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Paint color matching is all about how to translate a color from an object, whether is be a fabric, or a picture frame, or an aluminum gutter etc... into a paint that someone can apply to their home.
Sometimes the color is from a picture in a magazine or just a color name recommended by a friend.
In all cases of color matching the object is to get the color to the point where it can be duplicated into a paint formula. The following are the methods used to accomplish this task.
How to Match Paint Colors
Bring the color strip to the object to be matched.
You have a color that you want to match but you are unable to bring it to the store because it is in a fixed location. The object may be too big to bring in or fixed.
You will need to bring the color strips to the object to be matched. You will have to do the matching here.
Bring the object to the paint store color matcher
This is the easiest one to do. You may have a blue pillow (or a blue color in a pillow) that you want to match. Simply bring the pillow to the store and let them to the matching. They will either put the fabric under the “eye” (spectrometer) and get the match, or they may do a manual match (or both).
Bring the old paint to the store color matcher
Matching to an exsisting paint color
You have an old paint can with some paint left inside, it doesn’t matter if the paint is dried up in the can or not. If the paint is fluid, the paint may be matched by creating a paint swatch by brushing out a sample on a piece of cardboard or 3x5 index card etc….. If the paint is hard inside the can , it may be removed from the can by mechanical means and then matched. Usually there is some “spill over” on the paint can edge at the top. This can be used to make a color match by simply holding the can up to the color spectrometer.
Bring in a switch plated cover
If you don't have an old paint can, but you have the paint on the wall in a room, you may be able to bring a painted switch plate cover in to the store and get it matched. You would use this method if you are matching to older paint that has been on the wall for a while and may be faded a bit. Any fresh paint in the can will be slightly different than the wall paint that has aged some. If the plate covers are not painted, you may be abel to remove the cold air return grill or heat register grill if they are painted.
Bring in a piece of drywall
If you house was built after lead paint was banned (i.e. after 1978), you can score the drywall with a razor knife and "cut out" a small sample of the drywall facing (with the paint on it). You don't have to cut a hole all the way through the drywall to do this. Just score the paper facing of the drywall in a 3' square, and peel it away from the rest of the drywall. Since peeling this "skin" off of the drywall will require patching by skiming over the scarred drywall facing with spackle, I would only do this as a last resort. Please dont't do this methood if your house was built before 1978, as you may create lead dust contaminaton.
Bring the color name to the paint store
In this case you have a color name of a brand of paint (that is unavailable in your area perhaps), the color may be on a friend’s house and you just have to have it on yours. In this case you have a color name, brand of paint and perhaps a color number. You can bring the color name and brand to your paint store of choice and ask them if they have a color match for that color already in their computer files. Most paint companies will cross match to other brands and have those formulas stored and ready for duplication upon customer request.
Another way cross matching is handled, is to go to the paint store that the color and brand originate from and pick up the color strip containing the selected color. You then can bring this strip to the paint store that you wish to have the paint duplicated at, and have them match the color from off the color strip. You will use this method when there is a color you want to use, but you don’t want to use that brand of paint. Painters do this one all the time. They work with Sherwin Williams, have an account there and their customer wants to use a Benjamin Moore paint. They can either pay retail at Benjamin Moore (if they don’t have an account there) or bring the Moore color strip to Sherwin Williams for color matching.
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Let’s say the color to be matched is a beige from a couch and there are no pillows etc.. that can be brought into the paint store. You will go to the paint store and pick up all the related beige color strips. Don’t try to “nail it down” and pick the one strip that you think contains the best color match - you will probably be off. Bring all the related paint strips to the couch. (if you can get a fan deck - all the better).
Comparing the strips to the couch.Hold each strip up to the couch and narrow it down to the best match be holding the strips right on the couch and visually comparing strip to couch.
Please read lead paint warning if your house was built before 1978,
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