finish products can be more sensitive to scuffs, watermarks, dirt, etc. You will tend to find that most of the products that have a Matte finish are for external use and would often be used with reflective glass beads that will give it reflectivity when required.

Satin Paints

Satin paints are visibly shinier with a sheen level at varying degrees around the 11% to 40% mark. They have a dull shine which is as the name suggests and are mainly used for internal floor markings within facilities or warehouses for their line markings across the site. Satin paints are highly durable and can withstand a lot of traffic but still clearly show up without collecting too much dirt and grime.

Medium Gloss Paints

Medium Gloss paints sit between satin and High gloss, however few products fall into the medium gloss category. This is because paints designed for internal use are modified to ensure they have a high gloss which is required internally, and external paints do not require a glossy finish, so they usually fall into the Matte category.

High Gloss Paints

High gloss paints will have a very shiny and bright look, and they are very resistant to picking up dirt and easy to clean, keeping a smart and bright look for a long time. Its finish or sheen level is 70% and up, making it highly reflective and washable.

The paint finish is usually only relevant for internal use. It is not so important for an external marking to keep very shiny. External markings often have beads applied, providing increased visibility far more than a high gloss finish. For this reason, many external paints have a matte finish, whilst internal paints have increased gloss levels.

The level of finish (i.e. high gloss) is defined by the gloss level, which can be measured using a glossmeter (also gloss meter), which determines the gloss by projecting a beam of light at a fixed intensity and angle onto a surface and measuring the amount of reflected light at an equal but opposite angle.

We have set out our levels of finish for our line marking and surface coating paints as follows:

High gloss: 70% and above

Medium Gloss: 40% to 70%

Satin: 10% to 40% 

Matte: less than 10%

The below table displays the various finishes of all our paint products available at Warehouse Safety Solutions: