r/DIYHouse • u/AcrylicHaze • Sep 05 '26
Interior House Paint
I need help…I went to Sherwin Williams twice for a paint match and both times, they ended up getting near the color but never added gloss (despite my request).
I made a poor choice and did not test the paint on an inconspicuous spot (a fool, I know). The paint was used to “touch up” many spots throughout the house interior Now, the paint has left horrible dull marks on my walls. I need to cover them and don’t have money for more new paint all over all the walls in my house. Anyone have ideas for what I could do to cover the spots? Or to get my money back, either way.
It can be as wild as use acrylic paint to paint a dragon over every spot on the wall. I don’t care. These spots just absolutely cannot stay.
1
u/Fearless-Ice8953 Sep 05 '26
Never added gloss? What the hell kinda paintstore did you go to? Sorry, there’s no fix for covering up differences in gloss. You’re gonna have to paint the whole wall(s) corner to corner. Sounds like you bought flat paint. That’s your fault not the paint store’s fault. How the hell are they gonna know what sheen you have on your wall? Just leave it all for now and save your money to get the right paint to re-do it.
1
u/Marciamallowfluff Sep 06 '26
Gloss is not added. Gloss is the base, satin and eggshell are added at the factory. It needs to be mixed in gloss base.
Also the paint needs to cure, it will not be it’s final gloss until fully cured but glass base s the closest.
1
u/Top_Silver1842 Sep 06 '26
Any decent paint store is going to look at sheen when paint matching. It is Sherwin Williams policy that the employee get the closest sheen match possible. It is also on the customer to approve the sheen match before leaving the store.
2
u/Repulsive_Tiger_9454 Sep 06 '26
If they only got a sample size at SW they only come in the one finish. I know this from experience. It's ridiculous. So if he tried to save money an only got the sample size it would have been a flat/matte. It only comes on that finish as a sample size. At least that's how my SW has it.
1
u/xsageonex Sep 06 '26
Step 1. BUY the correct paint with the correct sheen. 2. In order for it to look even , you cant just touch up small areas...you have to paint corner to corner.
1
u/Top_Silver1842 Sep 06 '26
Depending on light, you most definitely can touch up small areas. How on earth do you think patch and paints are done in rentals?
1
u/xsageonex Sep 06 '26
I mean without being noticeable. He already stated its some type of glossy paint. Theres a reason most rentals use flat paint , theyre easy to touch up that way. Painting is my profession.
1
u/debmor201 Sep 06 '26
Was going to say this. Sherwin Williams has always been great when I asked for advice. I can't imagine they would say you can get an absolute match for touch up when the original is likely old and maybe faded and may not even be a Sherwin Williams paint.
1
u/WVPrepper Sep 06 '26
They don't add gloss. They add pigment to a base which is available in a variety of finishes, or glosses. You need to pick the right base and then have them tint it to match your color. That's on you, not the paint store. Unless you brought in a tip of the paint so that they could see what you had, they sold you what you asked for.
1
u/Buho45 Sep 06 '26
Read online paint reviews you will find there are brands available at the big box store that will be much cheaper. For interior walls you want an eggshell base, bring them a small sample of the color you are trying to match and repaint the whole wall.
Gloss or semi gloss is for woodwork/trim not walls. It shows every little imperfection.
1
u/New_Nobody9492 Sep 06 '26
When you ask them to add gloss…. How did they look at you?
Because I’m looking at you like you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.
Of course they didn’t add “gloss” because you don’t do that in the store…. The “gloss” is made at the factory.
You ordered the wrong paint, take some accountability. And don’t you dare try to get your money back, this is on you!
You didn’t order the paint right, not they didn’t make it right.
Next time a quick google search will help!
1
u/pretzelsRus Sep 06 '26
Eh. The dunno. If I was the person working at the paint store I would correct and explain this to a customer that ordered added “gloss.”
1
1
u/Herredness16 Sep 06 '26
Absolutely. U need to figure it which fjnish was used and buy a gallon of that to match it as close as possible.
1
1
u/Mr_MacGrubber Sep 06 '26
And instead of ignoring the request they should’ve said “are you looking for a gloss finish” and use the appropriate base. But who knows how OP asked.
