Methodology
GlossAtlas compares paint finishes by their published gloss/sheen measurements, not by their marketing names, not by color, and not by any converted or estimated number. This page explains the rules behind every comparison on the site.
Why there is no 60°→85° conversion
Gloss is measured with a glossmeter at a fixed angle from the paint surface. Manufacturers commonly publish figures at 60° (mid-gloss finishes, where the industry convention is ASTM D523/ISO 2813) or at 85° (near-flat finishes, where a shallower angle is more sensitive to small differences in sheen). Some finishes are published at both angles; many are published at only one.
GlossAtlas never converts a 60° figure into an equivalent 85° figure, or vice versa, and it never will by default. No defensible, generally applicable constant or curve exists for that conversion across brands and finishes — the relationship between a paint’s 60° and 85° reading is not a fixed ratio, it depends on the specific formulation, and manufacturers that do publish both figures for the same finish do not report a consistent relationship between them. Publishing a conversion anyway would mean presenting an invented number as if it were a measurement. So the rule is simple and absolute: a comparison only ever happens between two figures published at the same angle. When two finishes were only ever measured at different angles, GlossAtlas says so rather than bridging the gap with a fabricated number.
The classification tiers, in plain language
Every comparison GlossAtlas produces falls into one of a small number of outcomes:
- A strong measured overlap — the two published ranges share a large portion of their span. This is the closest thing to “these behave the same on the wall” that published data can support.
- A partial measured overlap — the two published ranges share some span, but a smaller portion of it. Still a real overlap, just a narrower one.
- The nearest published range, without overlap — the two ranges don’t touch, but one finish is still the closest available option in that brand’s lineup, and the gap between them is disclosed in gloss units.
- No close measured equivalent — the nearest available finish in the target brand is far enough away in gloss units that calling it “closest” would be misleading rather than useful, so GlossAtlas says plainly that no close equivalent was found.
None of these is ever presented as “identical,” “exact,” “the same finish,” or “manufacturer-approved” — GlossAtlas reports a comparison of two published numeric ranges, not a claim that two products will look or behave identically on an actual wall.
Why “no close equivalent” is drawn at a specific threshold
The line between “nearest published range” and “no close equivalent” is a disclosed editorial policy choice, not a scientific constant discovered in the data. It exists so that if a brand’s nearest available finish is dramatically different in sheen from what you started with, GlossAtlas says so honestly instead of recommending a technically-nearest option that isn’t actually a reasonable substitute. The exact threshold value lives in the site’s matching engine, not duplicated here, precisely so there is a single place it can ever be defined.
What “closest measured match” does — and doesn’t — mean
A GlossAtlas result tells you which published finish, in the brand you’re comparing against, has the closest measured gloss/sheen figure to the one you started with, at the same measurement angle. It does not mean:
- the two paints are the same product, formulation, or color,
- the two paints are guaranteed to look identical once applied,
- the manufacturer of either paint endorses or has reviewed the comparison, or
- every factor that affects perceived sheen (substrate, application method, film thickness, lighting, and the color itself) has been accounted for — published gloss ranges can overlap and a real wall can still look different for reasons a glossmeter reading alone doesn’t capture.
Every figure GlossAtlas shows is transcribed directly from a manufacturer’s own published technical or product data sheet, linked from the result itself, with the date it was last checked. GlossAtlas never hosts a copy of a manufacturer’s document and never estimates a figure a manufacturer hasn’t published. If you want to see the full picture behind any single result, follow the source links — that’s the actual evidence, not this page’s summary of it.
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