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Most DIY projects come with a bit of a learning curve. Experienced DIYers may be able to turn to YouTube or ask a friend for advice or help, but many DIYers often get lost in the complexity of their project.


The initial excitement that led to the project sometimes fizzles out when DIYers find out what elbow grease, materials, or tools are needed to make their project come to fruition.


At Santa Barbara Paint Depot, we thrive on being able to help our DIYers with all of their questions, needs, and supplies. Customer service is what makes us stand out from big box stores or stores that carry everything, including the kitchen sink.


Ask Art: Our DIYer Receives Excellent Customer Service Regarding the Perfect Sheen


DIYer Ray wanted to paint the front interior and exterior door to his new vacation home, and turned to Art Prado, one of the owners of Santa Barbara Paint Depot, for advice.


Ray emailed Art about the type of sheen appropriate for a front door. Art responded,


“For the interior front door, we have 2 options:


  • High gloss advance hybrid (available also in semi-gloss); I like this option best- the only downside it is a hybrid which means it’s an oil that cleans up with water. Many people nowadays are avoiding oil-based paints, but they are the hardest single part component paints.
  • Option 2 is Scuffx Semi-gloss which is a urethane acrylic that is water cleanup, very nice paint but it is less “hard” than Advance.”

Satisfied with Art’s answer and appreciative of the time Art took to educate him, Ray chose the high gloss advance hybrid for the interior of the front door.


Still needing to choose the proper sheen for the exterior of the door, Ray asked, “What would be the problem with putting the high gloss advance hybrid on the exterior of the front door as well? The front door is fairly well-protected in a covered porch, and this is NOT a long-time commitment to the color as we’ll probably replace the front door entirely in a year or two.”


Art responded: “Good question! Benjamin Moore® products are formulated with properties to which they are exposed to. For example, in an exterior application, UV resistance, mildew resistance, temperature malleability and color retention are crucial characteristics for good performance.


Since you mentioned “hardness” I will focus on this characteristic. For an exterior product to perform well, it needs to be less “hard.” Why? Because a hard film will not flex with temperature/climate change. Imagine a front door that is subjected to cool mornings, hot afternoons, and moisture dew nights. A hard film, including a dark color choice will increase the surface temp 20 deg. By definition, hardness will cause the film to be brittle and not have an allowance for flexibility and crack under the stress.


The negative aspect of not having a front door that is not hard is that keys, rings, and other hard objects will scratch the door.

Benjamin Moore knows this and recently introduced Aura Grand Entrance (available in quarts only for $50), a product that’s hard with all the other characteristics needed.


Back to your question, can you use an interior product on an exterior space? Yes, if the area is well-protected from UV and the weather.”

We think the door came out stunning! We applaud our DIYers for a bold choice in color and the right sheen!


Remember Santa Barbara Paint Depot for all your Customer Service Needs


You aren’t going to find the type of customer service like our DIYer experienced at other warehouses or big brand stores. Santa Barbara Paint Depot is known for our excellent customer service and our commitment to our customers.


Want to read our reviews? Check us out on Google, where you can read the review written by the sister of this DIYer.

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