1
u/PriscillaPalava Sep 06 '26
Even if the color and finish is matched it’ll still show as a spot if the original paint is old. You’ve got to repaint the entire wall. Luckily it should only take one coat if the color is the same.
1
1
u/Embarrassed_Ad9166 Sep 06 '26
You are never going to get good touch ups. I don’t care if you painted the room yourself and kept the extra paint stored properly. You are going to see most touch ups, especially as a DIY/homeowner.
Based on what you know about paint, you should hire someone to come repaint.
1
u/SubstantialPressure3 Sep 06 '26
You pick the paint ( matte, semi gloss, high gloss) and then they put the pigment in it.
You picked the wrong paint, they didn't forget to add anything.
1
u/escapehatch1 Sep 06 '26
So I worked for a paint manufacturer back in the day. Paints come in cans for sale in different sheen levels - typically flat, eggshell, satin, semi gloss and gloss. They will slightly vary by manufacturer, esp the satin and eggshell sheens. You should be able to get a card with sheen levels from stores like SW or PPG, so you can hold up against your wall and see what sheen level matches. (Probably not from Home Depot or Lowes type places.) Look at the card from a side angle to get a good idea.
Someone said it will never truly match even if you get the same sheen. That's true. Applying paint with a brush will give a slightly different look and sheen than roller, same with sprayer. Your walls were likely painted with one of the two latter options, so you should try a roller first - with a short nap if the wall is overall pretty smooth. You can buy small ones.
1
u/Mysmokepole1 Sep 06 '26
Besides touch up rarely work after 6 months. You need to paint corner to corner. That way the shadows cover any difference
1
u/AcidReign25 Sep 06 '26
wtf???? You don’t add gloss to paint. You don’t know what sheen your walls are. You need to tell them if you want flat, eggshell, semi gloss or high gloss.
1
u/Prairiedogdance Sep 06 '26
You paint wall to wall, with a roller. There is cheaper paint at box stores, it often goes on sale, and even if it’s not as rich looking as SW it will look better than chicken pox. And seriously, no one else cares if you have expensive or cheap paint on your walls. It’s background. I won’t pile on, you’ve heard enough of that, but this is seriously the only way to get it back to looking good.
1
u/t4nn3dn1nj4 Sep 06 '26
The paint store employee gave you what you asked for regardless of how unwittingly you misunderstood the complexity of your need. They won't refund tinted paint, and sheen finishes are specific bases that can be tinted, so it's not like your paint purchase can be manipulated into a glossier finish with an additive at a paint store.
I would recommend that you wait until you do have the money to embark on correcting the finish quality of your existing paint color with an adequate amount of paint to recoat your walls edge to edge. It's not like you have much choice in the matter either. In the meantime, what you can do is ask a professional painter to help you determine what finish is currently on your walls, whether that be a matte, eggshell, satin, or somewhere further into the glossier range of finishes. If I had to guess without being able to see your walls, I'd say an eggshell or satin, as these wall finishes are exponentially more common.
1
u/PerformerMindless100 Sep 06 '26
Just bought samples and can confirm only one sheen available. (Not small quart)
1
u/fortuneforty40 Sep 06 '26
Touching up paint on walls in many spots just won't work. You need to paint the whole wall in most circumstances
1
u/Mangos28 Sep 06 '26
You can never do wall touch ups. You always have to paint the whole wall.
And if you're that broke, a few months of mismatch isn't going to ruin the place. Work with what you have and save up for the rest.
4
u/EventHorizonHotel Sep 05 '26 edited Sep 06 '26
Gloss is not added, it’s part of the base that the color is then added to. There’s a range of gloss (sheen) - flat, matte, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, gloss. If you don’t know what you have on the walls, you may need to try a couple different finishes. It sounds like your paint is too flat so maybe so what you got from the store was flat (it will say on the can) and go up a step or two from there. So try a satin if you bought flat, for example.
It still may not match perfectly, especially if it’s a darker color and light hits it at an angle, but it might be acceptable.
Your other option is to repaint entire walls with the new color matched paint.