How To Touch Up Paint Effectively
Over time any paint job can need a little touch up. Whether it is your inside walls or your exterior house paint you will find areas that need a bit of touch up. There are many things you can do to match color and to make your surface look like new.
Many times you will look at your siding color schemes and find places in the siding that need to touch up because the sun has faded some of the color. When you go into interior color schemes can have scratches or nicks here and there and touch up can be just what you need to refurbish the look.
Touch up can do a very nice job of alleviating eyesores that you didn't know existed until now. Touch up works best if you have painted something within a few days or a month as the surface has not had enough time to change drastically. Sometimes you miss a spot or two or something looks a bit uneven after you have had a few days to look at it.
If your paint job was done longer than just a couple of months it may be more difficult to match the wall color exactly. This is due to the fact that once paint is applied to your wall it begins to change. Whether it is due to sunlight, dust, dirt or just aging the color you have on you walls may change. Because the paint inside the original can has maintained its original color it may vary from the color on your wall regardless of the fact that it is the same paint. This is why it can be difficult to touch up a wall that has not been painted in the past year or two.
If your situation is similar to the one above then the touch up options will be different. One option is painting the whole wall, corner to corner, and the other option is paint color matching. To have a color matched you must first remove a piece of the paint color from the wall to bring to a local paint store. Make sure the paint sample is at least the size of a quarter and is a good representation of the color on the wall. Next make sure your local paint store has the capability to match colors as some paint stores may not have the technology required. If the paint store is able to match then bring in the sample and let them help you get a match.
When touching up it is important to use the same quality and brand of product. Resins, colorants and sheen vary from product to product so be sure to use the same type of paint. If the area in need of touch up is down to bare wood or sheetrock then it needs to be primed. Spot priming is fine if the rest of the painted surface has already been primed and painted. After the primer has been allowed to dry then the touch up can be used. When touching up it is important to diffuse the paint around the area that is being retouched. To diffuse means to disperse the paint with a brush around the entire area. This process is important when touching up because it helps the touch up blend in with the area around it. After the paint has dried check to make sure the color is correct and recoat if necessary.
Professional painters understand the difference between when you can use touch up and when you need to repaint. It may be a good idea to get a second opinion before you start.
Many times you will look at your siding color schemes and find places in the siding that need to touch up because the sun has faded some of the color. When you go into interior color schemes can have scratches or nicks here and there and touch up can be just what you need to refurbish the look.
Touch up can do a very nice job of alleviating eyesores that you didn't know existed until now. Touch up works best if you have painted something within a few days or a month as the surface has not had enough time to change drastically. Sometimes you miss a spot or two or something looks a bit uneven after you have had a few days to look at it.
If your paint job was done longer than just a couple of months it may be more difficult to match the wall color exactly. This is due to the fact that once paint is applied to your wall it begins to change. Whether it is due to sunlight, dust, dirt or just aging the color you have on you walls may change. Because the paint inside the original can has maintained its original color it may vary from the color on your wall regardless of the fact that it is the same paint. This is why it can be difficult to touch up a wall that has not been painted in the past year or two.
If your situation is similar to the one above then the touch up options will be different. One option is painting the whole wall, corner to corner, and the other option is paint color matching. To have a color matched you must first remove a piece of the paint color from the wall to bring to a local paint store. Make sure the paint sample is at least the size of a quarter and is a good representation of the color on the wall. Next make sure your local paint store has the capability to match colors as some paint stores may not have the technology required. If the paint store is able to match then bring in the sample and let them help you get a match.
When touching up it is important to use the same quality and brand of product. Resins, colorants and sheen vary from product to product so be sure to use the same type of paint. If the area in need of touch up is down to bare wood or sheetrock then it needs to be primed. Spot priming is fine if the rest of the painted surface has already been primed and painted. After the primer has been allowed to dry then the touch up can be used. When touching up it is important to diffuse the paint around the area that is being retouched. To diffuse means to disperse the paint with a brush around the entire area. This process is important when touching up because it helps the touch up blend in with the area around it. After the paint has dried check to make sure the color is correct and recoat if necessary.
Professional painters understand the difference between when you can use touch up and when you need to repaint. It may be a good idea to get a second opinion before you start.