# How to turn Flat paint into Semi-gloss?



## Brass2312 (Aug 16, 2018)

Are ya' ready for this?. . . 
What can I add to some Flat water-based paint, to make it Semi-gloss, or even Gloss?
Thanks, people.
Brass2312


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## ktownskier (Aug 22, 2018)

Not a gosh darn thing. 

For example, in polyurethane, they take gloss poly and then add flattening agents to decrease the gloss. 

They do something similar in flat paint. In a very simplistic way to describe it. 

So, in other words, you wouldn't add anything to your paint, you would actually remove the flattening agents. That is if you could.


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## ZZZZZ (Oct 1, 2014)

Brass2312 said:


> Are ya' ready for this?. . .
> What can I add to some Flat water-based paint, to make it Semi-gloss, or even Gloss?
> Thanks, people.
> Brass2312


Take some high gloss paint of the same type and color, mix it with the flat, and you will get something approaching semigloss.
.
.


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## XSleeper (Sep 23, 2007)

First you dump the flat paint out. Then you refill the can with semigloss or gloss paint. Problem solved.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

I've intermixed different paints a lot over the yrs and found that it doesn't take a lot of flat to lessen the the sheen of the paint. You'd think that half flat and half gloss would give you semi-gloss but that mixture would be closer to satin.


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## RanK2 (Feb 19, 2020)

Nothing really. You could increase the sheen by adding some acrylic resin, BUT the more you do that without adding pigment and/or flatting agents, the more transparent it becomes. It also would become thicker and need more water to be spreadable, thus diminishing hide even further. 

There is a reason top shelf SG costs more than top shelf flat, it takes MORE resin AND higher quality pigment to get both sheen and hide.


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Buy a can of semi-gloss. Use the flat for the first coat, and then the semi-gloss for the second coat. But make sure you get good coverage with the second coat, or you will be doing a third coat just to get an even surface.


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## Old Thomas (Nov 28, 2019)

Gloss to flat, a one way street.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

You can't make it gloss. To make it semi-gloss, you'd need to add so much gloss paint that it really wouldn't be worth it. Sounds like you're trying to save a few bucks which is nice but there's no useful way to do that.


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## Brass2312 (Aug 16, 2018)

Thanks very much for the replies, people.

KTownSkier: I Really like your signature line about "The only stupid question is the one you DON'T ask!" 
Seems like this was already a fairly Stupid question. But, I asked anyway. Ah, well.

XSleeper: Dam, THAT's Brilliant! WHY didn't I think of it?! :vs_smirk:

JeffNC: Yup, I was being the cheap bastard that I am. Sounds like it can't really be done. :sad:

OK, Thanks, anyway, people.


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## April77 (Jul 11, 2021)

I just added 1 gallon of semi-gloss to my 3 gallons of flat and it made it about a matte finish...which is exactly what I wanted. I opted for that option vs adding a straight gloss additive because I didn't want to change the color or consistency of the paint. (I know gloss is clear but just to be safe). Plus it was cheaper to buy a gallon of the same paint than to buy the amount of gloss I needed. Ya just got to mix very, very well and keep mixing as you go. I used a drill attachment mixing stick.


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