5 Tips to Help With Touch-Up Painting

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I received a question in my email the other day regarding touching up some paint on a wall.  The question was a good one and I thought I'd spell out a few simple tips here that will help make your next touch-up job go a little easier.

TIP ONE:  MAKE SURE IT'S THE RIGHT COLOR!

It happens often:  you paint the walls a certain color and then pick up another gallon of paint in a slightly darker color.  It looks great.  Until 2 years later when you grab that darker color by accident and use it to touch up spots on your lighter walls.  Suddenly a quick touch-up project becomes a repaint.  If you've worked with multiple shades of similar colors, never assume that the gallon you grabbed is the right color. Always test a sample in an inconspicuous spot before proceeding!

TIP TWO:  EVEN IF YOU'RE SURE IT'S THE RIGHT COLOR, CHECK IT BEFORE YOU DO ALL THAT WORK!  

What I mean is this:  even if you never used multiple shades as described above and you're absolutely, 100% positive that you are holding the can of the paint you originally used on your walls, you should still check that color.  Yes, it was originally the right color, but things have changed.  The paint on your walls typically darkens and deepens over time.  And even in the most immaculate households, it can sometimes get a little dirty.  What that all adds up to is that the paint on your walls may no longer match the paint in that original can.  So don't do what so many folks do and touch up 27 silver-dollar-sized spots on your wall only to find out the next morning that every single one of them is lighter than the wall paint.  Instead, sample a small area first, allowing the paint to dry down adequately, before you begin touching up.

TIP THREE:  IF THE PAINT'S TOO LIGHT, FIND A SWITCH PLATE!

This tip is pretty self-explanatory but sometimes folks don't realize just how many options are truly open to them.  If you check your color before touching up and discover that it's too light--don't panic.  All you need to do is look for something in your room that has your wall color on it.  This can be a switchplate, a piece of trim, a picture frame or anything along these lines.  If you can't find anything like that, another option is to simply cut a small, shallow hole in your drywall and remove a quarter-sized sample.  Take this sample and bring it to RepcoLite and we'll custom match a color for you so you can accomplish your project.

 TIP FOUR:  PAINT CORNER TO CORNER IF POSSIBLE!

OK, once you have your color figured out, it's time to actually do the work.  And the ideal way to do any touch up is to look for an obvious breaking point in a room and paint a larger section.  What I mean is this:  ideally, don't touch up 25 quarter-sized spots on your walls.  Rather, paint that one wall corner to corner with your new color.  Or paint from your built in cabinet to the doorway.  Basically, look for a breaking point and paint a larger section.  This will help your new paint blend in visually much better and makes the whole process of  touching up much easier.

 TIP FIVE:  SMALL AMOUNTS OF PAINT USING THE ORIGINAL APPLICATION TOOL!

Sometimes, you just don't want to paint corner to corner.  Sometimes you simply want to do the little touch-ups.  When that's the case, here's the best way to tackle it:  First, make sure you use the application tool you used to originally applied the paint.  If you brushed the paint onto the surface originally, then use a brush to do your touch-ups.  If you rolled the paint onto your walls, then use a small roller of similar nap to do your touch-ups.  And, when you're doing these, use small amounts of paint and put some care and effort into feathering them out.

Touching up our walls doesn't need to be complicated.  But it does take a little effort to do it well.  If you follow these tips, you should have no problem pulling it off!