Buying Discounted Paint To Mix
I am looking to buy paint at HD or Lowes that has been returned. I want to mix the paint together (neutral colors only). Has anyone done this? My question is - Can I mix more than one finish. I would like to mix eggshell and satin finish (or satin and semigloss). Any drawbacks to this if they are well mixed?
This sounds like a mess! If your selling your home for top dollar at 300K then you need to have one look like "top dollar" YOu are better off to go buy the paint as it is a relatively cheap part of the rehab. OR talk to a painting contractor and see what he has left over. A year ago I had 50-70 gallons of white paint that I wa giving away to friends, churches etc.
I wouldn't mix the finishes though I have never done it and have been painting for 20 years + commercially
Unlike Stockpro I do this all the time. Mostly to paint stairwells or boiler rooms where we don't care too much what it looks like just trying to cover the walls cheap.
As you mix the colors together you will get either a tan or a gray color. Always works that way The gray is a lot like "battleship gray" and the tan is a lot like the color the army uses for desert fatigues.
Mixing finishes doesn't seem to matter but you clearly don't want to mix latex and oil bases.
If you care what color you get when you are done don't do this-- spring for new paint.
pushcart,
Why mix? The paint is not the largest costs. It is the labor (your time or the painters).
I would also suggest you speak with a smaller paint shop to get some ideas if you want to go this route. They can tell you what will work well. Then you can go back to the large shops if you need volume.
John
[addsig]
This was a tip from Robyn Thompson I read somewhere. I bought 4 gallons of paint for $5 each (total $20). A comparable 5 gallon container new is ~$80.00.
I bought all off white. I will mix it in a clean trash barrel and pour it back in the cans. We are going to do the painting ourselves. I am buying all latex (so far one type of finish). I did want the option of mixing with another finish and wanted to make sure there were no drawbacks?
Thanks for all the responses!
Life is too short to deal with cheap paint.
Wow, talk about frugal.
I thought I was cheap when, rather than buy new light fixtures in my most recent rehab, I spray painted all eleven light fixture bases gold and bought $1 globes at a neighborhood yard sale.
But you take the cake.
Congrats.
[addsig]
We own two paint stores. One of your best resources will be the small business owner and/or manager. They are usually very knowledeable and well trained. They know what is compatible and what isn't. They also have access to large buys (at greatly reduced prices) from the big boys (PPG, Devoe, or whomever they buy from) that may be mistinted, discontinued, returned, or another store that has gone out of business. If you use them exclusively (or as much as you can) for your paint and sundry buys they could become your best friend and save you lots of headaches AND money. We have lots of people come to us after they have made a mistake with a huge mess on thier hands. Much of the time, those that work in the paint dept at Lowe's or similar are very transient with very little training. Beware of what they tell you. Lisa
Paint is one of the cheapest things you will buy that returns the most amount on your investment. What other item besides flooring can you cheaply do the entire house and get a completely finished result with? Nothing.
I would buy cheap paint before I mixed left over colors.
Actually I take that back, I would not buy cheap paint either. You are stepping over dollar bills to pick up pennies in my opinion.
Okay the resounding opinion seems to be don't buy returned paint. I don't have a problem with that. I read this tip by Robyn Thompson "rehab queen" and thought what a great idea!
Has anyone seen her speak or purchased her materials? If so, any good advice?
Thanks for all replies
I've done this many times for the outside of homes. Flat or satin finishes make no real difference. I painted my own home about 4 months ago for $60, trim and all. My neighbor liked the way it looked so much that he went out and hired someone to paint it a simillar color: in the end you couldnt tell the difference bewteen our homes except he spent $1800 on his.
One more point I would like to make....if you buy mistinted paint from a reliable paint store (large buys they have brought in from the mfr., or their own mistints etc. not just mixing a lot of different kinds of paint etc) these would carry all the stated warranties etc. The point that is being made about paint being one of theleast expensive items you buy is very true. Also true is if you have a coating failure it can be a very costly and time consuming problem. Lisa
Hey,
I think the idea of mixing paints is silly...
