Touch up Paint

Grime or marks on the wall attract the eye and make the painted surface look dirty. On some high-gloss walls, you can wipe away most marks and dirt, but, even on these surfaces, sometimes all that can fix the mark is a fresh application of paint. While some walls will require full coverage, you might be able to fix small areas with touch ups. High-use or high-traffic wall sections, such as the front door, around door handles, around door frames, near baseboards and around light switches, usually require regular, semi-annual touch up paint jobs. Use these tips to learn how to touch up paint.

Steps

Prep the Walls

  1. Wash the walls.
    • Soak your sponge in soapy water and wring out excess moisture.
    • Wash your walls with the sponge to remove surface dirt, marks or grime.
    • Dry the walls with a clean towel, and rub a soft cloth over the painted surface if it looks dull. Dullness occurs on some glossy, paint surfaces after repeated washing.
  2. Prime the walls.
    • Pour primer into a paint tray. Use a stain-killing paint primer for dark marks.
    • Roll a paint roller through the primer and up and down the tray to remove excess primer. Saturate your roller without soaking it to the point of dripping.
    • Roll primer over the washed area on the wall. Apply a single coat. Allow the primer to dry before proceeding with the paint application.

Paint the Walls

  1. Open the paint can. Pry off the lid with a flathead screwdriver.
    • Turn the paint can upside down for about 20 minutes before opening if it has sat undisturbed for several month. After 20 minutes, right the can and pry off the lid.
  2. Mix the touch up paint. Stir the paint with a paint stirrer or dowel for 5 minutes. For best results, take the can to a home improvement store so they can shake the paint can for you.
  3. Pour the touch up paint into a fresh paint tray.
  4. Saturate your roller with paint. Roll the paint roller against the tray's ridges to remove excess paint. As with the primer, your roller shouldn't drip with paint.
  5. Apply the paint. Roll paint diagonally over the area, covering prepped and primed wall sections.
  6. Blend the paint. Roll out from the center of the touch up area with a fresh, dry paint roller. Lift away from the wall as you reach the edge of the touch up painted section. Feather lightly around the edges of your roller. Work with a flat-edge paint brush to blend the paint with the surrounding wall.
  7. Apply a second coat of paint. Allow the initial paint coat to dry before applying a second coat. Use the same methods that you used with the first coat of paint.

Tips

  • Touch up paint can't fix dingy or dirty walls in some rooms. If you smoke cigarettes indoors, live in a sunny area or it's been more than a year since the last paint job, your touch up efforts will probably look obvious. To avoid painting the entire room, often you can just paint the offending wall from corner to corner. If, from a test application, the fresh paint looks radically differ, continue anyway; the different colored wall becomes an "accent wall." Touch up applications are more successful on recent paint jobs or in small areas that are not eye level.
  • You'll find touching up the walls with a matching color problematic without an old can of the original paint or at least the name, number, type and brand of the original paint. As a last resort, you can use a utility knife to cut away a thumb-size section of paint. Bring the paint chip to a home improvement store, where you may be able to get the paint custom blended to match your color.
  • Before starting any paint job, move furniture away from the wall, remove wall hangings or switch plates, and spread a drop cloth over the floor. Cover nearby moldings and fixtures with painter's tape.
  • If you are touching up a small area and not an entire wall use a medium napped roller cover the affected area or spot and then roll away from it feathering the paint by applying less and less pressure. Do this in all directions. This keeps the touched up area from standing out. Blending the new paint with the old will keep it from standing out.

Tips (alternate)

  • For flat texture wall paint - Buy small jars of artist's acrylic paints at an art supply or craft store such as Jo-Ann Fabric or Michaels. It's usually best to buy several similar shades plus some bright white to mix with, because an exact match is more art than science. While you're there get some cheap artists brushes.
  • Some shades of light tan and off white can be easily matched with artist's acrylics straight from the bottle.
  • Try to make the affected area flat or slightly depressed. Spackle small chipped areas only if necessary and remove as little paint as possible while sanding the spackle.
  • Mix a small blob of paints on a palette or index card until you have a match. If you are worried about dried paint looking different, then paint a small area at the edge of an index card and wait for it to dry before comparing shades.
  • Paint the problem area with several thin coats of your custom mix, letting each coat dry in between. Thin the paint with tiny amounts of plain water if it seems too thick. Gently feather the edges of the wet paint with a damp brush if you can see an obvious edge. Cover the palette between coats so your custom paint won't dry.
  • Paint in brightly lit areas may be harder to match, especially sunlit areas.

Things You'll Need

  • Sponge
  • Dishwashing liquid
  • Water
  • Towel
  • Soft cloth
  • Wall primer, stain-killer formulation
  • Paint trays
  • 3 paint rollers, 6-inch (30.48 cm)
  • Flathead screwdriver
  • Paint stirrer
  • Leftover paint from the original paint job
  • Flat edge, 2-inch (10.16 cm) wide paint brush

Sources and Citations

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