Hmmm. Smooth, dull, black. I dunno off the top of my head, but will look around. Give me a bit... Maybe someone else will know.

L.

Thanks, FC! Yeah, that's why it caught my eye, at the dentist's office, of all places, LOL! I've never seen another finish like that. Smooth to the touch, not chalky at all, but dull, no shine!

OK, the dentist himself said it was from "Monarch Paints" and gave me a ballpark location (close to his offices in No. Garland, TX, if that makes a difference), but when I looked it up I could find no such beast in that ballpark and I know he didn't actually buy the paint, his wife did *sigh*

What about Farrow & Ball Dead Flat? It used to be Dead Flat Oil. Now, it's Dead Flat Eco. Haven't used either one, but that's what sprung to mind...

Here is a link that might be useful: Dead Flat

What about Farrow & Ball Dead Flat? It used to be Dead Flat Oil. Now, it's Dead Flat Eco. Haven't used either one, but that's what sprung to mind...

Here is a link that might be useful: Dead Flat

Oops...sorry. Board is acting up this am...

I googled Monarch Paint, Garland, Tx out of curiosity and got these results,
showing it's a PPG (Pittsburgh) paint store, but in Grapevine, not Garland. (Had to check the map and see it's close, so maybe he got his locations mixed up?)

I don't know where my PPG fandeck is at the moment but am pretty sure FC has one. ;)
(On a side note their Manor Hall line is some pretty good stuff, often overlooked in paint discussions.)

Thanks Amy, checked it out, but it doesn't say anything thing about a smooth finish on the site.

Yep, moonshadow, I've googled the you know what out of it - even picked up the yellowpages, LOL! Grapevine is a good 45 minute drive from where he told me, so I'm pretty sure that's not it. There is a Glidden store near where he told me, but I'm not convinced that's it either, and if it is, I'll need to know the sheen they used.

Waiting on a call back from the dentist office now, I'll let y'all know what I find out.

I am not sure I understand. You're worried about the paint being smooth? I think F&B levels beautifully. I guess I don't really know what you were asking about...

Good news: the sweet receptionist at the dentist office found THE can!

Bad news: "Rust-oleum Professional High Performance Protective Enamel" in FLAT and it's an oil-based paint, which was what I was trying to avoid.

To my understanding, white oil-based paints fade to cream, and I definitely do NOT want cream trim and doors in this kitchen, it's what I'm covering up! How long would it take to fade? I have 3 east-facing windows in the kitchen.

So, what to do, what to do? Should I bite the bullet and use the Rust-oleum anyway? Any other suggestions? I really wanted a water-based paint, UGH!

Hi Amy,

I'm not talking about brush marks here, it's the finish. I'm looking for smooth that has no shine. I tested the Valspar Ultra White Satin and it feels chalky! Since it's going on the doors, this makes a difference as you can feel it - yuk!

Oh, I totally misunderstood. I thought you wanted flat black too. I've never used F&B but never have seen a bad word about it. I personally prefer Cabinet Coat for all my trim/doors, etc. I have some pics kicking around in Paint Forum, you can see a batch here. There is a sheen, but it's ever so subtle. Like a buffed egg. Stuff is tough, takes a beating, highly scrubbable (that's not a word), wears like a linebacker. ;)

Farrow and Ball has a *dead flat* 2% sheen as well as *estate emulsion* with same sheen, neither of which I have ever used, I just happen to have their color card sitting right here on my desk. For trim, I always use BM and I too prefer less *sheen* for my woodwork. Satin Impervo is my first choice. And, I have also used Behr flat enamel which I just used in my own bathroom reno., and I love it.

I would call F&B in Canada and see what they say about the Dead Flat Eco yellowing. Emmett at FPE told me their Eco will still yellow a bit over time. I'd be curious to know what F&B says. The 2% will be very flat, I can tell you that. It looks like velvet.

Paint and color always involves some compromise. You just never get absolutely everything you want. There is no paint that will deliver the perfect color every moment of the day, plus the right combination of cost, availability, ease of application/clean-up, durability, sheen, and constancy over time. You just have to tweak the parameters, always trying to move toward 100% perfect, understanding you won't get there.

In this case, you have to decide where you want to be on the sheen-yellowing continuum. What are you willing to give up? You can have the perfect sheen with an initially perfect color that may get less perfect over time. Or you can have the perfect color at a less-than-perfect sheen from the start. The results of the second path would at least remain constant over time. Perhaps the shift of the Eco or oil towards yellow would be gradual and subtle enough that it wouldn't bother you.

Like Funcolors always says, you have to find your own personal tolerance for this. There is no answer that applies for everyone. That's what makes this fun...or frustrating, depending on how you see it. :-)

RESULTS:

I checked all the links provided or mentioned in this thread and decided to visit an honest-to-goodness paint store in Big D. Walnut Hill Paint Store seemed very promising with a couple of online kudos and the fact that they offer a variety of paint brands. I spoke with the first gentleman I saw, who, without going in detail, didn't give me a strong opinion on what paint I should go with, but honestly recommended a flat sheen BM. I was chicken and was honestly leaning toward eggshell. He mentioned that the sheen card was "actually printed" (and I suppose I should have explained that I knew that very well as I'm a print graphic designer, art director, ah, well). Fortunately, a pro walked in and immediately realized my dilemma, we chatted, and, after a few minutes I was confident he knew what I was talking about, and he recommended top-o-the-line "Royal" BM Acrylic in Pearl finish which had been recommended on one the links here. So, I went there.

Now, I'm a big believer in letting paint cure, but I think this is probably as close as I'm going to get...

There is definitely a more pronounced sheen than the Valspar Satin, naturally (ack! that stuff was chalky!), but it is smooth enough for the touch factor!

I have to say here, that sanding the Valspar after two coats, made a similar effect, but the pearl is just that much better feeling! Short of using oil-based paint and spending more $$, the BM Royal Pearl is going to have to be my choice.

Another thing I decided was that the fabulous black finish I saw at my dentist's office is NOT going to look the same in white, no matter what! It's a light thing ;-)

If this house were worth the trouble, I'd paint 3 coats of Valspar satin and sand all three 3 coats. But nobody but me is going to notice the diff. here ;-)

PS. I sanded everything before I even started this project.

Hope this helps others...