Patching a Paint Job: How to Get Color Matches
When paint peels away from a surface, it often doesn’t happen all at once. While some might prefer to recoat an entire wall or room at the first sight of deterioration, it’s often only necessary and more efficient to touch up certain areas. Whether you’re touching up a wall’s paint job after fixing a piece of drywall or going over some marked up areas, you want the new paint to match the old coat in every way, unless your objective is painting a room two colors. Here are some tips on getting color matches when patching a paint job.
How to Pick the Right Paint for Patches
Store Your Used Paint
Homeowners who enjoy DIY painting projects might find that they still have leftover paint after they’re done. While it might be tempting to just get rid of the excess product, you can save your future self a headache or two by storing the paint. This way, you can use it down the road for touch-ups or reference. If, however, you don’t plan on reusing any of your paint, at least take note of the color, brand, and sheen you used. This way, you can still easily find and purchase the right paint color when you need it.
Use a Visualizer Tool
When it comes to matching colors, technology is your friend. Many paint brands and retailers have apps that allow you to find color matches simply by using your smartphone’s camera, aiming it at the surface with the desired color. Sherwin-Williams, BEHR, Glidden, HGTV, Home Depot, and many other companies all have some version of these color visualization tools. As an added bonus, these tools also help you pick out new colors for your interior spaces if you plan on trying something new altogether.
Get Help from a Paint Supply Store
Before there were color matching apps powered by augmented reality tech, you had to get help from a human being at a paint or hardware store. Indeed, you can still go this route if you need help finding a color match. Simply scrape a sample of the desired paint color and bring it into your favorite local paint supply store and someone can usually help.
Hire the Pros
If you need help finding the right paint and/or applying it, you can always reach out to the professionals. The best Raleigh painting companies should know a thing or two about matching colors, too. If possible and applicable, you might consider hiring the same Raleigh house painters as last time, as they might recall the paint they used in your home during the previous job. Even if they don’t, their experience should allow them to find the right match in no time.
It’s worth mentioning that color-matching isn’t always as easy as it might seem. Paint colors can fade and change over time. The product you used a year or two ago might actually look a bit different when applied to a wall that has an older coat. This is another reason to hire Anderson Painting contractors. Our painters know the ins and outs of color matching, down to the smallest details. Call Anderson Painting today at 919-610-1855 or email us at info@andersonpaintingnc.com!
