Paint Tricks & Tips

You deserve a home that looks it’s absolute best, especially because you’ve put so much work into making it the haven you want it to be. When it comes to touching up that work, we encourage you take the same kind of care. Here are a few tips for touching up paint.

Touching Up Paint
When it’s time to touch up paint, there are a few things to consider prior to taking on the project. We recommend you make sure the sheen matches and you use a paint with the same base. Those two components will make sure you don’t have inconsistent patches of color. Paint from the original can is the best route.For touch ups, Sherwin Williams recommends mixing 1 part water to 10 parts original paint to ensure touch ups will blend into surrounding paint. (If it is Latex Paint)

Finally, for a best finished product use the same tool the original paint was applied with. If it was a roller, use a roller. If it was a brush, use a brush.

What to Try Before Painting
Some touch ups are simply discoloration we see from dust or grime. Before reaching for soapy water, try dry dusting or simply wiping a dry or damp cloth across the surface.
For scuffs and other marks that don’t need repainting, you can also try testing a cleaning
solution to make sure it won’t damage the paint.Remember that flat paint is hard to clean, because there is very little sheen that protects from liquids, it is possible to form water stains. We recommend to be careful when cleaning flat paint. Warm, soapy water can also be used to remove food splatter or crayon. Once the stain has been removed, go back over the surface with a paper towel to remove as much of the water as possible. Check the surface again when it’s dry to ensure there are no water stains. For food splatter in your kitchen, you can also use a grease-cutting dish cleaner, but read the label to make sure it won’t harm your paint finish.

When to Repaint

There are some instances where a simple touch up is going to leave your project looking unfinished, or the circumstances surrounding the project don’t promise the best possible outcome. For example, if the surface paint is old and worn. We recommend using paint from the original can, but that can sometimes cause different colored patches to form. In that case, it’s best to consider repainting the entire project for the best possible outcome. There are other times when the paint simply can’t be matched. It’s so exciting to see the evolutions in the way paint is created – there are always upgrades being made to ingredients and sheen.

Finally, if your paint is faded we recommend you consider repainting the entire project. When a wall in your home sees more sunlight than others, the entire look, and even the makeup of the paint, can change. Thus, touching up a particular part of the wall will draw more attention to the fresh spot that now sits on the wall. We want to make sure the overall aesthetic of your home flows from wall to wall.
If you are looking to update a larger area, budget, time constraints and more need to be
considered when taking on any sort of renovation project. The same goes for touch ups to your home and your paint. If you’re looking for the best quality work, feel free to give us a call!