DIY Paint Repair: How to Touch Up Painted Walls Without the Need for a Full Repaint

Your home’s walls have seen their fair share of abuse. Scrapes and smudges are certain to appear due to kids, pets, and normal wear and tear of daily life. There might not be enough of these unsightly stains, though, to warrant repainting the entire wall. A touch-up paint job may be the answer in that situation.

If you’re considering touch-up painting for your walls, it may seem like a simple task. However, using the wrong tools and techniques can result in unsightly blotches that draw attention to the very imperfections you’re trying to fix. If you’re looking to freshen up your walls, it’s important to follow the right method for touch-up painting. Read on to learn the proper approach, as recommended by expert house painters, to ensure a flawless result and a professionally painted finish on your exterior and interior painting.

Before You Start

To ensure that your touch-up paint blends seamlessly with the surrounding wall, use the same—or as comparable as possible—paint and paint applicators (rollers and brushes) that were originally used to paint the wall. Ideally, the paint and applicators from when the wall was first painted will still be on hand. If not, you’ll need to locate a complementary paint in the same shade and shine. You might discover a paint that matches with:

• Mobile applications that match paint: Numerous free smartphone applications can find a paint that matches the colour of your wall. Although this option is the most practical, its results might not be the most reliable.
• Color matching technology: A spectrometer analysis is used by many hardware stores and paint suppliers to identify the colour and shine of your wall’s paint. You must bring a sample of the paint you want to match in order to take advantage of this service. Typically, you take a tangible piece of the wall for this sample. A picture you took with your phone could be able to be analysed in some establishments, but it might not be as accurate as a physical sample.

If you don’t know what type of applicator was used, rollers are frequently considered the best option for touch-up painting. Since smaller rollers provide the best level of precision and control, they are typically advised.

How to do it

Prep the Area

The wall must be clean of any debris, defects, or imperfections that could prevent the paint from sticking to the wall before you start painting.

Start by using a damp sponge to clean the wall. With a fresh rag, dry. Until there is no more dirt, grease, or filth left, keep cleaning the area.

Next, use spackling compound to patch up any small holes, gashes, or gouges. Sand any rough areas down with 120-grit (or finer) sandpaper first, then use a damp rag to remove any remaining drywall dust.

Fill the spackle up to the brim on the end of a putty knife and spread it over the area. After the spackle has cured, sand it down using fine grit paper to make it flush with the rest of the wall. With a moist rag, remove any remaining drywall and spackle dust.

Prime the Area

To assist the touch-up paint blend in with the surrounding wall and to improve paint adhesion, a light coat of interior-grade latex primer may be applied. Make sure not to paint past the area you’re touching up by using a small brush to prime the area you prepared in the previous step.

Prepare the Paint

Blending all the pigments and binders together requires thoroughly mixing the paint container. With a mixing stick or a power drill mixer coupled to a power drill, you can manually stir the paint.

To make the paint merge into the wall better, you might also think about thinnin it. As a general guideline, oil-based paints should be thinned with the same volume of turpentine or mineral spirits as latex paint. Latex paint should be thinned by adding water to make up 5 to 10% of the paint’s volume. Refer to the exact thinning guidelines that the paint’s manufacturer has provided. Paint that has been thinned will appear significantly lighter; check the colour match in a tiny area first.

Apply Paint

Only use a small amount of paint on your brush or roller to cover the touch-up area.

Work your way out to the edges of the touch-up area after beginning in the centre. Feather the edges by making light strokes that extend just past the edge onto the adjacent wall without reloading the applicator. The touch-up spot will blend into the wall more seamlessly thanks to feathering, which makes the transition between the new and old paint less obvious.

Use a tiny foam brush to lightly dab paint onto spots less than an inch in size.