Testing Paint Colors Before Painting Your Walls
7 Tips on Testing Paint Colors Before Committing
Ever been through the demanding process of picking paint colors for a home paint project? If so, you probably know testing your paint colors is a key step before you commence the painting project.
This strategy helps you minimize the concern of getting stuck when selecting fitting paint colors for your interior or exterior painting project. You’ll want to test paint colors because this ensures you select paint colors you’ll love with confidence.
Keep reading to learn more!
Best Practices for Testing Paint Colors
Here is a list of standard steps you should take when testing paint colors before you begin the actual paint job.
1. Select your favorite colors
Picking paint colors can be tricky, mainly if you descended into the Pinterest rabbit hole. The best option is to work with an interior designer to help you narrow down the color family of interest before selecting paint colors. We recommend picking up to five colors as it can be overwhelming seeing over ten color swatches on your walls.
Additionally, it would be a good idea to pick a toned-down option of your intended color. So, if you plan to paint your living room blue, you might want to try a lighter version like the Blue Hydrangea 2062-60.
2. Buy a few paints samples
Once you’ve settled on a few color options, the next step is to head over to the paint store to buy samples. Sampling paint is crucial as it prevents you from spending tons of money on the wrong paint color. Make sure also to purchase large sample boards, preferably 8.5 x 11 and above.
Small paint swatches are not useful because the surface area is too small to show the envisioned outcome. If you decide to work with a paint company, find out if they offer free samples as most of them do.
3. Test the paint on the right surface
You can choose to test the paint colors on the poster board or directly on your interior walls. However, if you plan on doing the latter, you ought to remember this will add texture to that wall. Additionally, this paint might be challenging to cover. For this reason, we recommend against testing paint colors on stucco substrates.
The ideal places to test paint color are often the garage, siding, or interior walls. If you’re planning on trying the samples on brick, it would be a good idea to test the paint on hidden areas. Also, if you plan on testing several colors for one room, we recommend leaving space between each sample.
It would be best to paint white around the corners of each sample to make it easier to choose a final color. It would also be a good idea to paint on a wall that’s close to molding. The more surfaces you have for comparison, the better.
Alternatively, you should have a larger, white test board to act as a background if you go the sample board route. Doing this will ensure the current wall color doesn’t interfere, making it harder to settle on a color.
4. Always apply multiple coats
When sampling paint, ensure you apply at least two coats on your walls or sample boards. As mentioned earlier, the larger the surface, the better. For walls, your sampling size should be approximately 1 foot by foot.
5. Always use a primer for rich paint colors
You will need a primer for specific intense colors. These include the Sherwin Williams Hyper Blue and African Violet colors.
6. Test on different walls
Every paint color looks different depending on the time of day and the lighting conditions present. Therefore, it would be good to test the paint on different walls, one that gets hit by sunlight and another that doesn’t. You’ll notice that the same color will appear richer on the wall on the darker side of the room and lighter where the sunlight hits.
In the same context, your front yard’s landscaping will influence how the paint on a wall will look. For instance, if you have trees right next to your living room window, the paint color will have a green hue. The same applies to paint on your home exterior. The surrounding features, including your neighbor’s house, could affect the paint color.
7. Don’t be in a rush to settle on a color
It’s always wise to wait until the paint fully dries to decide. It would help if you left the sample paint colors on your walls for a day or two. The good news is that if the colors look good with natural lighting, they’ll also work with artificial light. And if you are sampling paint on a room without windows, it would be best to test once you have finalized the lighting.
Need Help Choosing an Interior Paint Color for Your Home?
Hiring painting contractors can help save time and energy plus ensure you pick your home’s right color. Tampa Bay Painting Company offers residential and interior painting in Tampa and the St. Pete areas. Call us at 727-800-5988 to schedule a free consultation or request a quote by clicking here.
