Best Way to Mix a Can of House Paint
Today I am sharing with yous my top ten DIY tips for mixing together leftover paints (and actually be able to use the paint when y'all are done).
A few days ago I shared with you how I took 29 (more than half-used) gallons of leftover pigment and started mixing until I got plenty paint to encompass my living room walls. This color has turned out to be my favorite in the house, thus far! It's far nicer than I expected it to exist. Information technology'due south a skilful job that my piece of furniture complemented this color of pigment as I would've been in search for the best online interior design company that I can discover to aid me look for pieces that would look good with this pigment. With that being said, it nonetheless doesn't finish me from updating them at a later date. I just want to encounter how everything else turns out first. I have also mixed paint together for the big wall in the studio and the quick update to the wall in front of the basement door. And although I didn't share these projects with you, I mixed together leftover paints to paint our upstairs hallway, our forepart archway, and the room nosotros plan on turning into a nursery.
In other words, I have a lot of experience mixing together leftover paints…then using them!
So, without further ado, here are my…
ten DIY Tips for Mixing Together Leftover Paints
Tip #1 – Look for sales on bones white paint
Every so often, Menards volition offering the bones white, flat gallon pigment that is FREE after rebates. When that time comes, stock upward! Recently, we were able to score five gallons for free and it is what I used equally a base to mix together all of our leftover paints.
Tip #2 – Invest in a couple good five gallon buckets with lids
We will probably never use the buckets for anything other than pigment storage again, but you could totally clean these out after you are done mixing to have them exist reusable. For us, we simply keep adding white or different leftover paint to the bucket to come upwards with a new color for the next room! Just, I would like to indicate out how much more than useful a bucket (with lid) is versus a leftover paint can, so it is a good, environmentally friendly, investment!
Tip #three – Get yourself prepared PRIOR to mixing
Some of the things you are going to want to have on manus (right by your side) every bit you begin mixing, include:
- a long stick to stir (it needs to reach the bottom of a FULL saucepan) – we actually used small-scale pvc tubes nosotros had leftover from a dissimilar project
- a pigment can opener to open up all of those leftover paint cans
- paper towels…for you, your floors, and so along
- paper (or other floor roofing) placed on the ground of the mixing area
- paint brushes – as yous mix pigment, have a bit and paint it on the wall to run across how yous like it
- and, of course, your leftover pigment!
Tip #4 – Invest in good storage containers for the bear on-up pigment y'all demand to save
Afterwards you have mixed together your paint in the five gallon bucket, I recommend saving enough of the colour and then that you can bear on up paint for years to come. Utilize containers that have a flat tiptop (that can be easily stacked) with tight plumbing fixtures, screw-on lids. Our paint storage area has become very organized with these bad boys from Amazon:
4 oz Clear Plastic PET (BPA Free) Travel Jar with Black Polish Lid- (vi Pack)
Tip #5 – Just mix the same "type" of paint together
As we all know, oil does not mix with h2o. Therefore, only mix oil based paints together with other oil based paints. H2o-based paints should just exist mixed with other water-based paints. Most of the paints we had leftover were h2o-based, and so it was pretty straight-forrard for united states of america! You volition know if y'all have mixed ii of the contrary types together when your liquid starts to await similar curdled cheese.
Also, only mix interior paints with other interior paints and only mix exterior paints with other exterior paints.
Tip #6 – Go along the color wheel in mind
If you have a carmine paint and you mix it with a xanthous paint, you are going to terminate up with an orange pigment.
{picture via + }
Tip #seven – Mixing different "sheens" is okay!
Yes, yous can mix a flat pigment with a high gloss pigment. Just keep in mind that the more flat pigment you lot add, the less glossy your paint will be and vice-versa.
Tip #eight – Thoroughly mix the leftover paint before mixing information technology with some other
If you are similar united states, y'all have paint that is REALLY old. I am non exaggerating when I say we had leftover paint from 2001. We aren't even sure where the pigment had been used originally. Yous only desire to max sure you lot mix back together all of the pigments in the paint to ensure yous are actually adding colored paint together.
However, if the leftover paint is withal lumpy afterward mixing it for a fleck, or y'all see signs of bacterial growth (chocolate-brown or white spots on the height upon opening can), do not use it. And check the label. Paint made before 1978 might contain lead, and pigment made before 1991 might contain mercury.
Tip #9 (possibly the most important tip!) – It is harder to lighten a dark colour than it is to darken a light colour
We learned this lesson the hard mode.
Nosotros had a about-completely-unused gallon of the chocolate-y purple color from our invitee bedroom {it was a situation where nosotros ran out of paint with 3 feet left to paint on the wall, so we bought a whole new gallon}. Instead of adding this darker colour to white paint, we tried adding white paint to this nighttime color.
Luckily, after realizing what was going to happen afterward adding a whole gallon of white to this nighttime purple paint, I started adding in browns and beiges (to become the hue away from purple and more towards a brown) and hoped we didn't stop up with something too night. After calculation in browns and getting a hue I was happy with, I topped off the five gallon bucket with white paint, was lucky enough to find it wasn't too dark, and that is what nosotros used in our living room!
Had we started with white paint so slowly added some of the purple paint to the bucket, we would have been amend able to control how much majestic was incorporated and how dark it was. Things worked out for us, but it could take been a 5-gallons-worth-of-paint disaster!
Tip #x – Effort to go on tabs with how much paint, in total, you have mixed and mix enough for your project
Relatively speaking, if yous are mixing pigment in a five gallon bucket, in one case the paint is about half-fashion up the bucket y'all know you have nearly 2.five gallons. I would suggest not having any less than this mixed for a "standard" size room. The worst case scenario would be to not have enough paint…recollect, you are mixing leftover pigment and did non choose this from a color swatch at the paint center!
Besides, a reminder about Tip #4 – you will want nearly a quart of leftover paint to keep on mitt for touchups over the years )unless yous are like my mom and like to repaint almost every room every twelvemonth).
All in all, mixing together paints is not difficult and tin can be a really cheap manner to refresh or update your home (every bit long as yous are non dead-assault a specific color)! When it is all said and done, we will accept spent about $100, in total, to pigment 80% of our home! That, my friends, is a pretty good deal.
Just recollect to work slowly and add together colors in small increments as this is really the hole-and-corner in mixing leftover paints when trying to create something new.
Pivot the following image to be able to reference this post after!
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Source: https://thehollowroad.com/diy-tips-for-mixing-together-leftover-paints/
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