How to Touch Up Paint So It Doesn’t Show
Three rules I always follow, and the technique that makes a touch-up disappear.
A good touch-up should be invisible. In my experience, when one shows it is almost always for one of three reasons: the wrong paint was used, the tin wasn’t mixed properly, or the paint was spoiled by the way it was stored. Get those three right, apply the touch-up the same way the surface was first painted, and most scuffs, knocks and filled holes disappear. Here is exactly how I do it.
At a glance
- Always use the actual paint from the original job, never a new tin or a sample pot.
- Always mix the tin thoroughly from the bottom before taking any paint out.
- Never store paint where it can freeze, such as a garden shed.
- Roll a touch-up if the surface was rolled; brush it if it was brushed.
- Thin, feathered coats blend; for big or badly lit areas, repaint the whole wall.
Rule one: always use the paint from the original job
The leftovers from your job are your only true match.
The only paint I would ever touch up with is the paint left over from the original job. We keep very tight control on colour, but two batches of paint may not be exactly identical, and on a finished wall even a slight difference can show. Every tin within a single order is made from the same batch, so the leftover paint from your job is your one true match.
Don’t touch up from a sample pot either. Our sample pots are Dead Matt wall paint, made for testing colours. Unless the job was painted in that same paint, the sheen will be different, and a different sheen will be obvious straight away because it catches the light differently, however close the colour.
The same goes for the paint type. Touch up woodwork with the woodwork paint, a radiator with the radiator paint and cabinets with the cabinet paint, always in the same sheen.
Rule two: mix the tin thoroughly, every time
Some pigments are heavier than others and settle over time.
Before you take out any paint for a touch-up, mix the tin thoroughly from the bottom. Some pigments are heavier than others, so over time they begin to drop to the bottom of the tin. Paint taken from the top of a tin that has been standing can be a different colour from the paint on your wall, even though it came from the same tin.
Stir for one to two minutes, ideally with a drill and mixing paddle, or with a flat stirrer, scraping the bottom and sides and lifting the paint up until the colour is completely even with no streaks. If you have kept the paint in a small pot, stir or shake that thoroughly too.
Rule three: keep your paint away from frost
Never store paint in a garden shed.
Never store paint where it can freeze, such as a garden shed, an outhouse or an unheated garage. Water-based paint that freezes and thaws can turn lumpy and spoil, and even if it seems to stir back together it may not look or perform as it should.
Keep it indoors somewhere cool, dry and frost-free, out of direct sunlight and away from damp, which can rust metal tins and lids. A cupboard inside the house is ideal.
Saving paint for touch-ups
The original tin, or a small airtight pot.
When the job is finished, wipe the rim of the tin clean so the lid seats properly, close it firmly and store it upright. If a good amount is left, the original tin is the best place for it. If only a small amount remains, a smaller airtight container is better, for example a cleaned sample pot.
Label it with the colour, paint type, sheen, the room or surface it was used on and the date. Our toolkits include a touch-up bottle for exactly this.
Preparing the area
Clean, fill and sand smooth before any paint goes on.
Clean the area gently first with a soft cloth wrung out in warm water with a little mild washing-up liquid, then let it dry. Paint will not bond well to grease, dust or grime.
Fill any holes or dents, let the filler dry, then sand it smooth and flush with the surrounding surface using fine abrasive paper. Wipe away the dust before you paint.
Applying the touch-up
Match the original method and feather the edges.
Apply the touch-up the same way the surface was first painted. If the wall was rolled, I find rolling a touch-up works best, as it blends in much more easily. Use a small roller with only a little paint on it. If woodwork was brushed, touch it up with a brush, following the direction of the original brush strokes.
Use as little paint as you need. Work from the centre of the repair outwards and feather the edges out to nothing, so there is no hard line or ridge of paint. Several thin coats blend far better than one thick one.
Bare filler soaks up paint differently from the painted surface around it, so a filled patch may need more than one coat. Our paints are in about 30 minutes and ready to recoat in one to two hours.
Judging the result
Wet paint looks darker, so wait until dry.
Wet paint looks darker than dry paint, so don’t judge a touch-up until it has fully dried, and then look at it in the light you normally see that wall in.
is not finished: the paint has only just begun drying and curing. On our self-priming paints, full adhesion builds over seven days, so treat a touched-up area gently for at least that long. If you need to mask next to fresh paint, use a tape made for delicate and freshly painted surfaces, such as the Q1 Sensitive Surface Masking Tape in our toolkits.
When to repaint instead
Large areas and strong side light need a full wall.
Touch-ups work best on small, localised damage. If the area is large, the wall catches strong side light, for example opposite a big window, or the original paintwork was uneven, a touch-up may always show. On older paintwork, light and everyday life slowly change a surface, so even the original paint can show slightly.
In those cases the best fix is to repaint the whole wall, or the whole section of woodwork, corner to corner in one go, keeping a wet edge.
Sample it the way we would
Step 1
Paint your peel-and-sticks
Each £5.99 sample comes with three paintable peel-and-sticks. Give them two coats and let them dry fully.
Step 2
Stick them around the room
Put them on two or three walls, including the wall opposite the window, at eye level and lower down.
Step 3
Live with them for a day or two
Look in the morning, the afternoon and under your evening lamps. Move them around until you are sure.
Your questions, answered
Can I touch up paint with a sample pot?
I wouldn’t. Our sample pots are Dead Matt wall paint for testing colours, so the sheen can differ, and a different batch may not be exactly identical. Use the leftover paint from the job.
Why does my touch-up show?
Usually a different batch or sheen, a tin that wasn’t mixed from the bottom, too thick a coat, or a different method from the original, such as brushing a rolled wall.
Should I roll or brush a touch-up?
Match the original. If the surface was rolled, roll the touch-up with a small roller; it blends in much more easily than a brush.
How should I store leftover paint?
Sealed, upright and labelled, indoors somewhere cool, dry and frost-free. Never in a garden shed or unheated garage. Decant small amounts into a smaller airtight pot.
Keep exploring
Why Is My Paint Patchy? How to Fix Uneven Walls and Ceilings
Patchy paint usually means the wall underneath is uneven, not the paint.
Roller Marks and Stripey Walls or Ceilings: Causes and Fixes
Stripes are a record of how the paint went on. Change that, and they go.
How Much Paint Do I Need?
Measure once, buy once, and never run out halfway up a wall.