How to Match Paint Samples
Matching paint samples is an inexact science, whether you go to the store to use one of its spectrophotometers or try the eyeball method yourself. Spectrophotometers are only about 90 percent accurate -- even if you did get close, unless the paint is the same brand name and color, you will not get a truly accurate match. Paint that has been on the wall for several years has a different sheen than the new paint will, but there are some tricks you can try to help make a touch-up with the new paint less noticeable. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Paint sample, if available
- Screwdriver
- Large sponge
- Dish soap
- Bucket
- Store color swatches
- New paint
- White paint
- Paper cuts
- Plastic spoons or wooden craft sticks
- Small paintbrush
Instructions
-
-
1
Search the room to see if there is a light switch, air-conditioning vent or heat register that has been painted with the same color as the wall color you are trying to match. If so, remove it from the wall by unscrewing it. Take it to your local paint or home improvement store. If there is not a valid sample to give the store, go to Step 3.
-
2
Ask the store to match the color using its spectrophotometer machine. It may take several trys for the store to get the color right.
-
-
3
Mix a solution of 1 tbsp. mild dish soap to 1 gallon of warm water in a bucket. Wash the walls you will be repainting with the solution, using a oversized automobile sponge to cover large areas quickly. Allow the walls to thoroughly dry.
-
4
Open all the shades or curtains in the room. Turn off any indoor lights so you can examine the wall in bright, indirect sunlight. This is the closest you will come to the true shade of the walls, as artificial light adds color dimensions.
-
5
Go to the paint or hardware store and request eight to 10 color swatches in the color range of the paint you are trying to match. Bring them home and compare them to the wall.
-
6
Choose the sample swatch that is closest to the color of your walls when viewed in bright, indirect sunlight. Choose a color that is slightly darker than the wall when choosing your sample.
-
7
Ask the paint store to mix a quart of flat paint in the color closest to the match. Purchase an additional quart of flat white paint. You will mix some of the white paint into the new paint until you arrive at the perfect color.
-
8
Paint the new tinted paint on the wall. Allow it to dry for 20 minutes. It usually will dry darker than it appears when wet.
-
9
Mix 1 tsp. of the new shade with 1 tsp. of the white paint in a paper cup with a spoon. Rinse your spoon and set it aside. Paint a small swatch of the new shade next to the first shade, using a small brush.
-
10
Allow the second paint swatch to dry for 20 minutes. Adjust your paint mixing as needed -- either more white paint to lighten the shade, or less to darken. Perform your next test in a clean cup with fresh paint, always rinsing the mixing spoon clean after each experiment. Record the amount of paint you are mixing from each experiment until you reach the correct shade on the wall.
-
11
Mix up a larger batch of paint to use on your walls, once you have formulated the correct ratio of white paint to new paint.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Small touch-ups in high-traffic areas or areas of repair will show the paint discrepancies the worst. It is best to paint the entire wall rather than just a spot; this will show up regardless of how close your color match is.
Touch up smaller areas, less than 3 inches square, by dabbing the paint in the center of the touch-up area and expanding outward, lightly feathering over the old paint.
Paint larger touch-up areas by dabbing paint with a brush on the very outside edges of the touch-up area, then rolling over it with a paint roller to add texture to the new paint -- blending it into the old.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Pixland/Getty Images
