Tips for Touching Up Paint in Your Home

One of the simplest tasks a homeowner can do to freshen up their home’s appearance is touch up their interior paint. For a large repainting project it is likely you will hire a painting company but most touch ups can be taken care of easily by the homeowner. If you want the job to look great you need to follow the same steps as the professionals. Luckily, we’ve outlined those steps to make sure your paint retouch goes according to plan. Here are some tips on touching up the paint in your home.

Tips for Touching Up Paint in Your Home

  1. Clean the work area. Paint will have a hard time adhering to a dirty surface. Use a soft cloth or sponge and a soap and water combination to wipe down your work area. Allow the area to dry completely before moving to the next step.
  2. Take this time to make any repairs in holes or cracks in the while. Sand the area around the hole or crack with a fine grit sandpaper meant for home surfaces. Use a putty knife and spackling compound to fill in the area. Feather the putty knife at a 45 degree angle for best results and until the hole or crack is filled. Remove excess spackle with your putty knife. Allow the patch to dry before sanding it again to make the hole flush with the wall.
  3. Prime the work area. Use primer that matches your current paint type or the new area could stand out. Allow the primer to dry.
  4. If you already have leftover matching paint you should use that for touchups. It also helps to use the same type of brush as was used in the first place. If you don’t have leftover paint, take a small flake of paint to your local hardware store to have them match it.
  5. Use as little paint as possible to cover the touchup area. Avoid getting paint on spots that were not primed. Allow the paint to dry.
  6. Once the paint is completely dried, check it from multiple angles to make sure it blends right. Even with these steps it may not be a perfect match and that’s ok. Consider retouching the wall again if the new area sharply stands out.

Congratulations, you have fresh paint on your home. Don’t worry if no one notices, that’s kind of the point!

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