Try something other than Valspare

You could mix them but it's hard to do manually. You need to stir/shake it really, really well. It would be better to use a paint shaker.

I'd stay with the Satin...

You may think it's too much sheen, but it does dull slightly with age, and will stand up slightly better over time.

If you're near a C2 dealer, they have a nice Exterior Eggshell.
P & L also has a low-sheen Exterior I think...

Faron

Paintguy: I think I can mix it ok, but will it affect the longevity of the paint job to mix the two types? Will there be adhesion problems? other problems?

Christophern: Right. That's a possibility of course, but I already picked my color and it's a Valspar color. I'm also finding the paint to be pretty nice, aside from the sheen issue.

Faron: Thanks for your input. One of the problems with the high sheen is that this is an older property and the siding isn't that smooth. I may stick with it anyway, but if there was some way to manipulate it to have a lower sheen, I'd be much happier. If I decide to switch brands, I'll look into those two paints (never heard of C2 though - it may not be popular in my area).

Faron (again): I've seen you recommend a dead flat coating on other posts. Is there anything like that which still allows some sheen to come through?

If anyone has other ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks

My honest opinion is that exterior is no place to get creative. There's too much at stake with time, money, and labor.

If a product is not a good fit on all points, then it's not a good fit. The best thing to do is find a product that is the perfect fit. Lord knows I'm on board with color being a major point of criteria, but with exterior the color factor can't always be in the #1 spot. And sheen isn't like color. You're stuck with the sheen levels in a particular brand yet most colors can be color matched reasonably well.

There are better products for exterior than Valspar that will meet your expectations for appropriate sheen and will be able to get you a reasonably good to excellent color match.

Christophern: Right. That's a possibility of course, but I already picked my color and it's a Valspar color.

Any "real" paint store will be able to match the color and most likely the sheen you are looking for. Go to a real paint store and as funcolors said your home is no place to be experimenting on.

Okay! You all convinced me - I'll either stick with what I've got and not mess with it, or I'll pick another paint.

Funcolors, which product do you like better than Valspar?

Sherwin Williams Duration in satin. Duration exterior goes on almost twice as thick as other exterior products. Still recommend two coats. Look into having darker colors mixed "VinylSafe". Basically vinyl safe colors are SW colors mixed without black.

I find the sheen level of Duration satin very nice. The sheen levels vary so much brand to brand, it does make it challenging.

Super Paint from SW in satin is a slightly lower cost alternative and would be my second choice. Most SW stores should be competent in color matching.

Most SW stores should be competent in color matching.

Operative word there( should) :)

I used Sherwin Williams Super Paint with a satin sheen the last time I painted the exterior of my house. I was extremely pleased to see the water shed off when it rained. It has held up pretty good with the exception of the West side of my house. Now when it gets wet it appears to soak in instead of shedding off like before. It has become chalky as well. I am about to re-paint that West side. I went online to Consumer Reports.com to see what paints are currently considered the best. There was a short mention of Sherwin Williams paints but none were included in their tests. According to their tests, Valspar and Kelly Moore were the best wearing paints. Valspar is the only one of the two available in my area. On Valspar, they tested Ultra Premium low luster and simi gloss. The Ultra Premium Duramax was tested using flat and low luster. I am wondering if i should use a simi gloss sheen on my hardboard siding on that West side to make it more durable to the effects of that West side sun exposure....any thoughts?

If you're only repainting the West side, I would have Duration mixed to match the rest of the house and I would definitely inquire about vinylsafe as the method of color mixing.

Vinylsafe leaves out the black colorant and that helps reduce solar accume. The west side is wearing differently than the rest of your house due to exposure. Strategies to lessen the impact of that exposure is where I'd be going with the next paint/color choice.

Should discuss with your SW store. Make sure you get good instruction on how to best deal with the current condition and do the proper prep before you repaint.