Trade counter open Mon to Fri, 09:00 to 17:00 · Tullamore, Co Offaly
Next day delivery nationwide +353 (0)57 936 1062
High-sheen timber furniture in raking light
Insights · 8 min read

Choosing sheen: from dead matt to high gloss

Sheen is not a mood. It is a percentage, a viewing angle and a maintenance conversation. Specify it the way you order it: in writing, on the sample, before the doors leave the booth.

High-sheen timber furniture in raking light
High-sheen timber furniture in raking light
The same grey reads quieter at 10% than at 50% on a kitchen door. Spec the gloss, not the mood.
The same grey reads quieter at 10% than at 50% on a kitchen door. Spec the gloss, not the mood.
Sign sheen off on the real substrate, under the lights the client will use — not on a fan deck.
Sign sheen off on the real substrate, under the lights the client will use — not on a fan deck.

Specified by gloss

5% Dead matt
10% Matt
30% Satin
50% Semi gloss
90% High gloss

Clients say “matt” when they mean dead matt, and “not too shiny” when they mean 30% after three coats on oak. If the sheen is not on the order, the argument happens on site with a phone torch.

Name the gloss, not the feeling

On the product pages and in the quote builder we specify sheen the way the tin is made: dead matt around 5%, matt 10%, satin 20–30%, semi gloss 40–50%, high gloss 80–90%. Those numbers are a language your sprayer and our counter already share.

A sample door under the booth lights will not look like the same door at the end of a north-facing kitchen. That is expected. What is not expected is a 10% topcoat going out when the signed sample was 30%.

Where sheen actually shows

  • Kitchens and utility: fingerprints and wipe marks read more on higher gloss. Matt hides handling; high gloss shows every sanding scratch.
  • Furniture and display: a clear 10% on open grain oak looks quieter than the same sheen on MDF. Pigmented films show sheen more evenly.
  • Commercial fit-out: architects often lock sheen in the finish schedule. Do not “go a bit more matt to be safe” on fire retardant joinery without asking. The classification and the sheen travel together on the spec.

Sample the sheen on the real substrate

A fan deck is a colour tool, not a sheen tool. Spray the system you will use — primer or sealer, then topcoat — on the timber or MDF that is going on the job. Label the back with system, sheen, date and who signed it. Keep that panel. The second batch is judged against it, not against memory.

If the colour is a matched pigmented lacquer, match the colour and the sheen as one decision. Changing sheen on a stored formula can shift how the colour reads, even when the stain or tinter has not changed.

Maintenance is part of the sheen conversation

Dead matt looks calm on day one and can polish up in the wear path of a restaurant bar if the film is too soft for the traffic. High gloss on a family kitchen will be washed, and swirl marks will show. Tell the client that before they fall in love with a photograph.

How to order it from Lacquerite

Put the gloss percentage on the quote, the delivery docket and the spray-out. If you only remember one line for the counter: system, sheen, colour, pack size. We can argue about timber later. We cannot recover a run that left the booth on the wrong gloss.

Apply this on a job

Tell sales the system, sheen, colour and when you need it on the gun.

Get a trade quote

Open a trade account today.

Talk to our sales team about pricing, delivery and the right system for your work.

Apply for a trade account Call +353 (0)86 042 7816