Need to make paint lighter......

My wife bought a couple gallons of paint, in green. She put a little on the wall and now she thinks its going to be to dark for the room. Can I just buy some white paint and mix the two together till we get the lighter shade she wants? If this can be done, would I have to buy the same name brand white paint, or can I just get any white as long as its a satin latax, same as the green? Thanks................

 

It would be safer to use the same brand to avoid any possible issues but probably as long as it's the same type you'd come out ok however you need to understand that you will need to make enough of this for your entire job as you will never be able to correctly duplicate "home made" color.

You will need to stir this brew well and often to make sure you have it completely blended.When you buy any paint to intermix go to a store that has actual qualified help and tell them what you are doing so they can help you to pick out the right paint.

Not all white paint is the same and will have different amounts and types of pigmenting which would give different results.

I don't ever really like these kinds of ideas as they don't always work but people do it anyway.The real truth is you should go get new paint that is the color you want.I'm assuming you don't think it can be returned but have you asked?Tinted paint returns are iffy and subject to interpretation of return policies but sometimes they'll do it especially if it's a big box or major chain.

 

Yes you can intermix paints as long as the bases are compatible. With the exception of the ceiling and woodwork paints I don't think I've ever specifically bought paint for my house - intermixed left over paints from various jobs.

It is true that it would be next to impossible to ever match both the color and sheen - SO BE SURE TO MIX UP ENOUGH. You also need to mix the paints together WELL!!!!

Be sure to remember that the paint color in the bucket isn't the same color as what it will dry to on the wall. Most paints dry darker but there are a few brands that dry lighter.

I've never known of a paint store offering refunds or exchanges on tinted paint unless it was tinted wrong [their mistake]

 

Best to bring them back to the store and tell them what you want
They should be able to tint them a bit lighter

I really should mention this though
If the walls were white/light before, and a color is going up now, it's very common for homeowners to think it's "too dark" at first
Especially if they are used to white/light, and/or have had white/light rooms for a long time
Especially when there's only parts of a wall painted, and they see how "dark" it is compared to the white/light wall it's up against

It is a big difference between a little swatch and covering the whole wall

A vast majority of these people just need some time to adjust to the color and they are fine
In very few cases is it actually "too dark"
Occasionally they are trying to match something and miss, but that's rare
It's also rare for someone to accidentally choose a color that's "too dark" for the room
More often they just freak when they see it's not white any more, and they get scared of so much color

I have told customers with this reaction that they spent a lot of time picking out the color
Maybe they should let me finish the room, and give it a week
If they still think it's too dark, then I'll do another lighter coat at 1/2 off

I wouldn't say that if I wasn't confident I wouldn't have to do it

 

From a DIY'ers perspective, I want to add that choosing colors from those color chips at all the stores can be very difficult. What you see on the chip, even in your home, can look VERY different once it's on a big wall.

It's all subjective, but in my case, if I know about how dark I want the wall to be, I pick a color that is one "step" lighter than I think it should be. To me, almost all paints "appear" to be darker than the sample chip when it's on the wall. I am very satisfied with this technique.

I have diluted "too dark" paint on two occasions by adding the same line of white paint. Because white paint is not like adding a dose of pure pigment, it seems like you need a lot of white to change the paint. Adding one quart of white to a gallon doesn't change much.

 

When mixing the paint, add the green TO the white a little at a time. A pint or quart of green to a gallon of white might be all you need.

 

We were going with the one shade lighter green because we also found out that at times it will come out darker than whats on the chip. The person at the counter told us not to worry, we could go with the darker because it wouldn't get any darker once on the wall, I guess they were wrong. Bought it at the Home Depot.

 

While I can't speak for big box paints, even when a mixed paint is dead on the chip color it may appear darker, brighter, bolder, etc, because the chip is small and whatever color is put on the wall is more intense than the little sample.

Often I will suggest to a customer that they might want to go lighter if I think the color they chose may be too much for them. It can be hard to find knowledgeable help at a big box

 

I can
I have dealt with them and used them

Not to beat a dead horse, but I think I should mention something here, especially for anyone else reading
This is not true
Not if you purchase paint at a paint store
The companies that are interested in providing quality coatings do not operate like this
The dry-on-the-wall paint must look like the chip
That's why in usually looks "off" when it's wet in the can

HD/Behr is not interested in providing quality coatings
They are interested is selling DIYers inexpensive paints (with a high mark-up) quickly, cheaply, and with as little muss and fuss as possible
And that means not paying for the knowledgeable salespeople
And that means stuff like making their paint look like the chip while it's wet and in the can
They don't want to deal with the loads of first-timers or DIYers bringing back the paints when they've opened them up at home, and find out the wet-in-the-can paint doesn't look like the chip
(maybe you've seen the big color "reveal" on the those makeover shows)

It's not supposed to
Wet paint, especially in the can, does not look like it will dry and on the wall
If they simply took the time to educate the customer, they wouldn't have nearly as many people question that
But that means knowledgeable sales people and time
They don't want to spend the money on either

Bottom line:

Wet paint, especially in the can, will not look like the same paint dried and on the wall

All paint changes tone as it dries, some darker, some lighter

People almost always get better paint products, and better painting advice, from a paint store, not a big box or paint department

 

2 points on the OP's question.

1. Yes it is possible to "lighten" paint by adding white. If it is a 1-1 ratio (as in 1 gallon of color and 1 gallon of white, it will be 1/2 as dark. However, this ratio WILL NOT HOLD if the color is in a base other than "white"). If you add 2 gallon of white, it will be 1/3 as dark, 3 gallon white 1/4 as dark, and you can continue to do the work.

2. Contingent upon point 1. If the color is in a mid/deep/ultra deep base, the reaction will be much different.

The prevailing knowledge, and "common sense" reaction to adding white to a color is that it "WHITENES, or LIGHTENS" up a color are incorrect. In fact, white simply muddies the color.

For example, imagine the brightest, cleanest red you have ever seen. Candy apple red for example. If a customer wants to "lighten it up a bit" I would tell them to buy some new. Forget lightening it up. Imagine however, that they insist. So you add white to your candy apple red. What do you get? Light candy apple red? NO, you get PINK!!

The same with any other color in the deep/ultradeep palate.

So if the OP's color was a deep green, adding white will not make it "lighter", instead it will make a muddy dull green.

So, OP, look at your color on the can. If its a WHITE base, go ahead and add gallons of white to lighten up the paint. Use the same base, and same brand. If you need more later, you will know what to ask for. If you have mixed 1-1, ask for 1 gallon of your color in 50% tint. Or if you have mixed 2-1, as for a 33% tint. The tint computer should be able to hit it.

Hope this clears it up.

BTW you can NEVER add enough white tint to make much of a difference. By the time you did, the paint store guys would have sunk about $20 of tint in your can, and the paint would not dry properly, as white base is desgined for a MAX of 8oz universal tint before failure can occur. This includes dry time issues to "tint float" where pigment leaches out onto the surface of the paint, and rubs off forever, as tint really never "dries".

 

This brown paint is a bit to dark! And there is no other very close to purchase... can I add white to it and lighten it up? How much do you think I would need?

 

Intermixing paints like adding white to lighten is possible but completely experimental.You'll just have to try it and see what you get.Be sure to use the same paint type and sheen and preferably the same product.Also if you do create what you want be sure to make enough to complete your project as you will never be able to exactly match it again.

 

It takes very little color. Get a gallon of white and add about a half pint, no more. You'll be surprised at how little of the dark brown it will take.

If a half pint is not dark enough, you can always add more. But if you start with too much, you'll just have to buy another gallon of white.