Help me replicate a wall paint I just mixed.

October 8, 2015 5:22 PM

I need to pick paint for a kitchen/dining room that's about to be renovated. I spent $$$ on sample cans. None were right. Inspired and annoyed, I mixed a couple different ones together and slapped the mix on the wall. This is exactly what I want. But when I go to photograph it (in order to bring to the store to replicate) it doesn't look right in the picture! How can I get a paint to match what's here? I've got an iPhone 5.

Well, I don't know how much more extended explanation is going to be useful, but I guess I can start by acknowledging that until now I really did not appreciate how tricky paint colors for walls are. Blogger-decorators whose paint-picking travails I snorted at: I am sorry. I was wrong.

My kitchen/dining room is going to be renovated shortly. I have everything picked out but the wall paint. I thought it would be smart to pick the paint now so that I can see how it looks in the light on the current walls before the demolition starts. I researched online, got a million paint chips, narrowed it down to a few and bought sample cans of 4 different ones and tried them on the walls. Samples are not cheap you guys! I spent like $40!

None were right*, so finally I mixed up two different ones - they are both light blue-grey shades - and this combo DOES look right, glory be. (Which is to say it looks right in all the different lights I've seen it in so far - it's ridiculous how much the light changes it!) I have the Sherwin-Williams "colorsnap" app that is supposed to tell you the closest color to a spot in a photo you take with your iPhone, so I did that, and it isn't even close. It thinks it's beige! Then I tried just photographing it, and that isn't close either. Is there a better way? I thought about taking the gross little plastic tray with the leavings of my paint mix in it to the store, but the color doesn't look the same there as it does on the wall, either.

What is the solution? How can I procure a paint - custom or not - that matches this mix? (I have no brand loyalty and will buy from any company that can make this color for me. The ones I mixed happen to be Ralph Lauren and Benjamin Moore.) Thanks!!

*the light in here is different throughout the day! and different on every wall! and it even changes throughout the year! and it's got to not clash with the tile I ordered which I love but is hard to match. Oh blogger-decorators, I am chastened!

posted by fingersandtoes to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

Best answer: If you have any paint left, paint something portable and bring it in to any paint store. They can scan it and it'll spit out a very good match.
posted by sanka at 5:24 PM on October 8, 2015 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Do you have any of the mixed color left? Paint some on a piece of cardboard or scrap wood and take that in. They can color-match that. Let the first coat dry and then do a second coat so none of the color of the underlying material shows through.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 5:25 PM on October 8, 2015

Best answer: How much of the room is being renovated? Just cut the painted part of your wall out. The renovators are probably going to make holes in the wall anyway, depending on what you're going to have done. Then take that to get computer matched at the paint store.

And yes, paint is hard.
posted by GuyZero at 5:27 PM on October 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If you have no paint left you have a huge sample attached to your wall. Use a chisel/flat screwdriver/putty knife to chip a piece of the wall off (patch later with a little Spackle) and take it to the paint store. They will be able to scan and match it.

The only problem might be getting a 100% sheen match but it should be pretty close.
posted by Mitheral at 5:27 PM on October 8, 2015

The sample cans should be labeled with the base and mix of pigments. You can take the cans with you (I hope you still have them) to a good paint store (not Home Depot) and they should be able to formulate it even cross-brands.

Buy extra paint in case you need it now or later from this batch.
posted by vers at 5:37 PM on October 8, 2015

Response by poster: Ok, those are all excellent answers, and I'm embarrassed I didn't think of them. I don't have any more of the original mix, but I can probably mix more and get it on some white cardstock, and if not, duh, razoring out some chips of the painted wall is the obvious answer. Thanks guys *group hug*
posted by fingersandtoes at 5:37 PM on October 8, 2015

Best answer: Skip razoring. I am not joking when I say just cut a piece out with a knife or saw. If you are getting any electrical work done at all your kitchen and dining room will shortly have half their drywall removed. One more hole is nothing.

I'm just finishing a kitchen & garage & family room renovation and wow, electricians really, really love to cut holes in walls.
posted by GuyZero at 5:41 PM on October 8, 2015

Best answer: You can also use the app Color Expert to take a shot of the paint on the wall; it will break down the color into its PMS number. It's really good at compensating for color balance issues.

FWIW, I'm an art director, and use that app all the time to settle 'WTF color is that?!' arguments. Have also used it to identify and replicate painted walls, exterior trim, etc.
posted by culfinglin at 5:44 PM on October 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: culfinglin, is that app "iNax Colour Expert"?
posted by fingersandtoes at 5:49 PM on October 8, 2015

Best answer: If you cut a piece out of your wall make sure it's big enough - maybe call the paint store and ask how big it needs to be. I took a swatch into a paint store once and they said it wasn't big enough (think it was about the size of a playing card). I was a little surprised. Worth checking in advance.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 6:48 PM on October 8, 2015

Sherwin Williams in our area (MA) has a tool, similar to a self-inking stamp, that you can take home, hold against the wall. It will give you the three closest paint matches from their catalog and they can mix from that. No need to cut anything out.
posted by BostonCannuck at 8:49 AM on October 9, 2015

I just went to look at the app; it's made by CodeLine, though it doesn't seem to be in the App Store anymore. Neither is it on their website. Woe. :(
posted by culfinglin at 2:35 PM on October 15, 2015