Little brick bungalow in the midwest US. I painted the interior maybe
25 years ago, still looks OK except for ...

Every 5 years or so, some roof sealant will crack or flashing will
separate, I notice wet spot on ceiling, proceed to fix roof and
Kilz the spot. After I was sure a couple spots were water-tight,
I got some standard-tint ceiling white paint from HD and covered
the Kilz spots. It was -much- lighter in color than the old paint,
which is faded and maybe has a little coat of nearly invisible
dirt.

I can take a sample of a painted surface to a Big Box and have 'em
mix a matching tint. I haven't done it in recent years, but it's
reasonable to expect it to match pretty well? This is question 1.

Question 2: How well might I expect it to work for ceiling white?
I'm tired of looking at the extra-light spots on the ceiling
where I applied the Kilz.

Question 3: If mix-to-match is practical in Q2, how can I get a
sample for them to analyze? Anyone had a successful mix-to-match
from, say, a digital photo?

Other ideas welcome.

TIA,
Will

Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote:


Little brick bungalow in the midwest US. I painted the interior maybe
25 years ago, still looks OK except for ...

-snip-

I can take a sample of a painted surface to a Big Box and have 'em
mix a matching tint. I haven't done it in recent years, but it's
reasonable to expect it to match pretty well? This is question 1.

I'm torn.
1. If a 25 yr old paint job still looks good to you- sure, it will
probably be ok.

2. OTOH- it is a "little bungalow" that you haven't had to paint in 25
yrs---- splurge for a weekend and paint the whole thing.
-snip-

Question 3: If mix-to-match is practical in Q2, how can I get a
sample for them to analyze? Anyone had a successful mix-to-match
from, say, a digital photo?

Not in a million years.

Other ideas welcome.

In the time you mess around with matching paint & moving furniture &
masking corners you could probably paint the whole ceiling--- and the
next weekend put a coat on the walls, too.

Jim

On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:17:05 -0500, Jim Elbrecht wrote:

Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote:

-snip-

and -snip- again ...

Other ideas welcome.

In the time you mess around with matching paint & moving furniture &
masking corners you could probably paint the whole ceiling--- and the
next weekend put a coat on the walls, too.

Jim

Well, I guess that was an easy answer.

Lots of folks are drawn to easy answers.

The area that requires re-painting comprises about 8 square feet.
And I am functionally disabled with lo-back and other pain: I'd
cheerfully, cheerfully repaint the entire 2 ceilings if it wouldn't
put me in the hospital (or worse). Wish it were otherwise.

Cheers,
Will

Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote:
On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:17:05 -0500, Jim Elbrecht wrote:

Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote:

-snip-

and -snip- again ...

Other ideas welcome.
In the time you mess around with matching paint & moving furniture &
masking corners you could probably paint the whole ceiling--- and the
next weekend put a coat on the walls, too.

Jim

Well, I guess that was an easy answer.

Lots of folks are drawn to easy answers.

The area that requires re-painting comprises about 8 square feet.
And I am functionally disabled with lo-back and other pain: I'd
cheerfully, cheerfully repaint the entire 2 ceilings if it wouldn't
put me in the hospital (or worse). Wish it were otherwise.

Cheers,
Will

The simplest fix for your situation would be to get paint chips for
"ceiling white" and compare them to your ceiling under daylight and
artificial lighting (daylight should be most accurate). Get the color
made - or, if you are lucky, the box stores and some paint stores have
sample size containers - then apply with foam roller on an extension
pole. Of course, reaching overhead with a pole might be more of a
strain than getting on a sturdy ladder so that you are close to the
ceiling without an extension. If the match is close and the new coat of
paint feathered out thinly at the borders, it might make a reasonably
close match. I would take pains to apply the new paint thinly so that
the difference in texture doesn't stand out.

Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote:
Little brick bungalow in the midwest US. I painted the interior maybe
25 years ago, still looks OK except for ...

