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How to fix slightly mismatched paint colour?

homeinmelbourne
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How to fix slightly mismatched paint colour?

Hello Workshop Community,

 

We’re in the middle of a powder room renovation and we’ve hit a bit of a snag with the painting. 

 

We purchased a 4L tin of Dulux Wash & Wear Low Sheen in the colour ‘Shaded Fuchsia’. It wasn’t enough to paint a 3rd coat in room so we then purchased an additional 2L tin of paint in the same colour/sheen/finish to do a final 3rd coat roll on the walls and panelling. 

 

It looks like the 2nd tin of paint we purchased is not an exact match (slightly lighter) leaving a distinct line where the paint from the 2nd tin was rolled on the upper walls and the lower wall panelling.

 

Any tips on how I can rectify this issue without having to buy a 3rd tin of paint which may or may not match either of the two paint colours already on the walls and panelling?

 

I have 1L left of the 2nd tin of paint to work with. Should I try to blend/re-cut-in with a brush around the edges and roll over it to blend in the paint brush texture? Or is that not best practice and should I just follow my gut and re-paint the whole hallway and powder room again?

 

Thank you in advance 🙂

 

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MitchellMc
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: Seeking advice on mismatched paint colour

Hi @homeinmelbourne.

 

Sorry to hear you’ve run into that, especially as the room is looking fantastic so far. Do you have any idea why that visible line appears in that particular location? If you were simply applying another coat over the two existing ones, it’s a little puzzling that the line is just around the top of the dado rail and in the corners. It almost looks like a classic ghosting issue, which often happens when cutting in around edges or corners and then rolling the wall separately. You can end up with a slight colour variation because those cut-in areas get a double layer of paint compared to the rest of the wall. This becomes especially evident if we cut in with a brush.

 

When you did the third coat, did you paint right up into the corners and to the rail, or did you stop short and just paint the boxed-in area (lighter section) in the middle of the wall? There could still be a slight colour mismatch between tins, but if that’s the case, I’d expect the difference to show up across the whole wall, not just in those bordered areas. That’s why I’m leaning more towards it being a ghosting issue than a paint colourant problem. It might still be worth double-checking with the paint desk team to confirm that both tins were mixed from the same colour formula. 
 

Regarding how you'd solve this issue, I think in any circumstance, the whole wall would need another coat in one continuous layer from top to bottom to resolve the issue.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Mitchell

 

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mich1972
Home Improvement Guru

Re: How to fix slightly mismatched paint colour?

Oh no Ali , that’s no good. I can’t answer that question sorry I’m not an expert. I know the Workshop Community will definitely be able to help you. I love watching your beautiful home renovations !! Good luck 🙂🌿

mich1972
Home Improvement Guru

Re: Seeking advice on mismatched paint colour

I learn a lot from you Mitchell !!! 🙂

Re: Seeking advice on mismatched paint colour

Hi Mitchell,

 

Thanks for your response and feedback.

 

The third coat (new paint tin) was only rolled (no cut-in) - hence the lighter shade only on the upper walls and panelling itself not around all the corners and borders. The borders are darker because it is the paint used from the first 4L paint tin. So it is not a ghosting issue.

 

Regarding the paint mismatch, the formula/sheen/base is identical. The only difference is that the first tin I bought was a 4L and second tin was a 2L. Perhaps the tinting ratios are not precise between 4L and 2L tins? Or perhaps there was an inconsistency in paint machines between the stores as the second paint tin (2L) I bought was from a different store because they were out of stock of the base paint at my nearest Bunnings. 

 

Oh well, bummer, I was hoping not to have to buy more paint ($$$) and spend more time painting... we've spent the past 4 days on painting just to get to this point. But I want it perfect so I guess that's the only option. Here's hoping the next paint tin we buy to do a continuous full layer top to bottom is the right paint match... fingers crossed.

Re: Seeking advice on mismatched paint colour

So, with the new paint @homeinmelbourne, did you coat over everything? Are the darker sections I've marked in blue the older paint that wasn't painted over?

 

Tinting ratios translate exactly between tins, so it's not an issue with the tin size. If anything, it would be a mis-tint for some other reason.

 

Mitchell

  

 

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Re: Seeking advice on mismatched paint colour

Hi Mitchell,

 

Yes, the darker sections marked in blue arrows are the paint from the original 4L tin bought 2 days prior. The lighter sections marked in red arrow are of the new paint only rolled on no cut-in.

 

I have just repainted the dado rail as well as all the dark sections (corners, edges and borders) with a brush and rolled it with the new paint to blend it into the rest of the new paint colour. Hopefully it will blend seamlessly once it's all dry. So far it's looking salvageable! 

 

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Re: Seeking advice on mismatched paint colour

It's certainly looking much better so far @homeinmelbourne

The corners in the last image, especially on the left-hand side, still appear a bit dark, so they may need another coat.

 

Nice work.

 

Mitchell

 

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Re: Seeking advice on mismatched paint colour

Yes I agree. I'll do a couple more coats of 'blending' until it all looks seamless.

 

Thanks for the advice @MitchellMc !

Re: Seeking advice on mismatched paint colour

No worries, @homeinmelbourne, and I do apologise for this occurrence, whatever the reason behind it. Given we've confirmed this isn't a shadowing issue, it appears that the colour was slightly off.

 

Mitchell

 

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