I painted my walls using a Valspar prime+paint, and everything looked great... until I ruined the paint job by drilling a couple of holes in the wall that I didn't end up using. I had a professional painter doing the rest of my house, and he filled the holes, sanded down the area, and then sprayed orange peel texture over the area to make it match the texture of the rest of the wall. He told to wait until the orange peel spray-on dried, and then apply a light coat of the paint into the effected area using a brush. Then, once that dried, he told me to apply a second thicker coat.

I had originally rolled the walls, and I don't know if the use of the brush for touch up ruined the finish, but the new patched spot looks a shade or two off from the original paint. I ended up adding numerous coats, hoping to match the color, but the area ended up just getting wider, but never became a match.

After the 2nd coat with the brush, I tried using a mini roller over the area, but still, when it dried, the shading was off.

I don't understand what the issue is. Since the paint has primer built in, shouldn't it match the surrounding color exactly? How can I fix this without repainting the entire wall?

Also, if there is no other option other than to repaint the wall, wouldn't I still have an issue with consistency, since I'd be painting over both the original coat as well as the area that is a shade or two off? Again, since the paint has primer built in, I can't figure out why the coat isn't coming up even, but I am at an absolute loss at this point.

Can anyone offer some advice?

 

Welcome to the forums!

I'm not real familiar with Valspar paints but have never bought into the primer/paint combination.
Is the paint touching up ok on other parts of that wall? If it touches up elsewhere then it's a texture issue, if not, it's a paint issue.

Generally when it's a paint issue it's best to repaint the entire wall. I have used paints from time to time that just wouldn't touch up

 

Couple of items.

1-New orange peel is basically drywall mud and should be primed before painting. But it is too late for that

2-If the sheen of the paint is anything but flat, you will have issues where the brush/roller strokes become noticeable.

3-if the texture of the patch is either thicker or thinner that the surrounding wall you will notice the differences on the finished wall.

None of which helps in your case. I would feather out a larger area going from ceiling to floor and maybe 2 to 3 feet either side of the patch. See if the color shade follows the complete repaint or still is isolated to the patch. If it is relegated to the patch only, it is a textural thing. You will probably have to re-texture lightly to feather out over a larger area. If the whole repaint looks different than the surrounding original, then you will need to repaint the entire wall.

 

Your first problem is not priming it. Those paint & primer in ones are marketing gimmicks.

When you painted the patch, you should have primed it then applied the paint in the same manner you painted the wall. Some things to keep in mind if you touch up. These are especially true with low/zero VOC products.

1) Use the same application technique. If you rolled the wall, then roll the area with the same nap roller. If you sprayed the wall, use paint that has been run through a sprayer as it will sheer the product and can lead to a slight color variation.

2) Touch up with the paint at the same viscosity as the original application. Not thicker or thinner.

3) Use the same paint, or at least the same batch.

4) Make sure the temperature of the substrate, air and paint are the same as when the product was applied.

5) Make sure the relative humidity is the same as it was during application.

6) Any patches that are done need to be on the same plane as the wall. if they are too high or too low they will show up. if the texture is different from the existing wall, it will show up.


At this point, with the number of coats you have on, you are best off repainting corner to corner. YOU may still see the patches but chances are no one else will.