Mixing paint to match the existing paint...
 

Hi everyone ~

I am doing a scrape and paint on my garage, and I do not have enough
house paint left to do the job. I brought a fresh chip of the color I
need to Lowe's (charcoal gray). They matched it up using Olympic flat
exterior 25 year paint, but I notice now that it is slightly darker
than the original.

Can I mix in a bit of flat white a little at a time, mix it up and
match it to the existing, or is that too difficult to do?

I am going to fully cover the siding, I just don't want the garage to
be a shade darker than the house if I can help it.

Thoughts are appreciated.


Bluesman

Mixing paint to match the existing paint...
 

the original paint has oxidised you will never get a exact match.....

if a miss match troubles you it might be better to paint garage a
contrasting color

Mixing paint to match the existing paint...
 

actualy, using the computer and a decent paint girl at home depot near
me, we did an exact match that is indistinguishable from the 30 year
old paint that was on the garage.
I'm suprised that the color is noticable off.

Empressess #124457


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wrote:
Hi everyone ~

I am doing a scrape and paint on my garage, and I do not have enough
house paint left to do the job. I brought a fresh chip of the color I
need to Lowe's (charcoal gray). They matched it up using Olympic flat
exterior 25 year paint, but I notice now that it is slightly darker
than the original.

Can I mix in a bit of flat white a little at a time, mix it up and
match it to the existing, or is that too difficult to do?

I am going to fully cover the siding, I just don't want the garage to
be a shade darker than the house if I can help it.

Thoughts are appreciated.


Bluesman

Mixing paint to match the existing paint...
 

There are many factors which are important when matching
new paint to old. The size of the "chip" that you bring in to
Lowe's is important. So is the texture of the sample. So is
the type of new paint that you are purchasing (satin, semi-
gloss, gloss, latex, oil, etc.)

Exactly matching paint can sometimes be very difficult. Still,
Lowe's, Home Depot and others will generally guarantee
the match, within reason. Take back a good sample of the
old paint, a sample of a surface painted with the new paint,
and the can of new paint. Be polite, go there when they aren't
likely to be super busy, and ask if they can attempt a better match.

You may need to skim off a bit of paint from the new can to make
room for the additional tint that they will add. It is also useful if
you can have a sample material which has been painted with
both the old and new paints so that the differences are obvious
when viewed side-by-side.

Don't attempt to tint the paint yourself unless you have no other
option. Even so, be advised that sometimes (uncured) paints are
incompatible. It is possible that you may add a bit of flat white
latex to some tinted latex paint and the paint is ruined. That doesn't
happen every time, but it does happen. Two different latex (or oil) paints
can have incompatible solvents, emulsifiers and/or binders.

If Lowe's won't help you, you may be lucky as I am. I have a very,
very good relationship with my local True Value hardware store.
Several times I have gone in (at a non-busy time) and the manager
has retinted some paint I own. Often it is paint which I didn't
purchase at his store. Why is he so considerate? Because I am
a consistent & loyal customer, I am a friendly customer, and I send
in a lot of referral business. I have worked out similar good &
consistent customer relations with NAPA, Harbor Freight, Benjamin
Moore Paints, the corner grocery, etc. It really helps when you walk
into a store and the manager immediately smiles and greets you by
name.

I like the approach of one of our local Benjamin Moore retailers.
After they custom match new paint, they put a dab of the
new paint on my sample of the old paint. Nobody in our family
can identify the spot which contains the new paint! That is one
method of letting the customer leave the store with a rather
high confidence that the paint will match. If it doesn't, they'll
work their butts off to make it match.

Good luck,
Gideon

Mixing paint to match the existing paint...
 

Mixing paint to match the existing paint...
 

"Norminn" wrote in message
ink.net...

If you have some of the original house paint left, the color formula
should be on the can.

The problem is that paint, especially exterior but interior also, will
rarely match the original formula after a year or more after being painted.

Mixing paint to match the existing paint...
 

On 19 Sep 2006 11:56:27 -0700, wrote:

actualy, using the computer and a decent paint girl at home depot near
me, we did an exact match that is indistinguishable from the 30 year
old paint that was on the garage.

I understand t hat they can do that -- I finally believe it -- but
what happens when the new paint ages? Won't it age faster in the
next 5 and 10 years than will the 30 year old paint?

