Imagine: You’ve already painted the entirety of your surface but the paint color isn’t what you expected it to be. You feel disappointed or even frustrated with how the color turned out. Sucks, right? We feel you. To help avoid similar instances from now on, experts over at the Boysen Technical Services Department have shared advice and tips to keep in mind when choosing paint colors. Heed these and avoid paint color heartache and regret:
1. Lighting Matters a Lot
Here’s a big one and one that’s often overlooked by those new to home painting. In every painting project, always take lighting into account. Why? Because the color you see is affected by the light that’s hitting it.
For example, afternoon sunlight that comes into the room will add a warm undertone to your paint color. Meanwhile, no windows and just a fluorescent tube light will cast a cool undertone. All this also means that the swatch of the paint color you saw at the home depot may look noticeably different once applied to your walls.
The takeaway? As much as possible, look at paint samples in the room or area where you’re painting. If you can paint the color on a section of the surface to test it, even better. (More on this in the latter part of the article.)
2. Know the Limits of Digital Paint Swatches
Digital paint swatches are great. They are digital renditions of actual paint swatches so you can browse paint colors on your device without the need for physical fan decks (read about Boysen fan decks here). You would have already seen many digital paint swatches here at MyBoysen.com, particularly in the Color Inspiration section. And if you’re looking for a collection of nearly all of the Boysen paint colors available, all you need is the Boysen app. It’s choosing paint colors at its most convenient!
But there is a drawback that’s important to remember. The color accuracy of digital paint color swatches cannot match its physical counterpart. Because tech specs vary per device, the colors can look different depending on the screen you’re viewing it from (see an example of what we mean here).
This is why it’s recommended that, if you used a digital swatch as a reference, you should always view the actual paint swatch in person at a Boysen Mix and Match station before you have a batch mixed.
3. Prime Correctly
Primer is applied on bare surfaces to help seal the substrate but also so your topcoat (a.k.a. your chosen paint color) is able to sufficiently adhere to the surface. The appropriate primer to use will differ depending on the project, such as if you’re painting on concrete versus on metal. But, did you know primer affects how the color of your paint turns out as well?
When you’re repainting dark walls to a lighter color, you need to apply a white primer such as Boysen Permacoat Flat Latex B-701 to be able to hide the old color and prevent “bleeding.”
There are also instances where certain paint colors require a colored primer in order for their true hue to show. Paint colors that require colored primers are usually bright yellows, oranges, and deep reds. The appropriate primer will be specified by the manufacturer either on the packaging label or when you have paint mixed at a paint mixing station.
Bonus: Try It Out If You Can
If you can, try getting your hands on a sample pot of your chosen paint color so you can test it out on a small spot on your surface.
Boysen has sample pots, which come in cute 200 mL containers, of more than a thousand of its paint colors available at The Color Library. If you haven’t been to The Color Library yet, you definitely should. It’s a color experience all on its own and just a few steps away from Ikea.
You can also purchase these Boysen 200 mL sample pots at the Boysen website (Boysen.com.ph). Click on“Buy Online” in the menu tab and then the “Color Samples” option (go straight there by clicking here) to see the more than 300 paint colors available for online purchasing.
A 200 mL pot of paint can cover approximately 1.25 to 1.50 square meters in one coat. This gives you enough coverage to visualize colors in different lighting conditions and how they will look with your fixtures.
If you have any questions or inquiries about Boysen products, send an email to ask@myboysen.com. You can also call the Boysen Technical Service Department at (02) 8363-9738 local 413 to 418 during office hours for a one-on-one consultation.
Happy painting!