Every 5 years or so, some roof sealant will crack or flashing will
separate, I notice wet spot on ceiling, proceed to fix roof and
Kilz the spot. After I was sure a couple spots were water-tight,
I got some standard-tint ceiling white paint from HD and covered
the Kilz spots. It was -much- lighter in color than the old paint,
which is faded and maybe has a little coat of nearly invisible
dirt.

I can take a sample of a painted surface to a Big Box and have 'em
mix a matching tint. I haven't done it in recent years, but it's
reasonable to expect it to match pretty well? This is question 1.

Question 2: How well might I expect it to work for ceiling white?
I'm tired of looking at the extra-light spots on the ceiling
where I applied the Kilz.

Question 3: If mix-to-match is practical in Q2, how can I get a
sample for them to analyze? Anyone had a successful mix-to-match
from, say, a digital photo?

Other ideas welcome.

You won't get anything even resembling a match from a digital photo.

About the only way to get a sample is to cut it out. Assuming a drywall
ceiling, that shouldn't be too hard. You need about one square inch...score
through paint and paper of drywall, work an edge up with knife point and
peel off paper. Yes, it will leave an area that needs to be spackled and
primed, no big deal.

My experiences with stores matching samples is less than stellar. Close,
yes; not noticeably different, no. However, if it is pretty good you can
cheat a bit by painting the bad area then feathering out 2,3,4 feet all
around it. By "feathering" I mean painting the feathered area with
increasingly less paint either by thinning the paint a bit and/or by
incompletely covering the area. Keep the brush pretty dry and just skip it
along the surface.

Even if you still had some original paint left that was unused it wouldn't
match what is on your ceiling now after 25 years of aging, accumulation of
whatever, ultra violet, etc.

If it were me and I couldn't paint the whole ceiling I'd cut out a piece,
get a match as close as possible and feather.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

On Feb 1, 12:32*pm, Wilfred Xavier Pickles
wrote:
Little brick bungalow in the midwest US. I painted the interior maybe
25 years ago, still looks OK except for ...

Every 5 years or so, some roof sealant will crack or flashing will
separate, I notice wet spot on ceiling, proceed to fix roof and
Kilz the spot. After I was sure a couple spots were water-tight,
I got some standard-tint ceiling white paint from HD and covered
the Kilz spots. It was -much- lighter in color than the old paint,
which is faded and maybe has a little coat of nearly invisible
dirt.

I can take a sample of a painted surface to a Big Box and have 'em
mix a matching tint. I haven't done it in recent years, but it's
reasonable to expect it to match pretty well? This is question 1.

Question 2: How well might I expect it to work for ceiling white?
I'm tired of looking at the extra-light spots on the ceiling
where I applied the Kilz.

Question 3: If mix-to-match is practical in Q2, how can I get a
sample for them to analyze? Anyone had a successful mix-to-match
from, say, a digital photo?

Other ideas welcome.

TIA,
Will

Your chance of getting a box store to mix it right is?? you need
someone who does it regularly, a paint store is a better bet to spend
time to get it close, if you have an eye have them dry a large sample
to compare, a trick for them is drying to small a sample for anyone to
see, it can be done , it can be a headache arguing with an employee.

On Feb 1, 1:32*pm, Wilfred Xavier Pickles
wrote:
Little brick bungalow in the midwest US. I painted the interior maybe
25 years ago, still looks OK except for ...

Every 5 years or so, some roof sealant will crack or flashing will
separate, I notice wet spot on ceiling, proceed to fix roof and
Kilz the spot. After I was sure a couple spots were water-tight,
I got some standard-tint ceiling white paint from HD and covered
the Kilz spots. It was -much- lighter in color than the old paint,
which is faded and maybe has a little coat of nearly invisible
dirt.

I can take a sample of a painted surface to a Big Box and have 'em
mix a matching tint. I haven't done it in recent years, but it's
reasonable to expect it to match pretty well? This is question 1.