I'm suprised that the color is noticable off.

Empressess #124457

Mixing paint to match the existing paint...
 

Can I mix in a bit of flat white a little at a time, mix it up and
match it to the existing, or is that too difficult to do?

Considered the possibility that the store didn't perform the match
properly, or the metering pumps didn't work right, or the kid behind the
counter counted the wrong number of pumps? These guys are not as careful
as anesthesiologists injecting curare.

Colors have at *least* 4 degrees of freedom, and you thus need at least 4
ingredients (tint and proportion) to adjust color. So, no, just adding
some white won't fix a general problem in paint matching. You can't assume
you're just missing some white.

Analyzing tints for components is not really something humans can do,
although they are very good at a simple "this differs from that".

Mixing paint to match the existing paint...
 

Richard J Kinch wrote:
Can I mix in a bit of flat white a little at a time, mix it up and
match it to the existing, or is that too difficult to do?


Considered the possibility that the store didn't perform the match
properly, or the metering pumps didn't work right, or the kid behind the
counter counted the wrong number of pumps? These guys are not as careful
as anesthesiologists injecting curare.

I could challenge that, but we don't want to go there :o)

Colors have at *least* 4 degrees of freedom, and you thus need at least 4
ingredients (tint and proportion) to adjust color. So, no, just adding
some white won't fix a general problem in paint matching. You can't assume
you're just missing some white.

His paint is too dark (charcoal gray). Adding white would help correct
that problem. After that, if it is too cool or too warm there are ways
to correct that, too.

Analyzing tints for components is not really something humans can do,
although they are very good at a simple "this differs from that".

Mixing paint to match the existing paint...
 

I'd try the advice to go back to Lowes when they aren't busy and see
what they can do. If that doesn't work, you could try lightening it
with some white of the same paint, however anyone that has tried to
tint paint can tell you that it is far from simple. Adding some white
will make it lighter, but that may not be all that is required.

If that doesn't work, then I'd go to a local real paint store, where
they hopefully can do a better job.

Mixing paint to match the existing paint...
 

I am the OP, thanks to everyone for the replies.

The sample I brought to Lowe's was the top of the BM can and a freshly
painted piece of fiberboard from that can, not a 30 year old chip.

I dabbed a small amount of the new Olympic right on top of the
fiberboard, and it is a slight bit darker, but, to be honest, I think I
am just going to go with it. I am not going to spot paint, I am going
to cover the whole thing, and the garage is not attached to the
house...I think a fresh paint job with a very slightly darker shade
will look better than the peeling fading mess that is on there now.

Besides, I don't want to ruin the paint trying to mix it like Doctor
Jekyl. It would probably be blue by the time I finished screwing
around with it.

Thanks again.


Bluesman

Mixing paint to match the existing paint...
 

On 20 Sep 2006 13:23:44 -0700, wrote:

I am the OP, thanks to everyone for the replies.

The sample I brought to Lowe's was the top of the BM can and a freshly
painted piece of fiberboard from that can, not a 30 year old chip.

I dabbed a small amount of the new Olympic right on top of the
fiberboard, and it is a slight bit darker, but, to be honest, I think I
am just going to go with it. I am not going to spot paint, I am going
to cover the whole thing, and the garage is not attached to the
house...I think a fresh paint job with a very slightly darker shade
will look better than the peeling fading mess that is on there now.

Besides, I don't want to ruin the paint trying to mix it like Doctor
Jekyl.

You bring up a good point. I know someone who mixed paint himself,
and that night while sleeping, his whole family contracted a terrible
skin disease.

It would probably be blue by the time I finished screwing
around with it.

When I was in college, the landlord was willing to paint two rooms
every so often, and my room was the two that needed it most. I wanted
"cream** colored" or light tan. The painter started with base and
added some o this and some o that, and painted the room. When he was
done it was light violet. Being a college guy, I really didn't want
people to think I had a violet or pink room.

It was Friday and I got him to leave his stuff there over the weekend,
and I painted it again myself with his brush and his paint. It turned
out the "base" he started with was just the color I wanted to begin
with!!!!!

**Have you all ever noticed that there are two meanings of cream
color. One is *white*, like cream, and the other is far from that,
more a light tan or something.

P&M

Thanks again.


Bluesman