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colorblind1961

Can you DARKEN a paint color???

colorblind1961
14 years ago

I know it's common to lighten up paint colors 50-75%, but can you DARKEN them successfully? I have a beautiful golden color on my walls, but I feel that by darkening it up just a little (25%) with some brown, I will get the color I am striving for.

Comments (2)

  • paintguy22
    14 years ago

    Are you sure you know exactly what adding brown to your paint will do to the color? That's the risk...once you have done it, you can't go back.

  • PRO
    Lori A. Sawaya
    14 years ago

    Can try it if you have some time.

    Try it with 4 or 8 oz. of your golden color. Keep track of how much brown you add. Some colors I can do in 4 oz., for some reason other colors I *need* a whole cup -- have no clue why. YMMV Everyone plays with color differently, no one way is THE right way. You're allowed to develop your own method, it should be fun. :D

    You have to paint out and then thoroughly dry out each rendition of color before moving on if you're only working with one sample and darkening at increased proportions in steps. You can also run two or three samples at a time adding in different steps of brown paint to each - so you essentially have a darker, medium and lighter version of your adjusted golden color going at the same time.

    Basically, work in smaller quantities then calculate up for larger quantity.

    Siphoning paint to tint darker sample(s) out of your gallon means you really have to pay attention to the math when you go to calculate up to darken all of your paint.

    Remember that even if you're uber careful with the numbers, you'll likely never get a spot on, perfect match to your custom gallon if you need more paint. Have a plan to make sure you're darkening more than enough quantity.

    Another option is buy a quart from www.myperfectcolor.com of your color. You can order it 25% darker in a mini can or a quart. I'd suggest a quart and make it clear when ordering that they HAVE to put the 25% darker formula on the can in detail.

    Yet another option is to just shop for another color chip that meets your golden color but more brown expectation -- this is a good option. Cheaper, less messy, simpler, more accurate, oftentimes faster.