Paint touch-ups are a great way to freshen up the look of your home without having to repaint an entire wall. They’re also a simple and inexpensive way to repair small holes or cracks in walls before they get worse.
Is it Possible to Successfully Touch Up Paint on a Wall?
Let’s face it – eventually, parts of your walls are going to get chipped, scratched, dented, or otherwise damaged in some way or another. Keeping the rich colour and smooth finish of your home’s interior. This doesn’t mean you need to repaint the entire room to repair the damages, dings, and marks that can, with time, ruin your walls’ surfaces.
A great skill is to know how to repair these on your own, as it will save you both time and money. By utilizing the appropriate method, technique, and suitable colour scheme. You can just retouch preferred areas of your wall with imperfections. This way, you can keep your walls looking flawless and newly painted while ensuring no touch-up paint walls not matching.
We have compiled a list of steps for you to follow in order to repair and touch up any damage on your walls.
STEP 1: Prepare the Wall Before Touching Up
For touching-up, if it’s just the paint on your wall that needs touching up, you can skip this step.
However, if your wall has been dented, or worse, a hole has been put into it, follow these steps:
Repair Dents before Touching Up
- Buy some Mighty Putty to fill the dentin (you can use any type of putty you want).
- Using putty, fill the dent.
- Using a steel straightedge, smooth the area of the wall.
- Wait for it to dry, and sand the affected area.
Repair the Holes
- Clean up the edges of the hole with an X-Acto knife.
- Clean around the hole with TSP or at the very least, give it good scoff sand with some fine sandpaper.
- Apply a patch of plasterboard over the hole, using a straightedge to get rid of bubbles.
- Using a wide-blade putty knife, spread a thin layer of joint compound AROUND the hole.
- Apply a liberal amount of non-shrink joint compound OVER the hole.
- Wait for the putty to dry, and LIGHTLY sand the area.
Prepping is Everything
Grime and dirt can hinder your touch-up paint from sticking to the wall, causing bubbling or blistering. Thoroughly clean up the wall with a damp, soapy sponge and dry with a clean towel to ensure dryness. You can, later on, fix any damage like dents, gashes and small holes to recreate a flawless wall surface area.
As stated above, apply a wall-repair spot to any holes larger than two inches across. Following the manufacturer’s guidelines. You may use fine-grit sandpaper to gently unravel the surface around the damaged locations. Use a putty knife to fill the hollows with a small surfacing compound, stressing smooth strokes to spread evenly over the holes and a little beyond. Scrape any excess and gently wipe the filled-in area with a wet fabric. Try to keep the size of the primed area confined to the dimensions of the repair for the best results. Let the primer dry entirely on the surface, as the manufacturer recommends.
When the surfacing compound is fully dry, smoothen it with fine-grit sandpaper until perfectly levelled with the surrounding wall. Wipe down the repaired areas to eliminate any surfacing compound dust. Don’t forget to prime, as priming is a must, of course. This is because primers can help hide the shift of colour. This suggests that primers make the touched-up area less likely to stick out from the surrounding wall. Therefore, use the best paint brush for wall touch-ups to apply a layer of primer over the prepped. And fixed spots without extending beyond the area you plan to repaint. Then let it dry completely.
STEP 2: Painting Over the Damaged Area
So you’ve repaired the hole in the wall, now it’s time to paint over it.
Use The Same Paint Colour
For this, you’re going to need to find paint that EXACTLY matches the paint on your wall. Luckily for you, we’ve already done a tutorial on wall paint colour. It can be challenging to match the colour exactly if the touch-up paint is not from the very same can.
So whenever possible, constantly save the remaining paint so that you can utilize it for touch-ups when required to get the very best outcomes. Use the same paint utilized to paint the wall its existing colour.
You can try to match it with the same brand name, colour and finish if you do not have any initial paint left. You might also want to consider going to your local hardware shop and purchasing premium paint. Which can be tinted to match your walls’ colours through colour-match technology.
Before painting over the damaged area, clean the wall with warm water and soap.
QUICK TIPS:
- For touch-ups of little marks less than an inch or even small holes. You can then take advantage of using an angled foam brush to lightly dab paint on the area.
