So, you’re preparing to repaint interior walls in your home or business. You know that your choice of color will define the space and, whether you’re comparing grays or looking for the perfect color-pop, sample swatches are absolutely necessary. What you might not know is that there’s definitely a “best” way to sample paint on an interior wall without making your future repainting project more difficult.
The paint pros at Builders can help you test your interior paint colors the right way with this quick guide.
Sample Paint Supplies
With every project, it helps to collect your supplies. In addition to your paint testers – small, inexpensive cans of paint in your desired colors – you’ll also want a stack of poster board, drop cloth, brushes, and maybe some primer for richer colors.
- Paint tester cans
- A poster board
- Primer and brushes
- Drop cloth
The Secret: Paint the Poster Board
The ultimate trick for interior wall paint testing is to use poster board instead of painting directly on the wall. Not only does this save you the trouble of painting over your test swatches, it also lets you easily test how each color might look on different walls, different sections of the wall, in different lighting, and test different colors side-by-side without making a mess of each wall or quickly using up your paint samples.
Paint Two Layers On Each Poster Board
Lay down your drop cloth and apply an even layer of paint to each poster board – one color per poster board. Let the paint dry, then apply a second coat. This will give you the full, opaque paint experience similar to how your wall will look when it’s done.
If you’re considering an accent color, you might also add a border line to each poster board, but this is next-level paint color testing technique.
To Prime or Not to Prime
Primer is not typically necessary when testing paint colors on poster boards. But particularly rich colors may show better if you use a layer of primer on your poster board before applying the two layers of paint.
Set Up Your Lighting
As your paint swatches dry, make sure that the lighting in the room is the same as it will be when the room is painted. You may also want to set a schedule to test your swatches at different times of day based on how sunlight plays through the room. This is because paint can look strikingly different in direct light vs shadow, and sunlight vs electric light. You’ll want to see your paint in all it’s possible shades as the result of lighting, so that you know what your interior wall will look like for every time of day.
Pin Up with Push Pins or Sticky Tack
Use temporary mounting methods to place your painted poster board on the walls so you can step back and observe how the color looks from a distance. Push-pins are reliable in drywall and will leave tiny little holes that will fill with paint as soon as you begin repainting the wall. Sticky tack (or blue tack) is a temporary adhesive gum that can leave oily marks over years, but is perfectly safe used a few minutes or hours at a time.
Test in Different Walls and Locations
Another benefit of testing with poster boards is the ability to move around your sample swatch. With this method, you can test a color on different walls, at different points on the wall, and in different lighting. If you’re testing color combinations, place different poster boards next to each other. Overlap them to see which looks best as the primary vs accent color. Move them around the house to get a clear understanding of how the colors blend with your existing decor.
Take Pictures for Reference
Lastly, you can take photographs of your sample paint colors in each arrangement. These photos can serve as a reference while you make your decision and will also show you how the paint will look in pictures, not just how it looks to the naked eye.
Choose Your Favorite Paint Colors with Builders
After this experimentation, you will likely discover a favorite paint color or combination of colors for your interior room. Bring your decision back to Builders, and our expert paint team will mix up full-sized buckets of your favorite colors to supply your full project. Whether you’re repainting the entire floor or a single accent wall, this sample paint technique is sure to help you choose the perfect color with easy visualization.
If you enjoyed this blog, read this one about interior paint ideas to try in your home.