Question 2: How well might I expect it to work for ceiling white?
I'm tired of looking at the extra-light spots on the ceiling
where I applied the Kilz.

Question 3: If mix-to-match is practical in Q2, how can I get a
sample for them to analyze? Anyone had a successful mix-to-match
from, say, a digital photo?

Other ideas welcome.

TIA,
Will

IF part of the problem is that its dirty you are not going to get a
good match. Whenever I paint I keep a record of the paint I used that
way I can go back to the store and get the same paint. This doesnt
even work well if the ceiling is dirty.



Jimmie

On Feb 1, 3:50*pm, Wilfred Xavier Pickles
wrote:
On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:17:05 -0500, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote:
-snip-

and -snip- again ...

Other ideas welcome.

In the time you *mess around with matching paint & moving furniture &
masking corners you could probably paint the whole ceiling--- and the
next weekend put a coat on the walls, too.

Jim

Well, I guess that was an easy answer.

Lots of folks are drawn to easy answers.

The area that requires re-painting comprises about 8 square feet.
And I am functionally disabled with lo-back and other pain: I'd
cheerfully, cheerfully repaint the entire 2 ceilings if it wouldn't
put me in the hospital (or worse). Wish it were otherwise.

Cheers,
Will

If you can't afford to have someone paint the ceiling for you, then
perhaps you have some skill that you can share with others.

Barter your way to a fresh coat of paint on both ceilings.

Read to an old person and have their adult child paint for you.
They'll appreciate the break from taking care of mom. It'll be good
for all three of you.

Impart some wisdom to a Boy Scout Troop based on your life experiences
- talk about your disabilty and how it has impacted your life and how
others treat you because of it. They'll learn a valuable life lesson
and get community service credit for painting your ceilings.

Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote in
:

On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:17:05 -0500, Jim Elbrecht
wrote:

Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote:

-snip-

and -snip- again ...

Other ideas welcome.

In the time you mess around with matching paint & moving furniture &
masking corners you could probably paint the whole ceiling--- and the
next weekend put a coat on the walls, too.

Jim

Well, I guess that was an easy answer.

Lots of folks are drawn to easy answers.

The area that requires re-painting comprises about 8 square feet.
And I am functionally disabled with lo-back and other pain: I'd
cheerfully, cheerfully repaint the entire 2 ceilings if it wouldn't
put me in the hospital (or worse). Wish it were otherwise.

Cheers,
Will


And I am functionally disabled with lo-back and other pain:

I notice wet spot on ceiling, proceed to fix roof and
Kilz the spot.

Fix roof but unable to paint ceiling?

On Feb 1, 4:38*pm, Red Green wrote:
Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote :





On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:17:05 -0500, Jim Elbrecht
wrote:

Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote:

-snip-

and -snip- again ...

Other ideas welcome.

In the time you *mess around with matching paint & moving furniture &
masking corners you could probably paint the whole ceiling--- and the
next weekend put a coat on the walls, too.

Jim

Well, I guess that was an easy answer.

Lots of folks are drawn to easy answers.

The area that requires re-painting comprises about 8 square feet.
And I am functionally disabled with lo-back and other pain: I'd
cheerfully, cheerfully repaint the entire 2 ceilings if it wouldn't
put me in the hospital (or worse). Wish it were otherwise.

Cheers,
Will
And I am functionally disabled with lo-back and other pain:
I notice wet spot on ceiling, proceed to fix roof and
Kilz the spot.

Fix roof but unable to paint ceiling?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Good Point!!!

"JIMMIE" wrote in message
...
On Feb 1, 1:32 pm, Wilfred Xavier Pickles
wrote:
Little brick bungalow in the midwest US. I painted the interior maybe
25 years ago, still looks OK except for ...

Every 5 years or so, some roof sealant will crack or flashing will
separate, I notice wet spot on ceiling, proceed to fix roof and
Kilz the spot. After I was sure a couple spots were water-tight,
I got some standard-tint ceiling white paint from HD and covered
the Kilz spots. It was -much- lighter in color than the old paint,
which is faded and maybe has a little coat of nearly invisible
dirt.

