It is springtime and time to freshen up some walls. I want some color and wonder if anyone has experience with mixing paint? It seems simple to me, but I want to make sure I don't miss something and waste money. Also, which paint is the one that won't chip and has a sheen?
I'd recommend just going to the local home improvement store and getting the paint mixed. It's not really as simple as just adding two paints together, and mixing in the store is always going to beat what you can manage at home. It might be a waste of money to mix it yourself rather than paying a little extra to get it mixed in store.
We have mixed our own before using a liquid die. It wasn't hard but we found the darker colors to take A LOT OF die. I don't know why, we kept trying to get chocolate and the best we could come up with was a nestle hot cocoa color if that makes any sense. My personal preference is water based but if you go oil based then it will be more durable.
Thank you guys so much for your replies. Now I can make informed decisions and get into the enjoyment of transforming my room! It sounds easier to let the store do it. I do wonder, HC Heartland, why you prefer water based if oil is more durable? Thanks!
I don't have experience with it personally, but I've heard that if you get it mixed at the store, they keep a record of the specific mixture, that way if you decide you want or need more later on, they could re-make the same exact color.
Water based can clean up easy for us messy painters. But oil based on floors, brushes, hands requires smelly paint thinner to remove it. I think this is the main reason people often go with water based. But they are making water based paints more durable than in days past. I also personally feel oil based has more of a glossy shine and water based looks more matted, but I am not a professional so there might be some variance of choice in both options that I'm unaware of.
