DIYbanter - View Single Post - Interior Paint changes colors in areas during the daytime?!

George E. Cawthon

Jennifer wrote:
wrote:
Hello,

I've been trying to finish up a paint job in our bedroom using a
darker-green American Tradition paint we got at Lowe's. I've put on a
total of three coats now, and it seems like whenever sunlight comes in
through our windows (even if on the otherside of the house; not direct
sunlight) certain areas of the walls become lighter. This is VERY
noticable. Is this a common thing? How can I fix it? I can't just
paint over it because the middle area of the repaint will then be okay,
but the surrounding area of that repaint will then become lighter
during the day. Looks fine at night with all the lights on. What's
the deal?

It's just how paint behaves, as far as I can tell. I've seen it with
different brands and colors, though some colors don't seem to be
affected as much. For me, it has nothing to do with using CFLs... the
color change comes when it goes from diffuse ambient light to sunlight
streaming through the room. My hallway goes from soft butter yellow to
lemon yellow (blech) and my office goes from pale slate green to a
strange candy-colored greenish-blue. After the first few weeks of it
bothering me, I pretty much stopped noticing it

So that's my vote... ignore it, and eventually it will stop bothering
you. Or keep experimenting and find a color that at least changes to
another color you like when the light hits it. FWIW, Benjamin Moore
Stone House, Nantucket Fog, and Palladian Blue don't seem to do much,
if any, color changing in any light. I used three colors of American
Traditions paint in my old house, too, and none of those did a
noticeable color change, but I no longer remember the names of the
shades.

Good luck!

--
Jennifer

Absolutely dead on! Anyone that doesn't pay much
attention to light and color changes (most of us)
and then is forced to look carefully (painting)
immediately becomes aware of things they never saw
before. And, they start looking for problems.
Careful observation in other homes will show that
most changes are natural and should be expected.