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FureverFurry
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FureverFurry

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Paint sample from wall - help needed

What is the best way to get a bit of paint "chipped" off my living room wall so I can get some matching paint made, please? (Previous owners moved and left nary a paint can.)

I THINK the walls are drywall -- maybe. The hall closet is painted with the same material so I tried using an exacto-knife to cut a square. All I have now are lovely scratch marks in the closet.

I have visitors coming next month and really want to do some touch-ups. NOT relishing getting 999 paint samples to (maybe) get something close.

Unfortunately, the people I know are even more of a klutz than I am.
Thanks for any tips !

fluffybunny
@teksavvy.com

fluffybunny

Anon

use your phone to color match.
»www.benjaminmoore.com/en ··· -capture

rfhar
The World Sport, Played In Every Country
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join:2001-03-26
Buicktown,Mi

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You may have the newer version of plaster; drywall, a layer of cement (like in your driveway), and then a coat of mud.

alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC

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Go to a Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams and borrow a whole bunch of paint swatches. Go match it to your walls. Narrow it down to 5 candidates, get the paint samples, and sample it (remember to let it dry for a day before judging whether it matches or not!)

Or maybe your exacto knife wasn't sharp enough.

pike
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Washington, DC

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It would be helpful to know the home's age to determine whether you're dealing with drywall. Have you tried knocking on the wall and listening for that distinctive hollow drywall sound?

As for the paint chip, I might try a paint scraper. I would use a new one that's sharp, but not so sharp as to dig in to the drywall.
said by fluffybunny :

use your phone to color match.

I would be very interested in hearing from someone that has actually used this method and their experience / results.
AsherN
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Thornhill, ON

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I'd find a spot where touch ups are needed and gently scrape there with a razor blade. Don't use the inside of the closet if you want to do touch ups. The colour will have faded differently than on the walls exposed to sunlight.

alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC

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said by pike:

I would be very interested in hearing from someone that has actually used this method and their experience / results.

It doesn't work for matching paint like the tools they have in paint shops. It just takes a picture and figures out the general color, but the type of light source will affect the result. Just look at a wall where there's a shadow, you'll see many different shades which can be many different paint results.

djrobx
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join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

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said by pike:

said by fluffybunny :

use your phone to color match.

I would be very interested in hearing from someone that has actually used this method and their experience / results.

Me too. I would think light color temperature variances without using a known white color to calibrate from would guarantee poor results.

I can barely get a good match with samples brought into the store. If there's any texture in it at all, they usually tell me to find a color strip that's as close to the color as I can get.

FureverFurry
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FureverFurry to pike

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Here's more info:

- Home built in 1957
- I knocked on an interior LR wall -- sounds like cement there (???); outer walls do have that hollow sound.
-Paint finish is "bumpy"; someone referred to it as eggshell. Does that sound right?
-Color is what I call "beige"

Any more thoughts on whether I should TRY a paint scraper, or just gather a gazillion swatches? (Sorry, I don't trust the color resolution with pictures. No offense.)

Also - is Home Depot not a recommended option versus Benjamin Moore?

Thanks again !

alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC

alkizmo

Member

Bumpy is possibly "knockout" texture, and not eggshell (which is a paint finish, like satin or gloss).

You can definitively scrape paint, you can try with a sharp blade like the exacto knife.

Home Depot is an option, I just don't think they let you borrow a big bunch of swatches.

StillLearn
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join:2002-03-21
Streamwood, IL

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Remove a light switch cover plate. Cut a painted place that is hidden by the plate.

If the area under the plates is not painted, you can probably find a wallplate with the paint on it; take that in.

I am doubtful that even with a color sample, you will get a good match. You might want to consider repainting the whole room. It probably needs it.

FureverFurry
RIP Daphne: 3/12/05 - 6/19/12
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Ta (thanks). Couple more probably "dumb" questions:
- Finish is that "bumpy" texture even on interior wall that I *think* is concrete. Could that still be eggshell finish?
-Most important (to my fingers): does paint scraping allow one to do a very small area for a sample? I'm over 60, and obviously not smart on things like this. Neighbors are weird and I think I probably have more knowledge. Anyway .. thanks.
AsherN
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join:2010-08-23
Thornhill, ON

AsherN

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Material used for surface has ne bearing on finish.

eggshell refers to a finish that has a slight sheen to it. Generally, paints come in 4 or 5 finishes.
Flat, satin, eggshell and gloss and high-gloss. Satin and eggshell are often interchangeable,. Any of those finishes can be applied to any surface although a high-gloss finish would not be optimum on textured walls. Also, the flatter the finish, the better it hides imperfections on the surface.

FureverFurry
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Oooh, good idea on wallplate. NOPE, does not need repainting as was just painted before I bought the home. But -- have managed to get dings/chinks and just want to hide them. Colour used throughout, including bedrooms.
FureverFurry

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Thank you for the knowledge ! May I harp back on my interior LR wall that "sounds" like it's concrete (not drywall sound) .. it has that "bumpy" texture. So would that mean the previous owners used eggshell or maybe satin? I can't wrap my head around making a concrete wall have a bumpy finish. Yes, I'm clueless

printscreen
join:2003-11-01
Juana Diaz, PR

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Color matching is quite a challenge. I had two situations recently and colors never matched.

