Whether you’re moving into a “new to you” home or are looking to touch up and refresh a wall that’s been previously painted in your space, it can be daunting for homeowners to know how to match paint already on a wall. It’s important to match not only the color of the paint, but the sheen as well to ensure a seamless match. Read on for 4 simple ways to color match paint for your new home or touch up job so you can achieve a flawless finish.
In This Post
When to Color Match Paint For a Touch Up
Before diving into the color matching process, it’s important to first know when color matching is necessary, and when a full repaint is the best option. If your wall has several areas that need TLC, repainting the entire wall may be the best option.
However, if there’s just a few areas of imperfection that need attention, you can color match for a paint touch up to ensure your new paint blends in seamlessly, which is the most time and cost-effective method.
Remember, when touching up a wall and color matching paint, don’t just look at the color, but also the sheen to ensure the finish is the same and blends as best as possible.
Matching paint colors can be really tricky, so the first and best method to try is always to use paint from the original cans that were used to paint the wall to color match.
How to Match Paint On The Wall
There are a few different ways to find your wall paint color when looking to color match for a paint touch up. We recommend going through these steps in order to (hopefully) avoid having to cut out a piece of your wall to match the color.
Find The Old Paint Cans
The first and most obvious way to attempt to color match paint for your new home or touch up is to look to see if you can find the old paint cans. Look in the closets, your garage, attic, basement, or under the house to see if you can locate them.
You may even be able to ask the previous owners or realtor if they know where the leftover paint might be.
If you do find the paint cans, check to see if they’re labeled to indicate where the paint was used and what the color is, such as “Living Room – Classic Gray,” or “Body Exterior Trim – Extra White.”
Locate the Paint Punch Out Sheet
If your home is newer, or either you or the previous homeowners kept the paint punch out sheets from the builders or previous paint jobs, these sheets should list all the colors used throughout the entire home. This is ideal, as you’ll have a list of all the colors for each room, right at your fingertips.
If you can get your hands on the paint punch out sheets, keep them stored in a safe place for future reference.
Ask Your Paint Company
Don’t overlook the possibility of reaching out to your paint company for help. They may have a punch out sheet from a previous paint job or be able to assist you with color matching. Professional painters have a ton of great resources and technology for how to color match paint already on a wall.
At Oak City Coatings, we do color presentations for our customers, led by our color specialist, Tanya. She puts these presentations together for our customers that list out their different spaces, colors, products, sheens, etc.
If you’re not having any luck with color matching paint, consulting with a color specialist or painter that offers these services can help you streamline the color matching process and ensure you get the most accurate results.
Cut Out a Sample Piece
If the previous ways to color match paint yield no results or clarity on the color and sheen of the paint on the wall, the last resort option is to take a piece of trim or siding board or cut out a piece of wall paint, and take it to your local paint store to find the match. We recommend taking the wall paint chip from an inconspicuous place that not many people will see, such as in a closet or a low traffic room.
With these 4 methods for color matching paint on the wall, you can feel confident that you have the resources and know-how to find the matching paint color and sheen for your touch up job. Moving forward, be sure to keep good records of the paint you purchase, where you apply it, what the color and sheen is, how many coats you used, when you purchased it, etc. Next time you go to touch up a wall, you’ll thank yourself!
If you’re in the Raliegh area and looking to touch up your walls with paint or need help matching colors, visit our contact page to inquire about our interior painting services and our color presentations. We’d be thrilled to help you refresh your space and breathe new life into it with paint!