I can take a sample of a painted surface to a Big Box and have 'em
mix a matching tint. I haven't done it in recent years, but it's
reasonable to expect it to match pretty well? This is question 1.

Question 2: How well might I expect it to work for ceiling white?
I'm tired of looking at the extra-light spots on the ceiling
where I applied the Kilz.

Question 3: If mix-to-match is practical in Q2, how can I get a
sample for them to analyze? Anyone had a successful mix-to-match
from, say, a digital photo?

Other ideas welcome.

TIA,
Will

IF part of the problem is that its dirty you are not going to get a
good match. Whenever I paint I keep a record of the paint I used that
way I can go back to the store and get the same paint. This doesnt
even work well if the ceiling is dirty.



Jimmie



There is NOTHING you're going to be able to do that will match 25 year old
paint in the middle of the ceiling..If you or a friend or family member
can't re-paint the entire ceiling and you don't have the money to hire the
neighborhood handyman or painter , you have 2 choices..Just paint the spot
and wait a few years for it to get dirty enough not to notice or invite a
few smokers over for a poker game and yellow it up a little....HTH....

On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:38:31 -0600, Red Green wrote:

And I am functionally disabled with lo-back and other pain:

I notice wet spot on ceiling, proceed to fix roof and
Kilz the spot.

Fix roof but unable to paint ceiling?

I can climb a ladder, hang off the top enough to smear some
plastic roof cement. Both leaks were near the edge, little
breaks in the old sealer. I'd stand no chance of fixing
a serious leak up on top.

On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:07:40 -0500, " wrote:

The simplest fix for your situation would be to get paint chips for
"ceiling white" and compare them to your ceiling under daylight and
artificial lighting (daylight should be most accurate). Get the color
made - or, if you are lucky, the box stores and some paint stores have
sample size containers - then apply with foam roller on an extension
pole. Of course, reaching overhead with a pole might be more of a
strain than getting on a sturdy ladder so that you are close to the
ceiling without an extension. If the match is close and the new coat of
paint feathered out thinly at the borders, it might make a reasonably
close match. I would take pains to apply the new paint thinly so that
the difference in texture doesn't stand out.

Good point about natural lighting.

There's 1 spot in each of 2 rooms, and the tint is different.
So I need 2 matches. No problem with the feathering.

I think I will hafta mix myself. Maybe some grey with the ceiling
white I've already got. Play with it until I get close enough in
each of the 2 rooms.

Thanks,
Will

I probably shoulda mentioned, it's old-style plaster on steel lath.
No way to cut a sample.

Several good points in your response i.e. feathering. Much thanks.

I think I will hafta mix myself. Maybe some grey with the ceiling
white I've already got. Play with it until I get close enough in
each of the 2 rooms.

Will


On Mon, 1 Feb 2010 16:08:37 -0500, "dadiOH" wrote:

You won't get anything even resembling a match from a digital photo.

About the only way to get a sample is to cut it out. Assuming a drywall
ceiling, that shouldn't be too hard. You need about one square inch...score
through paint and paper of drywall, work an edge up with knife point and
peel off paper. Yes, it will leave an area that needs to be spackled and
primed, no big deal.

My experiences with stores matching samples is less than stellar. Close,
yes; not noticeably different, no. However, if it is pretty good you can
cheat a bit by painting the bad area then feathering out 2,3,4 feet all
around it. By "feathering" I mean painting the feathered area with
increasingly less paint either by thinning the paint a bit and/or by
incompletely covering the area. Keep the brush pretty dry and just skip it
along the surface.

Even if you still had some original paint left that was unused it wouldn't
match what is on your ceiling now after 25 years of aging, accumulation of
whatever, ultra violet, etc.

If it were me and I couldn't paint the whole ceiling I'd cut out a piece,
get a match as close as possible and feather.

Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote:
Little brick bungalow in the midwest US. I painted the interior maybe
25 years ago, still looks OK except for ...

Every 5 years or so, some roof sealant will crack or flashing will
separate, I notice wet spot on ceiling, proceed to fix roof and
Kilz the spot. After I was sure a couple spots were water-tight,
I got some standard-tint ceiling white paint from HD and covered
the Kilz spots. It was -much- lighter in color than the old paint,
which is faded and maybe has a little coat of nearly invisible
dirt.

I can take a sample of a painted surface to a Big Box and have 'em
mix a matching tint. I haven't done it in recent years, but it's
reasonable to expect it to match pretty well? This is question 1.

Question 2: How well might I expect it to work for ceiling white?
I'm tired of looking at the extra-light spots on the ceiling
where I applied the Kilz.

Question 3: If mix-to-match is practical in Q2, how can I get a
sample for them to analyze? Anyone had a successful mix-to-match
from, say, a digital photo?

Other ideas welcome.

TIA,
Will

I had *exactly* the same problem last year, matching a small repaired
section of a 15 year old 25' x 25' cathedral ceiling. After 2 attempts
at "eye-balling" with traditional prepared sample cards, I "bit the
bullet" and cut out a 2" patch of the drywall paper, from an
inconspicuous spot. I took this to HD, and they made up one of their 8
oz. samples (for a whopping $2.94), that matched perfectly, and was
more than enough to cover the 2' x 6' area I needed to cover.

I glued the patch back in place using Elmer's glue and spackle, and
you have to look hard to find it.

--reed

PS I used a padded 2x4 to lean up against the patch, to hold it flat,
while the glue dried.

Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote:
On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:07:40 -0500, " wrote:

The simplest fix for your situation would be to get paint chips for
"ceiling white" and compare them to your ceiling under daylight and
artificial lighting (daylight should be most accurate). Get the color
made - or, if you are lucky, the box stores and some paint stores have
sample size containers - then apply with foam roller on an extension
pole. Of course, reaching overhead with a pole might be more of a
strain than getting on a sturdy ladder so that you are close to the
ceiling without an extension. If the match is close and the new coat of
paint feathered out thinly at the borders, it might make a reasonably
close match. I would take pains to apply the new paint thinly so that
the difference in texture doesn't stand out.

Good point about natural lighting.

There's 1 spot in each of 2 rooms, and the tint is different.
So I need 2 matches. No problem with the feathering.

I think I will hafta mix myself. Maybe some grey with the ceiling
white I've already got. Play with it until I get close enough in
each of the 2 rooms.

Thanks,
Will

If you have a good eye, you can get some dead-white latex (actually
acryllic) paint, get a couple of small tubes of artist acryllic paint at
a craft store and mix the color yourself. You would have to mix enough
to cover the spots or end up not having sufficient quantity of the right
color. Need black, burnt umber, blue, yellow, probably....if you do one
small spot with the plain white, you should be able to see which way the
original color leans...warmer or cooler. I used the same colors to
camouflage a concrete deck where a neighbor slopped dark brown wood
stain in our atrium. It's amazing how many shades of "white" one can
buy )

Reed wrote:
Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote:
Little brick bungalow in the midwest US. I painted the interior maybe
25 years ago, still looks OK except for ...

Every 5 years or so, some roof sealant will crack or flashing will
separate, I notice wet spot on ceiling, proceed to fix roof and
Kilz the spot. After I was sure a couple spots were water-tight,
I got some standard-tint ceiling white paint from HD and covered
the Kilz spots. It was -much- lighter in color than the old paint,
which is faded and maybe has a little coat of nearly invisible
dirt.

I can take a sample of a painted surface to a Big Box and have 'em
mix a matching tint. I haven't done it in recent years, but it's
reasonable to expect it to match pretty well? This is question 1.

Question 2: How well might I expect it to work for ceiling white?
I'm tired of looking at the extra-light spots on the ceiling
where I applied the Kilz.

