Paint Colour Problems, here's the answer

[Georgina]

Here's a tip for all those who cannot find the right colour.  Get yourself down to Brico Depot, buy yourself the cheapest white paint, called Murs et Plafonds and some tubes of paint colour that they also sell. Buy three colours or so, and try mixing in little pots, be careful to try a little at a time so you can find the exact colour.  The paint mixes wonderfully and the best thing is, it is really cheap.  The bog standard murs et plafonds paint was only about E8 for 2.5 litres. 

 

So get going.  No more trips to England for the right colours!  Turn yourself into Linda Barker, it's so easy.[:)] Happy painting!

Georgina

 

PS when you find the right colour, make sure you mix enough as if you run out it is hard to get the colour again to match.

[Ford Anglia]

Sounds good.............until you need to match the colour.

Some time ago I bought some paint from an English builders' merchant, which they mixed up for me.

The mixing went wrong, but I liked the colour, so they sold it me dirt cheap.

Wouldn't you know it? Thats's the room that water ran down a wall, ruined the paint job and there's none left in the tin.

[Gluestick]

Many years ago, when I ran a very busy garage business which included a bodyshop, all of our paint came from a local automotive re-finishing supplier.

Quite obviously, it would have been totally impossible for them to keep umpteen thousand tins of paint in all the manufacturers colours in stock: and, bear in mind in cellulose, acrylic and synthetic, in those days.

So it was all mixed. The mixing was achieved by using a very accurate electronic scale to weigh out the precise amount of each type of pigment for the desired colour; the proportions were all taken from charts.

However, even then, invariably the pain did not match and had to be blended and tinted. The worst were metallics..............................

Today, spectrographic analysis makes for more accuracy.

A very hard job, even for an expert, by eye.

 

[Georgina]

I suppose it depends on how many colours you use.  I always start with white for instance, add a blob of yellow and I have cream, more and I get different yellows.  Easy to match these.  Or white blob of red for pinks, you add more and more until you achieve the shade you like.  Matching is better if you just add one colour to white, but I was surprised to find how many shades you can achieve just by adding one colour to white. The tubes are only E4 so you can experiment with pots before hand and it's very cheap and you can use your tube again.

Georgina[:D]

[Pierre ZFP]

Do you have any problems with getting an even mix without streaking or the corners not mixed in?  I only ask as my local Brico will do this for you in a big machine which adds a carefully measured amount of the selected colour to white paint then stirs/shakes the tin violently.  I'm always intrigued to see what would happen if the top came off. 

[daisymay]

We have been down this route with mixed results. Just using one colour seems safest. Trying to achieve a dusky pink with a little blue added to the pink resulted in perfect germolene.

[Georgina]

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]Do you have any problems with getting an even mix without streaking or the corners not mixed in?  I only ask as my local Brico will do this for you in a big machine which adds a carefully measured amount of the selected colour to white paint then stirs/shakes the tin violently.  I'm always intrigued to see what would happen if the top came off. [/quote]

 

No. but I make sure I mix right from the bottom.

Georgina

[chocccie]

Hi Georgina

What's the brand name of the tubes of colour please?

I was about to send of for some, expensive, colour pigment powders, but they might be just the ticket.

Thanks

[Charlotte3]

You can also use any tube of acrylic paint bought from an art shop!

Aly

[Charlotte3]

[quote user="Gluestick"]

Quite obviously, it would have been totally impossible for them to keep umpteen thousand tins of paint in all the manufacturers colours in stock: and, bear in mind in cellulose, acrylic and synthetic, in those days.

So it was all mixed. The mixing was achieved by using a very accurate electronic scale to weigh out the precise amount of each type of pigment for the desired colour; the proportions were all taken from charts.

However, even then, invariably the pain did not match and had to be blended and tinted. The worst were metallics..............................

Today, spectrographic analysis makes for more accuracy.

A very hard job, even for an expert, by eye.

 

[/quote]

Same thing now, only computerised!

20 years ago I was mixing household paints using the old version of the new machines, and yes, sometimes the tin lid came undone.......not at all pretty, but gave the apprentices something to do cleaning the mess up! If properly measured, the mix was always accurate, although various things, like lighting in situ caused what were apparently (but not acually) variations in colour. There is also the problem of all individuals seeing colours in slightly (or not) different ways, so what looks accurate to the original shade in the shop will not necessarily look accurate in situ, etc.

Spectographic analysis:  Not new..... the first manual for the use of  SA was published in 1882 by John Browning of London, England (1835 - 1925), and has been in common use in the paint trade for many, many years.

I never found it hard ( by eye), only very interesting.....but then I have an excellent eye for colour.

Aly 

[suzi05]

How true Charlotte! I mixed some white, blue and yellow paints I had left over and made a lovely lime-ish green for my bathroom. It looks great against the white tiles. Used exactly the same paint in the loo next door and it looks a sickly pukey yellowy green in there - shame! Oh well, at least I didn't buy the colour especially.

suzi

www.patiras.com/trinite.htm

[Georgina]

[quote user="chocccie"]

Hi Georgina

What's the brand name of the tubes of colour please?

I was about to send of for some, expensive, colour pigment powders, but they might be just the ticket.

Thanks

[/quote]

 

Sorry just went to have a look......   E4 a tube and they are called Colorant Universal.  They are the only ones in Brico Depot.

Georgina

[Charlotte3]

Colorant  Universal........universal stainers in English. It just means they can be used in any type of decorating paints. Vinyl (or the French version - Acrylic) silk, matt etc. Also in all other things like oil based gloss or satin, clear varnish, polyurethane finishes etc etc. (In fact anything you can imagine).

Always use a little at a time because certain stainers "take" suddenly....you can be happily adding lots with very little change when suddenly the colour changes much more than you want it to!  A handy colour to keep in the house is grey because it can tone down colours that are a little too vivant!

Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder (not your jealous neighbour).

Happy mixing!

Aly

[chocccie]

Thanks Georgina - a great find.... I've bought some of colour to mix my own with cheap base paint.

A word to the wise though, look in the art section of your DIY centre - in my two local stores you can get much bigger sizes for not much more cash.  (Sadly I'd already bought mine before this brainwave! .... still, got them a lot cheaper than the powders I was sending off for though so I'm happy!  [:D] )

 

Happy mixing!