Tips For Purchasing Paint For Your Home

Your home needs a new coat of paint. You're probably excited to pull out the roller and put a fresh coat on the walls, but before you do that, there's another hurdle you have to tackle: buying paint. This is not quite as easy as walking into the store with cash and walking out with a gallon of paint. Rather, there are a few tips and tricks you'll want to follow in order to make a successful purchase.

1. Pay close attention to the type of paint you're buying.

Even though all paint might look the same in the bucket, different paint formulas are intended for different applications. Indoor paint won't hold up very long outside. A paint made for ceilings won't hold up very long on a floor. Before you head to the paint store, know exactly what surfaces you plan on painting, and then look for paint that is specifically recommended for those surfaces.

2. Choose your finish carefully.

Most paints come in four different finishes: flat, eggshell, semi-gloss, and high-gloss. Flat paint has no shine. Eggshell has a slight shine. Semi-gloss is pretty shiny, and high-gloss is very shiny. Usually, homeowners want to use eggshell or semi-gloss on their walls and flat paint on their trim and ceilings. High-gloss paint is usually reserved for things like cabinet doors that you want to be able to wipe clean really easily. This is somewhat a matter of preference, but you should know what you're buying. 

3. Look at paint samples at home.

Paint colors look different under different lights. A certain shade may look lovely under the bright fluorescent lights of the paint store, but it may be too dark once you get it home to your more dimly lit dining room. Take paint samples home, and look at them in the space you're painting. Then, return to the paint store knowing what shades you want.

4. Check the color before you go.

If the paint store employee who mixes your paint does not automatically remove some from the pail, let it dry, and show you the finished color, ask them to do so. You want to make sure the paint dries to the same color as your sample card. It's rare, but sometimes errors are made in mixing the paint, and you want to ensure they are caught before you go home.

With the tips above, you can have a better paint-buying (and painting) experience. 

To learn more, contact a paint store.

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