Question 3: If mix-to-match is practical in Q2, how can I get a
sample for them to analyze? Anyone had a successful mix-to-match
from, say, a digital photo?

Other ideas welcome.

TIA,
Will

I had *exactly* the same problem last year, matching a small repaired
section of a 15 year old 25' x 25' cathedral ceiling. After 2 attempts
at "eye-balling" with traditional prepared sample cards, I "bit the
bullet" and cut out a 2" patch of the drywall paper, from an
inconspicuous spot. I took this to HD, and they made up one of their 8
oz. samples (for a whopping $2.94), that matched perfectly, and was more
than enough to cover the 2' x 6' area I needed to cover.

I glued the patch back in place using Elmer's glue and spackle, and you
have to look hard to find it.

--reed

PS I used a padded 2x4 to lean up against the patch, to hold it flat,
while the glue dried.

Just saw your post re plaster over lath.. Oh well, good luck.

On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:50:43 -0600, Wilfred Xavier Pickles
wrote:

On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:17:05 -0500, Jim Elbrecht wrote:

-snip-

In the time you mess around with matching paint & moving furniture &
masking corners you could probably paint the whole ceiling--- and the
next weekend put a coat on the walls, too.

Jim

Well, I guess that was an easy answer.

No-- Easy would be to tell you "Yes" - and let you find out for
yourself that it just ain't so. The only way to get a ceiling to
look like new is to paint the whole thing. Same for a wall-- ceiling
to floor- corner to corner. Unless the paint is a week old [and then
it is iffy] you *can't* match paint, IMO. BTDT


Lots of folks are drawn to easy answers.

The area that requires re-painting comprises about 8 square feet.
And I am functionally disabled with lo-back and other pain: I'd
cheerfully, cheerfully repaint the entire 2 ceilings if it wouldn't
put me in the hospital (or worse). Wish it were otherwise.

I don't know you- so maybe you are understating your disability and
you *really* can't do this job right. But if you can't do it right,
then you might as well save yourself for something you can do.

I suppose I could call myself 'functionally disabled'. What should
take me 2 hours to do might stretch into an entire week-- or more if
I'm having a bad week. But when it is done I can be proud of the
job. and if somebody could warn me before I start that I'd be wasting
my time, I'd find something else to do.

Life is full of choices.

Jim

On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:58:12 -0500, " wrote:

If you have a good eye, you can get some dead-white latex (actually
acryllic) paint, get a couple of small tubes of artist acryllic paint at
a craft store and mix the color yourself.

That stuff will mix OK? That'd be a help.

You would have to mix enough
to cover the spots or end up not having sufficient quantity of the right
color. Need black, burnt umber, blue, yellow, probably....if you do one
small spot with the plain white, you should be able to see which way the
original color leans...warmer or cooler. I used the same colors to
camouflage a concrete deck where a neighbor slopped dark brown wood
stain in our atrium. It's amazing how many shades of "white" one can
buy )

Shades of a color are not finite. Somebody said ya never get a
perfect match, and he was right.

I will settle for "pretty close" and maybe the dust and years
will eventually help. Just bothers me when it sticks out like
the proverbial "sore thumb".

Thanks,
Will

On Feb 2, 1:39*pm, Wilfred Xavier Pickles
wrote:
On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:58:12 -0500, " wrote:
If you have a good eye, you can get some dead-white latex (actually
acryllic) paint, get a couple of small tubes of artist acryllic paint at
a craft store and mix the color yourself. *

That stuff will mix OK? That'd be a help.

You would have to mix enough
to cover the spots or end up not having sufficient quantity of the right
color. *Need black, burnt umber, blue, yellow, probably....if you do one
small spot with the plain white, you should be able to see which way the
original color leans...warmer or cooler. *I used the same colors to
camouflage a concrete deck where a neighbor slopped dark brown wood
stain in our atrium. *It's amazing how many shades of "white" one can
buy )

Shades of a color are not finite. Somebody said ya never get a
perfect match, and he was right.