- Always remember the paint finish, whether flat, eggshell, semi-gloss, gloss or so on. The smallest difference in shines can make your touch-up noticeable. Gloss finishes are tough to touch up, so beware of that note.
- Minimizing paint by 10% to 15% with a paint reducer can usually help the touch-up paint blend in with the old coating. But, ensure that the paint reducer you are about to use is suggested by your paint consultant or the paint manufacturer where you bought it.
How do you blend paint when touching up a wall?
The best way to blend paint when touching up a wall is by using a paintbrush. You can pick any type of brush that you want, but the ideal one is a natural bristle paintbrush because it has soft bristles and they won’t leave any streaks or marks on the wall.
Using a paintbrush (see our paint touch-up tutorial), take a small amount of paint and lightly paint over the area. Use the same applicator that was used to paint the last coat of paint on the wall that you’re retouching now.
This helps the touched-up location mix with the surrounding surface of the wall. Utilize how to touch-up wall paint with a roller again (a small-sized roller offers better control) if you use a roller before.
On the other hand, utilize a brush again if you utilize a brush before. This will help to reproduce the surface texture as the old one. Also, you can get the benefit of knowing how to touch-up wall paint without leaving brush marks, if brush your tool prior to the touch-up.
How to fix bad paint touch up on walls
If the results of your touch-up aren’t pleasing, repainting the space is always an alternative and don’t be afraid to do so. Thus, knowing how to touch up paint after spackling is essential. In some cases, you may be able to match the room colour and paint by painting simply one wall from corner to corner. But remember that the naked eye probably will not be able to tell the difference between walls after the new paint has dried and aged.
If you notice that your touch-up job is not blending in with the old coating and it looks like a dark line or streak, it is best to do some research and find out if there is something wrong with the paint. If this happens, try using another brand of paint or consult an expert on how to fix bad paint touch up on walls.
So, being able to grasp how to fix touch-up paint mistakes on walls is a clear advantage on your end. High-traffic locations will require many touch-ups. So repainting them may be a good concept and worth considering for your next project.
How to touch up wall paint without leaving brush marks?
The trick to getting a smooth finish is to use thin coats of paint. If you apply too much at once, it’s likely that the consistency will be thicker and brush marks will show through.
Make use of the paint as little as possible and use small amounts at a time. When using a brush, make sure to feather the edges, starting within the touch-up and moving out towards the edges.
Feathering is a strategy where you extend your brush strokes slightly beyond the repaired area to mix into the surrounding paint for a smooth shift transition effect.
Allow some time to dry.
And add more coats as needed. Let the paint dry completely as the manufacturer or paint professional advises. Then check to see how visible the touch-ups are by looking at the wall at an angle. Examine its look in natural and synthetic light at different times of the day to ensure the difference. You might consider knowing how to avoid flashing when touching up paint for a fair result. If you think too critically, you may always see the touched-up spots. Still, somebody visiting your home might not have the ability to. Thus, be liberal in your evaluation and spot the difference.
BONUS TIP!
Did you know about wall touch-up paint pens? These are something new in the market right now. Experts in auto-repair shops use them commonly to cover dents, scratches, and marks affordable. Aside from automobile companies, these paint applicator pens are also proven beneficial for repairing marks and scrapes established on walls, furnishings, ceilings, and even floorings. Thus, you can use this one tool for numerous functions while conserving your money and time.
These touch-up paint pens are available in wide varieties, where one product may differ based on its use, price, quality, and of course, the brand choice. Another great news is the availability of these pens is on a wide shade right now, but the white wall paint touch-up pen is still the original star. Many paint pens are developed to offer quick and resilient results affordably.
If you reside in Toronto and the GTA and need some help figuring out How to do Paint Touch Ups and Small Wall Repairs, don’t hesitate to call us! We will help you pick the colours you want and show you the latest painting and home renovation trends. Our home painting services with the best pro painters have been around now for over 36 years.
Call 416.494.9095 or email brian@HomePaintersToronto.com for a FREE quote for your home painting needs. And don’t forget to check us out on our social media channels below!
