Paint Matching

Paint matching services is hit or miss.  Sometimes you get lucky.  However, the majority of the time it’s not perfect.  There are many vendors that offer paint matching capabilities like Lowes, Home Depot, Sherwin Williams, PPG, Benjamin Moore, etc.  At the end of the day there are so many factors to include color and or sheen that can affect the matching process. 

One way to ensure success is to paint the wall or the ceiling where the repair is located.  This will ensure that the painted repair doesn’t stand out when viewed.  The unfortunate issue with this method is that a ceiling can blend into the hallway, living room and other areas of the house which leads to a lot of painting.  These are factors that need to be considered when creating the estimate and working with the customer on what approach they want to take.

Please keep in mind that paint ages after it has been applied.  If a home owner has a new house that is one or two years old and states that he or she has the original paint from the build, it does not ensure an exact match.  Factors such as humidity, time, smoking, etc. can affect the paint that has been applied to the walls for those initial years. 

If a customer states that they have the paint and it’s in the garage and has been in the garage for some time, it’s probably not going to be any good.  Paint needs to be stored in a climate-controlled area. 

Be careful when you buy paint.  If you buy a five-gallon bucket of paint and you only use two gallons. A customer may not feel responsible for paying for five gallons when you only use just two gallons. Now they are stuck with a five-gallon bucket that has three gallons of paint that cannot be used. So, you may end up eating the cost of those three gallons. In addition, now you will have to dispose of that unused paint. This can be very tricky as there are very few places where you can dispose of paint. Paint cannot be placed in the trash and collected by Waste Management.