Help. I may have ruined my living room paint. Does cured red paint lighten up? Touch up paint looks horrible.?

Question

My wife is going to kill me! I used the exact same crimson paint that was used to paint a wall in my living room to do touch up paint. The dried paint (I let it dry 1 day) is significantly darker looking than the totally cured paint. The hard fully cured paint has a different looking texture than the newly painted section. Someone please give me some advise. I am using Ralph Lauren Matte paint with a dard red or crimson color.

Answer 1

I am an expert painter ,I painted the first 35million dollar apartment in New York City.Never touch up paint ,unless you can not afford more paint, having enough to paint the entire wall ,is recommended especially with reds.Against the lite you will see the difference. any more questions email [e-mail] or call Broken Drum Remodeling Brian is a master at this,with an in house custom furniture maker who also makes doors, windows,mantles, custom kitchen cabinets and built ins.

Answer 2

Tell your wife to relax. It's only paint and it's not the end of the world. Paint, like anything else that is exposed to light, be it natural or synthetic lighting, is sure to change. It's not really useful to keep a small jar of paint when you paint a room, as the color will fade over time. Musueums everywhere the world over place their paintings either in darkness or with small red lights along the floors to retain the original color as much as possible. And to boot, you're using red, which is a color that fades fast. That's why your new color (even if you're using the paint from the same original paint can) is darker than the cured color. And if you didn't use the same finish when you got the paint the second time around, that would explain the difference in textures. You really only have two choices here that I can see (sorry..) You can either hide the touch up by hanging something over it. If that isn't feasible, you won't have much of a choice but to repaint the entire thing.... Perhpas you might want to wait till after Xmas.... Have a happy one anyway...

Answer 3

First question: are you using paint from the same bucket (that you originally used to paint the room) to do your touchups? If not, then the guys at the store may have mixed a slightly different color. Go back to the store where you bought your touchup paint and talk to them. Also, you may have used a different grade of gloss. that would account for it looking like a different shade and texture, because light is reflecting differently off of it.

Next, if you did use paint from the original bucket, then you may not have stirred it properly. Get a stir stick and really mix that stuff up. Often the pigment in paint will separate and settle at the bottom of the bucket if it has been left sitting for a long time. make sure it's evenly mixed and then try it again.

Third, how old is your old paint? In other words, how long has it been up on the wall? If it's been up there for more than a few years, it may just be older and dirtier than the new paint. Or if it is in a room with a lot of light, it may have already faded from its original color.

Answer 4

I agree w/ the previous answer. Your best bet is just repaint that wall. Or do some textured painting with the fresh paint over the old paint. I've done this in the bathroom. It turned out pretty. And I get compliments all the time. I just used a sponge and sponged over the wall, there is also a roller that'll give the sponged painted look too.

Answer 5

I had this problem with my living room just last year. It turns out that paint can fade with time, sun and washing. I ended up painting the whole room over.

Answer 6

You'll need to repaint the whole wall as paint fades with time.