So your walls are starting to look a little drab.
Maybe the kids have left a few scuffs or crayon marks on the wall.
Maybe you’ve moved your wall art around a few times, and now there are a bunch of holes in the walls.
Maybe part of it gets a lot more Sun than the rest, and so it’s faded over the years.
Whatever the reason, your walls just don’t have the luster they used to.
But you still like the color and how it makes the room feel.
In this case, it might be time for a touch up.
We’re PurcellPro Painters, a Willow Grove PA painting company, and we’re here to help.
While you can try to DIY your paint touch up, we’re happy to help as well.
Let’s talk about doing touch ups.
Paint fades with time, and sometimes it makes sense to just do touch ups.
But in some cases, your paint may be so damaged you’ll need to redo the entire thing.
How can you tell when to touch up and when to do a full paint job?
Keep reading to find out.
When Should You Do A Touch Up?
Before you start, you might want to consider whether you even need to paint at all.
If you have a paint job with a satin, eggshell, or semi gloss finish, you might be able to get away with just cleaning your walls.
Try using a wall eraser cleaner – they can get rid of many of the marks you find on the wall.
Just be sure to wipe them with a damp cloth after – the cleaning solution can leave an unsightly mark.
If that doesn’t do the trick, consider how long this coat of paint has been on the wall.
The longer it’s been, the more likely it will be that your paint has faded.
This is even truer when it comes to higher paints, like the kind commonly used in kitchens.
That said, paints with flat finishes tend to be the least durable.
On the other hand they tend to be easiest to touch up.
When Should You Repaint The Whole Wall?
The simple question here is: what are your expectations?
What do you hope to get out of your paint job?
If you just have a couple of damaged points, you can probably get away with touch ups.
But the bigger the damaged area, and the worse the damage is, the more likely it is to be visible when you touch it up.
Still a little confused? Don’t worry.
Here’s a little checklist to help you decide.
If you answer YES to any of the following questions, you should forget about the touch ups and go right to repainting the wall.
- Is your paint more than 5 years old?
- Do you have a large amount of damage on your wall?
- Is your wall damaged in a highly visible area?
- Do you want to change the color of your wall?
- Do you want to change the finish of your wall?
- Is your paint starting to chip or crack
- Is your wall in direct sunlight?
How To Touch Up Your Paint
So if you’ve made the decision to touch up your wall, the following tips will make your life easier.
First, make sure you’re buying matching paint.
That might seem like a no brainer, but there are subtle differences beyond color that can leave you with a wall that looks worse than before.
Not only do you have to match the color, but the finish as well.
It’s much easier to do this if you go with the same brand as the original coat.
If you happen to still have some paint left over from when you first painted, that’s great.
However, if you’ve seen a lot of fading from the sun, this paint might not match anymore.
Either way, make sure you mix it A LOT before you start painting with it.
Of course, if you have holes or gouges, it goes without saying that you need to fill them in order to get the best results.
Make sure the filler is dried completely and primed before you paint.
And remember that paint takes time to fully dry.
If your touch up job is really obvious, try letting it sit for a couple of weeks.
If it’s still noticeable though, it’s time to do a full repaint.
Call PurcellPro Painters Today
Are you considering doing some touch ups to your paint job?
Do you think you need a complete redo?
Either way, we can help.
