Dirt or marks on the walls are eye-catching and make the painted surface look dirty. On some highly glazed walls, you can scrub off most of the marks and dirt, but, even on these surfaces, sometimes all that can fix a mark is a swipe of fresh paint. While some walls will require full coverage, you may be able to repair small areas with touch-ups. Wall parts of frequent use or traffic, such as the entrance, the surroundings of door handles and door frames, near baseboards and around switches, usually require regular six-monthly retouching of the paint. Use these tips to learn how to touch up paint.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Prepare the Walls
Step 1. Wash the walls
- Dip the sponge in soapy water and squeeze out the excess water.
- Wash the walls with the sponge to remove dust, dirt and surface marks.
- Dry the walls with a clean towel, and wipe a soft cloth over the painted surface if it looks dull. Dullness occurs on some glossy painted surfaces after repeated cleaning.
Step 2. Apply primer to the walls
- Pour some primer into a paint tray. Use an anti-stain primer formula for darker marks.
- Roll a roller in the primer and then back and forth across the tray to remove excess primer. Saturate the roller without letting it drip.
- Roll the primer onto the washed area of the wall. Apply a single layer. Let the primer dry before proceeding with the paint application.
Method 2 of 2: Paint the Walls
Step 1. Open the paint can
Remove the lid with a flat screwdriver.
Turn the jar upside down for about 20 minutes before opening it if it has been standing for several months. After 20 minutes, straighten the jar and remove the lid
Step 2. Mix the touch up paint
Mix the paint with a putty knife or dowel plug for 5 minutes. For best results, take the jar to a home improvement store so they can mix the paint for you.
Step 3. Pour the touch-up paint into a clean paint tray
Step 4. Saturate the roller with paint
Roll the roller over the tray's grooves to remove excess paint. As with the primer, the paint should not drip off the roller.
Step 5. Apply the paint
Roll the roller diagonally across the area, covering the prepared and primed areas of the wall.
Step 6. Blend the paint
Move away from the center of the retouch area with a clean, dry roller. Detach yourself from the wall as you reach the edges of the retouched area. Lightly blend around the edges with the roller. Work with a flat brush to blend the paint into the surrounding areas of the wall. the paint.
Step 7. Apply a second coat of paint
Let the first coat of paint dry before applying a second coat. Use the same method you used with the first coat.
Advice
- You will find it problematic to touch up the walls in the same color without an old can of the original paint or at least the name, number, type and brand of that paint. As a last resort, you can use a utility knife to cut out an inch-sized section of paint. Take the swatch to a home improvement store, where you may be able to have the paint customized to match your color.
- Before starting any painting, move furniture away from the wall, remove any hanging objects or switch bezels, and spread a painter's cloth on the floor. Cover neighboring frames and frames with paper tape.
- If you are retouching a small area and not an entire wall use a medium roller to cover the affected area or spot and then move the roller away by thinning the paint by gradually applying less pressure. Do it in all directions. This prevents the retouched area from being noticeable. Mixing the new paint with the old one will keep it from being noticeable.
- Touching up paint won't fix cracked or dirty walls in some rooms. If you smoke indoors, live in a sunny spot, or it's been more than a year since your last paint job, your retouching efforts will likely be noticeable. To avoid having to paint the entire room, you can often just paint the damaged wall from corner to corner. If, from a test application, the fresh paint obviously differs from the original one, continue anyway; the different wall will become an "accessory wall". Touch-up applications are most effective on recent paint or small areas that are not at eye level.
Advice (ALTERNATIVE)
- For a MATTE TEXTURE PAINT FOR WALLS - Buy small cans of artistic acrylic paint. It is usually best to take several similar tones more than bright white to mix them with, because an exact match is more art than science. Since you are here, buy some cheap brushes too.
- Some shades of light reddish brown and off-white can be easily reproduced with artist acrylics straight from the bottle.
- Try to make the affected area flat or slightly sunken. Grout small cracked areas ONLY IF NECESSARY and remove as little paint as you can while sanding the grout.
- Mix a small amount of paints on a palette or sample paper until you have a match. If you are concerned that the dried paint will look different, color a small area on a corner of the paper and let it dry to compare the shades.
- Paint the problem area with several thin coats of your custom mix, letting each layer dry from time to time. Dilute the paint with small amounts of water if it looks too thick. Gently blend the edges of the fresh paint with a damp brush if you can see a noticeable edge. Cover the palette between coats so it doesn't dry out.
- Painting in brightly lit areas may make it more difficult to achieve an exact match, especially in areas exposed to the sun.
