How to Touch Up Paint The Right Way

Whether you’re swapping out that gallery wall for your first piece of grown-up art or covering up your little one’s crayon masterpiece, there are lots of scenarios that might warrant a wall paint touch up. While touching up paint on walls paint may sound simple enough, there are a few guidelines you should follow to get it right. Before you grab your paint brush, read on for the best tips on how to touch up paint the right way, so you can keep your paint finish looking like new.

5 steps to the perfect wall paint touch up

Before you get started, you’ll want to assess the size of the area you want to touch up. If the area in a few inches all around or smaller, you should get great results with a simple wall paint touch up. (If the area in question is larger, repainting the entire wall will deliver the best results) Once you’re ready, follow these steps:

1. Clean the area

Before touching up your paint, clean the area by wiping down the wall with a damp, but not wet, sponge (too much water can leave marks or, worse, create mildewy situations down the road) and a tiny bit of mild dishwashing liquid.

2. Sand

If needed (typically only if you’ve filled in holes or covered up other imperfection with spackle), use a 120-grit sanding sponge, to lightly smooth the area and remove any debris fragments or buildup.

3. Skip The Primer

If your wall was primed and painted the right way to begin with, you can most likely do away with the primer for touch-ups. This will ensure a more consistent blending of your old and new paint.

4. Paint.

If you have leftover paint, use that, along with the same type of brush or a roller with the same nap length, so the paint texture stays consistent with the rest of the wall. If you have to buy new paint, make sure the color and finish are exactly the same as the original.

Stir any leftover paint well before you begin a touch-up, since colorants will likely have settled if the paint was sitting around for a while.

Using as little paint as possible, apply small amounts of paint directly to the wall, beginning toward the center of the touch-up area and feathering it out lightly into the surrounding paint until you reach your desired coverage.

5. Let It Dry

You should see beautiful results right away, but let your touched-up paint dry completely to be sure. If you notice it the touch up paint on your walls is not matching the most common reason why is because the paint on your walls can fade from exposure to the sun over time. If that is the case, it’s best to repaint the entire wall.

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