Touch-Up Painting Oak Park IL

If you need to repair a wall in your home or the paint on a wall that has become stained or discolored you can buy some paint chips from a local paint store or you can match the paint better and do a better job. If you give your paint store a good sample they should be able to match the paint so that you can do the job and nobody will ever know the difference.

Many times people try to match the paint themselves and then when they apply the paint they find out that they did not do a good job, as it does not look like the rest of the wall. This can be a hassle as you have to redo the touch up or paint the entire wall. Either way you could have saved a lot of time and energy by just giving a paint store a small sample of the paint.

If you have walls that are made of drywall all you have to do is cut out a section of the paper by using a utility knife. You should cut an oval shaped slot that is 1/2″, only piercing through the surface of the paper. Then you can use the utility knife to lift up a corner of the paper and peel it off the wall. Then you take the sample to a paint store so they can match it up. The cleaner you make the cut on the wall the easier it will be for you to patch it up. It is also the case where you can take in a small section of plaster but it can be a much messier job.

High Traffic Areas

If the walls in your home have not been painted in a while and are in an area that sees a lot of traffic it maybe a better idea to paint the entire wall. Over time there will be discoloration and by only touching up the walls it will not look as good because the area that you did not touch up will show. You do not need to paint the entire room as if the color is the same if you paint the one wall it will not be nearly as noticeable, if at all. Paint the wall from corner to corner being careful not to get any of the newer paint on the adjacent wall. Even if the colors are not an exact match you will be surprised how well they will blend at the corners.

Don't Brush but Feather

Even if you have a paint that is a perfect match if you brush the paint on it will appear to be more glossy that the rest of the wall. Here are some tips you should follow:

∗ If it is a small area, less than 3"x 3" you should apply the paint by daubing it and not brushing it. You should start in the center of the area you are touching up and work outward until there is a small overlap into the dry paint on the wall. This will make the touch-up look less noticeable.

∗ If it is a larger area place some of the paint on the area using a brush right next to the edges of the area you are touching up. Then using a dry mini roller, quickly roll over the area in order to add texture to the new paint. By using the roller you will get a more uniformed area than brushing by freehand. After rolling you should then feather in the new paint into the old paint to make it blend better into the wall.

Author: Jason Green