On one instance I was painting the interior of my garage using a paint can I had left over from the last time I painted the house a few years ago. It was a whole never opened can so it was good as new and was like a light bone white color. I originally thought it would be enough for at least a first coat of the three walls that needed paint but I ran out much sooner. So I got the paint swatch with the color code I kept from when I bought the paint back to Sears where I have been purchasing paint for probably 15 years or more. Well, the bastards recently changed their color tint supplier and the old codes no longer work. I matched my color swatch with their new swatches as closely as possible under three different light sources and yet the color did not match when I went back home. I ended up painting two of the walls with the new color and there was a noticeable difference at one corner where the two colors met that fortunately is hidden by shelves and the stuff in them so it is not really visible.

On the second time I had to retouch a wall in my kitched in two walls of different colors. For one color I still had paint left over from the same can so it was not a problem. For other color I also had left over paint but the lid was rusty and the paint almost dry so it was unusable. I was still able to get a sample and smear it on a piece of paper. I also had to retouch an exterior wall (opposite side of one the kitchen walls) but for that I didn't have left over paint. Knowing that Sears would not be able to mix new paint for me with their old codes I instead went to Home Depot to buy those little paint samples they sell for a couple of bucks. I took the smeared sample and the color swatch from the exterior paint to get the little cans. There they used their computerized color matching system that uses a camera the create the colors for me. When I got back home none of them matched. I had to go back to Home Depot to get one more little can from the interior color to be able to paint the entire wall. Again, there is a noticeable difference where the new painted wall meets the old color at a corner but not so much that people would not notice unless they look very closely. Add to that the texture of the paint. The Sears' Easy Living paint is more reflective and has a different sheen from Home Depot's Behr paint.

Why I am telling all this? Because you are better off painting the whole thing than retouching if you don't have left over paint or don't know the brand and exact color code.
printscreen

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I don't think those mobile apps for color matching are of any use. They would work for getting an approximate color if you want to paint an entire room but not for retouching. To do proper color matching you need to have an instrument that you can calibrate with a known standard under controlled conditions and light of known intensity and color temperature. And then the device that does the actual mixing of tints must also be calibrated. Not as simple as taking a picture with a cell phone camera that has auto white balance and unknown light conditions. And even with all that I mentioned (which the hardware stores do have) paint color will rarely match exactly.

Jackorama
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You say that the previous owners moved and left nary a paint can. Does that mean they left you very little of the paint used on the walls? If so, paint it on something white and small (small piece of board or cardboard). When dry, check it against the walls and if it still matches then you can take that to the paint store for a match.

If it means they left you nothing, you will have to go to the paint store and pick up a lot of colour samples in the colour range you have on the wall. And hope one of them matches.

printscreen
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Juana Diaz, PR

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If it is like Jackorama says and you have the original paint can look at the label or lid because it will likely have a color code somewhere. In that case you just need to go to wherever the same brand is sold and use the color code and same tint base. You will have much better chances of getting the same color.

GadgetsRme
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If the wall is hard, sounds solid, and given the age of your house I'd say your walls are made of plaster on lath. Getting chips of paint off of that big enough to match is hard. If you have a place that is flaking that is usually the only way to get a big enough piece to match. The bumps you see are the finish of the plaster before painting.

edit spelling

Jackorama
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said by printscreen:

If it is like Jackorama says and you have the original paint can look at the label or lid because it will likely have a color code somewhere. In that case you just need to go to wherever the same brand is sold and use the color code and same tint base. You will have much better chances of getting the same color.

I never thought about the original paint can, that would be better as you suggest. I was thinking when people have a little paint left in the can and they put into a small jar to get rid of the can.
AsherN
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said by FureverFurry:

Thank you for the knowledge ! May I harp back on my interior LR wall that "sounds" like it's concrete (not drywall sound) .. it has that "bumpy" texture. So would that mean the previous owners used eggshell or maybe satin? I can't wrap my head around making a concrete wall have a bumpy finish. Yes, I'm clueless

Paint, unless specialty paint, has no texture. Finish refers to the level of glossiness. It's called eggshell because it's not quite flat, but not glossy either. If you look at an egg, it has just a hint of sheen to it. If you apply eggshell paint to a perfectly flat surface, it will remain perfectly flat.

cowboyro
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CT

1 recommendation

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Go to HD and Lowes and get a bunch of swatches - yes, they will let you. Try swatches from different manufacturers. Chances are that there will be a very close match - maybe closer than color-matching.

UHF
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MVM
join:2002-05-24

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said by printscreen:

I don't think those mobile apps for color matching are of any use. They would work for getting an approximate color if you want to paint an entire room but not for retouching. To do proper color matching you need to have an instrument that you can calibrate with a known standard under controlled conditions and light of known intensity and color temperature.

This is exactly right. The fancy paint matching computers go through a calibration routine periodically. If you have a good sample, it can match it very closely, but texture will throw it off. You need a piece at least the size of a dime to attempt the computer matching.

SparkChaser
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Downingtown, PA

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said by fluffybunny :

use your phone to color match.
»www.benjaminmoore.com/en ··· -capture

I was interested in this, since I did spectrophotometry for about 12 years before retiring..

I got some BM samples from the store and used the Andriod App to identify them. None were as they were advertized. Some were in the ballpark.

I have to do more testing but I'd say don't pick a color using this app.