Green Paint turning Yellow

I have never had this happen to me before! I have painted all the rooms in my house several times - various colors! This has got me completely stumped.

I purchased a very nice light mintish green paint for my daughters nursery. My husband painted. It looks yellow! A cross between a lemon and a green apple - a bit florescent. So since it was the first time I used that brand - I went out and purchased another gallon of a nice light green of a brand I've used plenty of times before - and it too turned yellow!! I purchased several light green samples - and none look right. Too blue - too gray or too yellow. So I called the paint company and asked what am I doing wrong? And they had no advice. So I took the paint I like and painted a piece of white printer paper. Its a pretty nice light green. So I told my husband I think the room needs to be re-primed and start over. He didn't prime before he painted the green. The walls were just primed and painted a white/pale gray that we didn't like. Should I prime white, or grey, or tinted?

I'm getting so frustrated that I am going to just paint it pink like my other daughters room! If anybody else has ever had this problem - I'd love to hear how you corrected it. Thank you!

 

put some on a large piece of tag board and bring it into various types of lighting, for example in the house, outside and take it to a location that has different lights. I think what you are seeing is due to the light that is in the house or it has to do with the existing colors in the house, like the carpet.

Do you have those energy saving florescent light bulbs that are curly or "soft white"? light bulbs. Those give off light that is more in the yellow area of the spectrum.

Remember color is merely the reflection of light, change the intensity of the wavelengths that are reflecting off the paint and you will change the color.

 

I agree with the poster that says it sounds like a lighting issue. Most paint stores have a light "box" with different kinds of light in it to examine color chips. You might want to make use of it, or find a paint store that has one.

Just curious, what brand of paint are you using?

SirWired

 

Lighting, ceiling color, and floor color can have this affect

"A white is a white is a white...until you put it next to another white" I always say

What I mean by that is, you can look at a sample of white paint that looks perfectly white
You can put it against a wall that is also white
And the sample now looks beige, gold, or gray in tone

With colors that can get more complex

 

Most paints need two coats to get the color across

Some can need 3-5 coats

 

Our friends painted their room blue. Depending on the time of day and/or lighting, it can look gunmetal grey blue or more of a light sea blue or going on a darkish tint too. Like the others said, it sounds like the lighting in that room.

Also the furniture and other things in the room might be giving it a different tint. We took our cabinet sample down to pick out some flooring. Under exactly the same lighting, putting the sample next to different colors brought out grey, pink, green, or yellow hues in the sample. It took over an hour to find something that didn't affect the color of the cabinet sample, or at least did in a pleasing way!

 

Thank you all so much for your replies! I thought the same things! I changed the lightbulb - I walked all over with my painted paper to check different lights - When I went back to the store - I did double check thier light box - I checked the color at different times of the day. Its just too yellow. Right now - there is no furniture or carpeting in the room. Just the wood floors covered with clear tarp. I don't get it. I'm just going to start over with new primer and new color. Thanks again for your ideas.

 

Generally it isn't necessary to prime a repaint. Primers are mainly for raw substrate, stains or adhesion issues. There are occasions when primer will make a color change easier.

Sometimes before the curtains are up and the room decorated a color will appear to be to harsh or bold. There can be a big difference once pictures are on the wall and all the furnishing inplace - just something to think about.

I agree with all the above comments about lighting and color association.

 

I find that the texture on a wall can also shift the color from what it appears on a flat surface. For my own home, with textured surfaces everywhere, I just buy quarts and paint part of the wall in question. Then look at it for a couple of days. It's slow and can be expensive but it's my home.

When you're at the paint store take a look at the way the chips are arranged in the rack. Usually one color component is increasing as you go down a column and another is increasing as you go right across a row. If you find a color that's close go back and look at the chips again and move in the direction that reduces the objectionable element.