Color matching
Matching a wall that has been in the sun for years
A paint chip is a new color. Your wall is not.
Sun fades plaster unevenly, and a repair can sit a shade off from the wall around it. We do not trust a chip held up to the wall. We bring several, put them on the wall next to the old coat, and paint a test patch so you see the real thing on the real surface.
Catalina Ojeda
Runs the test patches
The steps
Four steps to a color you have already seen
Step 1: Send photos in daylight
Take them at the hour you see the wall most, with a shaded corner in one of them.
Step 2: Chips on the wall
We tape up the colors you are considering next to the old coat and leave them for a day.
Step 3: Test patch
A square, about three feet across, painted with the coating we will use, on the wall that has faded most.
Step 4: You sign off
You choose from the patch. We write the color name on your estimate for each surface.
Why it looks different
Three things that change a color on the wall
Light
A color looks warmer at sunset and cooler at noon. Judge it at the hour you care about.
Texture
Rough stucco casts tiny shadows and reads darker than a smooth chip of the same color.
Fade
The side that gets the most sun has faded the most, so the walls are not one color to begin with.
Earth tones people ask us for
Sand, clay, sage and cream are the usual starting points. Your wall decides where you end up.
Sample photos.
Start with a photo of the wall.
Take it in afternoon light. We text back what we see and when we can bring chips.