"Jean" wrote in message
...
I'm repainting the walls and trim inside my house. I have about a gallon
of the old paint (alkyd, satin sheen) that I'd like to use to touch up
dings in the baseboards and walls. Is is likely that this paint will still
match the old paint color-wise? How can I tell if the paint has "gone
bad"? Or should I just bite the bullet and buy some new paint and pray
that it matches the old color well enough to blend in?

Mix well, apply with a tiny brush or q-tips the smaller dings. If it dries
overnight, the paint is ok, and hasnt lost it's drying agents nor thinner
solvent. If it is a whitish color you are trying to match with oil paint,
the new paint will dry slightly lighter, whether or not you replace the old
can of paint with new. Oil paint, unlike acrylic, especially light colors,
slowly darken with age.