I will settle for "pretty close" and maybe the dust and years
will eventually help. Just bothers me when it sticks out like
the proverbial "sore thumb".

Thanks,
Will

Throw a handfull of mud on the ceiling at the other end of the room.

No one will notice the slight color differences in the white paint.

On Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:36:27 -0500, Jim Elbrecht wrote:

Well, I guess that was an easy answer.

No-- Easy would be to tell you "Yes" - and let you find out for
yourself that it just ain't so. The only way to get a ceiling to
look like new

"look like new" wasn't requested. Just a "match" of some reasonable
degree.

is to paint the whole thing. Same for a wall-- ceiling
to floor- corner to corner. Unless the paint is a week old [and then
it is iffy] you *can't* match paint, IMO. BTDT

Yes, a perfect match is not practical.

Lots of folks are drawn to easy answers.

The area that requires re-painting comprises about 8 square feet.
And I am functionally disabled with lo-back and other pain: I'd
cheerfully, cheerfully repaint the entire 2 ceilings if it wouldn't
put me in the hospital (or worse). Wish it were otherwise.

I don't know you

This part is key ...

- so maybe you are understating your disability and
you *really* can't do this job right. But if you can't do it right,
then you might as well save yourself for something you can do.

Obviously not for you to decide, dictate, etc.

I suppose I could call myself 'functionally disabled'. What should
take me 2 hours to do might stretch into an entire week-- or more if
I'm having a bad week.

Same here.

But when it is done I can be proud of the
job.

Same here, on some kinds of jobs.

and if somebody could warn me before I start that I'd be wasting
my time, I'd find something else to do.

Big difference between pointing something out and dictating what
a stranger in unknown circumstances should/should-not do.

Life is full of choices.

Sho 'nuff. Having done it myself a few times in years past, I'd say
it's often unwise to project one's abilities, values, etc onto
someone you are not familiar with, knowledgable about, etc.

Simply put, in this circumstance, if I undertook to repaint as
little as 2 rooms entirely, I would very likely render my poor
self unable to do more important but less strenuous jobs for
a week or longer (or worse). Wouldn't make sense. I have to ration
what resources are available to me. Is part of getting seriously
older for many folks.

Will

On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:07:25 -0700, Reed wrote:

I had *exactly* the same problem last year, matching a small repaired
section of a 15 year old 25' x 25' cathedral ceiling. After 2 attempts
at "eye-balling" with traditional prepared sample cards, I "bit the
bullet" and cut out a 2" patch of the drywall paper, from an
inconspicuous spot. I took this to HD, and they made up one of their 8
oz. samples (for a whopping $2.94), that matched perfectly, and was
more than enough to cover the 2' x 6' area I needed to cover.

I glued the patch back in place using Elmer's glue and spackle, and
you have to look hard to find it.

--reed

PS I used a padded 2x4 to lean up against the patch, to hold it flat,
while the glue dried.

Just saw your post re plaster over lath.. Oh well, good luck.

Your efforts are appreciated and not wasted.

With a spot of luck, I may be able to get close matches (1 at a time)
with craft/toy paints, then take a newly created match-sample to
the HD near here for an 8 oz thing. I didn't know HD offered that
service, thought I'd hafta get a full gallon (or similar) mix-
matched. For $2.94 it'd be a damned good deal!

Thanks,
Will

Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote:
On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:58:12 -0500, " wrote:

If you have a good eye, you can get some dead-white latex (actually
acryllic) paint, get a couple of small tubes of artist acryllic paint at
a craft store and mix the color yourself.

That stuff will mix OK? That'd be a help.

