Step 1) Eliminate Flats & Eggshells from consideration.

Step 2) Satin or S/G ONLY for cabinets.

Most "Cabinet Paints" are AT LEAST a Satin for a reason.

Faron

then find out that going from Eggshell or Flat finish to Satin finish changes lightness/darkness slightly? How are/have you dealt with this? Thanks.

Direct short-n-sweet answer:
Samples. Buy a quart of your chosen color in the brand, grade, sheen that you want. A quart or a gallon is the only way to preview what it's going to look like.

More explanation if interested:
There are a few assumptions you can make when trying to predict how gloss is going to affect color off from how it appears on a chip:

Gloss makes color appear darker. Or could say richer, but 'richer' depends on who ya ask. If you've ever washed a chalkboard, that's kind of how it looks and feels. The black chalkboard is really an uber dark charcoal gray if you look at it closely, but when you hit it with a wet cloth, it turns jet black. Same with paint color. The element of gloss in paint permanently wets the pigment from a visual experience standpoint.

Some people believe that gloss makes color appear lighter in color. That's not accurate. They call it 'lighter in color' because they don't know what else to call it. What they're experiencing and sensing is a slightly greater rebounding of light due to the sheen in the paint. The color isn't lighter, the glossier paint film is simply concentrating light and scattering and rebounding it to the eye at a different 'rate' than a less shiny film would. Gloss doesn't scatter light like a matte or flat, it concentrates and rebounds. That concentrating and rebounding is also why glare spots happen with wall paint and also why glossier paints show more wall imperfections - the gloss concentrates light, not so much scattering goin' on, so it's like a nano spotlight projection for each and every surface imperfection.

Choosing higher gloss levels doesn't mean the paint film is going to literally reflect significantly more, or any 'useable', light into or thru a space; it's only paint film and paint film is a very poor reflector. However, many people think that glossy literally means 'more light' in the space -- it's a popular "color tip and trick". Like many color tips and tricks, it isn't exactly, completely accurate.

On average, if the paint chips you are working with are 'fresh' you're not going to sense too much color variance from chip to flat, matte, or egg. Once you hit satin sheens, then slight color shift due to sheen start to be more noticeable.

Also depends on what color - not necessarily what hue, rather what color. Lighter colors 'translate' far better thru various gloss levels than darker colors. Once you start working with colors with LRVs lower than 50, it's a bigger concern. Above that mid-value point, it can be an issue, but rarely much of an issue.

Thank you!

faron, why not eggshell for cabinets? if it's a good quality eggshell, wouldn't it be scrub-able?

Good question Ummmm!

The typical "Eggshell" resin, while washable, just isn't up to the constant wear & tear that cabinets undergo.

Semi-glosses & Glosses have Binder-resins that are more finely ground/smoother, therefore "shinier"....therefore MUCH more washable.

For a goofy example:
Imagine covering a black tabletop with white balls of different sizes.....to simulate the SMOOTHNESS of white paints of varying sheen.
* Flat-sheen paints might be comparable to baseballs spread on the table
* Matte-sheen paints would be slightly smaller tennis balls.
* Eggshell-sheens could be ping-pong balls (getting smoother here!)
* Satins would be marbles.
* Semi-glosses are garden peas!
* Glosses would be SALT!

As you can see, the higher the gloss, the tighter & smoother the paint-film. This means glosses are the most resistant to water, dirt, etc.; and will obviously wash-up the best!

Faron

faron - THANKS for the visual explanation! it really helps to understand the difference (rather than just the 'sheen'). appreciate you sharing your expertise :)

Though not typical, the resin used in all finishes might be exactly the same and only the ratio (and type)of pigment to resin are changing. The more pigment remaining on the surface after it dries, the flatter the appearance. So it's not the size of the pigment used, it's the amount and type used relative to the resin that defines sheen.

HI, WOULD LIKE TO PAINT KITCHEN CABINETS THAT ARE PICKELED.
THEY LOOK SLIGHTLE PINK. WANT THEN IN THE BROWN TONES AND WOULD
LIKE TO ANTIQUE WITH A DARKER BROWN IN THE CRACKS TO SHOW UP DARKER. WOULD ALSO LIKE TO REFINISH THE HARDWARE THEY
ARE NOW ANT. BRASS. HAS ANYONE DONE THAT ?
THANKS.
BB

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