Money Saving Campaign - B&Q paint that they no longer stock

maisie_cat

One thing to remember is that the colour on four walls of any room will look different because the light is different. Find a colour that is close and paint that entire wall. I did this on the bay window walls of our old house and it was impossible to see that it was a different colour.

Section62

mi-key said:

jdjones said:

Emulsion paint will go bad when stored for a long time. This is just due to what it is made from, it has nothing to do wtih them trying to make more money.

If it is in an air-tight container like a jam jar it ought to be Ok for 10 years or so.  The main problem is usually with the tins not being sufficiently air-tight, or having a small volume of paint in a large container so there's lots of air relative to the amount of paint.  This is why transferring some to a smaller air-tight container like a jam jar is a good idea.

mi-key said:

You can't expect any DIY place to keep every colour of paint they have ever stocked on the shelves on the offchance someone comes in wanting some they had bought ten years ago.

I don't think the OP was suggesting that.  Their point was that the DIY sheds should be able to mix a tin to the same colour as one they stocked in the relatively recent past.  That's a fair point.

They wouldn't need to see a sample if the in-store mixing system was programmed with a database of the correct tint proportions to match a paint they previously sold.  Many of the colours they sell are mixed while you wait, so it isn't a huge stretch to suggest the standard pre-mixed colours should be available on a similar basis.

After all, the automotive repair industry takes that approach and a quality paint provider will be able to mix a tin of (say) 1976 Triumph Russet Brown using the tint data alone, without them needing to see the car.

The main point for the OP though, as others have said, a perfect colour match to the original colour is unlikely to be a match for what they have on the wall now.  In that respect, the store's suggestion of bringing in a sample of wet paint was also not going to give the right result.

victor2

I once opened up a very old tin of paint to see if I could re-use it. Tin had been airtight, opened it up, paint looked ok, stirred it and the bottom of the tin broke through, as it had gone rusty around the join to the sides. That was a bit messy!

powerful_Rogue

I painted a room in the old house during 2014 in a B&Q paint called Picket Fence. Listed house for sale in 2020 and wanted to touch a few bits up. Went upto B&Q and told them the name, a quick search and they was able to point me to an exact match made by Dulux under a different name.