I do it for craft projects and anything else that needs "paint". Have
mixed varnish with artist oil colors to make paint for small items. Not
a factory formula, but the same basic idea. I've made stain in color to
suit me rather than spend money for a quart of unpredictable color. All
it had to do was soak into the wood and tint it the way I wanted )

You would have to mix enough
to cover the spots or end up not having sufficient quantity of the right
color. Need black, burnt umber, blue, yellow, probably....if you do one
small spot with the plain white, you should be able to see which way the
original color leans...warmer or cooler. I used the same colors to
camouflage a concrete deck where a neighbor slopped dark brown wood
stain in our atrium. It's amazing how many shades of "white" one can
buy )

Shades of a color are not finite. Somebody said ya never get a
perfect match, and he was right.

I will settle for "pretty close" and maybe the dust and years
will eventually help. Just bothers me when it sticks out like
the proverbial "sore thumb".

Thanks,
Will

On Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:31:48 -0500, " wrote:

That stuff will mix OK? That'd be a help.

I do it for craft projects and anything else that needs "paint". Have
mixed varnish with artist oil colors to make paint for small items. Not
a factory formula, but the same basic idea. I've made stain in color to
suit me rather than spend money for a quart of unpredictable color. All
it had to do was soak into the wood and tint it the way I wanted )

Good enough. There weren't any shops with acrylics etc here in the
'hood, so ...

The simplest fix for your situation would be to get paint chips for
"ceiling white" and compare them to your ceiling under daylight and
artificial lighting (daylight should be most accurate). Get the color
made - or, if you are lucky, the box stores and some paint stores have
sample size containers

The guy at HD mixed 2 samples from chips I matched and donated a bit
of black to mix with if necessary. One sample was -very- close: the
other room had lousy lighting, chip was off. I tried mixing for it
but couldn't improve on the $3 sample that HD mixed.

So it's done. Not perfect by any means, but, after a year or so of
fading, collecting dirt, etc I doubt it will be readily noticable.
The one room is almost unnoticable already.

Much thanks for various responses.

Will

Reed writes:

Reed wrote:
Wilfred Xavier Pickles wrote:
Little brick bungalow in the midwest US. I painted the interior maybe
25 years ago, still looks OK except for ...

Every 5 years or so, some roof sealant will crack or flashing will
separate, I notice wet spot on ceiling, proceed to fix roof and
Kilz the spot. After I was sure a couple spots were water-tight,
I got some standard-tint ceiling white paint from HD and covered
the Kilz spots. It was -much- lighter in color than the old paint,
which is faded and maybe has a little coat of nearly invisible
dirt.

I can take a sample of a painted surface to a Big Box and have 'em
mix a matching tint. I haven't done it in recent years, but it's
reasonable to expect it to match pretty well? This is question 1.

Question 2: How well might I expect it to work for ceiling white?
I'm tired of looking at the extra-light spots on the ceiling
where I applied the Kilz.

Question 3: If mix-to-match is practical in Q2, how can I get a
sample for them to analyze? Anyone had a successful mix-to-match
from, say, a digital photo?

Other ideas welcome.

TIA,
Will

I had *exactly* the same problem last year, matching a small
repaired section of a 15 year old 25' x 25' cathedral ceiling. After
2 attempts at "eye-balling" with traditional prepared sample cards,
I "bit the bullet" and cut out a 2" patch of the drywall paper, from
an inconspicuous spot. I took this to HD, and they made up one of
their 8 oz. samples (for a whopping $2.94), that matched perfectly,
and was more than enough to cover the 2' x 6' area I needed to
cover.

I glued the patch back in place using Elmer's glue and spackle, and
you have to look hard to find it.

--reed

PS I used a padded 2x4 to lean up against the patch, to hold it
flat, while the glue dried.

Just saw your post re plaster over lath.. Oh well, good luck.

In my experience you can also cut out a square of plaster (down to the
lathe) using something like a rotozip. Then you can use Durabond setting
joint compount or equivalent to set it back in place and fill gaps after
matching. Works pretty well for me...

But in general, matching "whites" seems to be much harder for both eyes
and machines than matching solids. The eye seems to be more sensitive to
differences in whites and whites can be taken in all directions
(e.g. softs vs colds).