BUT I think the idea of ALWAYS trying to save money...to always think of the bottom line...is extremely important.
Buying on items on sale (even when you do not need them yet), buying discontinued items, returned/slightly damaged/open box items, etc will save you hundreds, if thousands, in the long run.
tjwbills - yes I have seen her speak, and I was not impressed. I was impressed at her ability to create a hypnotic cows to the slaughter presence over some of the audience. Personally I think her boot camps are a waste of money. More ridiculous are the zombies who have gone multiple times. Until someone stands in your shoes in your personal market and deals with the issues you have to face it is just theory and no practicallity. What works for one person doesn't fit others, your mixing of returned paints theory from her is just one of many examples that sound great on paper and I'm sure look great as filler in her work books promising information to make you a millionaire, but like I said they are just filler unless they are practical and appliable to your market place.
Simply ask yourself, why is she on the side show circuit selling tapes, books and boot camps if she could be making so much money from actually following the information she is selling?
I have actually purchased one of her courses and learned a thing or two. Well worth the $$ I spent on Ebay $25 and saved hundreds.
I can't fault her as she does seem to get the job done. Here comes the big "however" I have never been real impressed with her finished product. The ten or so that I have seen I thought were sub standard and with very little more money $500-$1000 a lot more could have been done to make it spectacular.
Like the rehabinator my market is tough. You need ot have a product that stands out from the others and the paint job is one of the biggest selling points. I can't imagine using battleship grey inside of any residential home other than closets. The brown might be doable.
Good thinking on a way to save money however. I would pay the money for good paint, it goes on better, covers better, and shows better......
You can get quality paint at 25 cents on the dollar by buying the miss-mixed colors or "OOPS" paint at Home Depot and Lowe's. If you are somewhat selective, and have the time, you can even gather quite a few specimens that aren't offensive colors, and close. When you mix colors that are close, you can get nice results. It's not cheap paint. It's quality paint purchased inexpensively. You end up with problems when you have three gallons mixed up, and need 1 more quart to finish. It can be tough to match both color, and sheen.
I'd try to stay away from returns if possible. Quite often people will water down the paint, and ruin the chemistry, and degrade the quality of the paint without realizing it. Latex paints are hardly "Water Based" like they were 25 years ago.
When you are buying properties to keep and use as rentals, there is something to be said for having consistent paint colors and sheen in all of your rentals. When it's time to touch-up, you don't have to have a basement full of inventory, just a couple of cans is usually fine.[ Edited by jeff12002 on Date 06/11/2004 ]
Thanks to all! Actually I didn't mean returned paint, I meant new paint that was mixed and refused? by the customer. HD typically has a stack of it behind their counter. I was buying all offwhite to mix...I couldn't by eye tell the difference so I thought they would mix well. Use for inside closets etc...
i buy mostly from sher/williams they have quality paint. i buy paint that has been mixed but the buyers said it was "not quiet what i want" i get nice colors usually what is "in" at the time. i give $5 for five gallons and don't have to mix. i have found that lowes as well as h/d have it as well.......kenmax
Hi Kenmax
That was my actual intention. My original question was if I could successfully mix two finishes...eggshell and satin for example [all the same color range-offwhite] or if this was not a good idea. I probably will have good luck asking at a small business paint store which someone suggested. Thanks![ Edited by Stockpro99 on Date 06/15/2004 ]
Hey pushcart,
I worked at a paint store for 12 years, so I can say with some authority that you can intermix coatings with differing sheens. Just make sure you're mixing latex to latex...the solvent bases must be the same. Also, don't mix 100% acrylics with anything else (not found at your cheaper paint distributers).
We had a 60 gallon and a 120 gallon vat where I would routinely mix our mistinted paints to create a bulk color batch. Most of our professional contractors would use it as a first coat under a similar top colored top coat.
You asked if there were any drawbacks. Yes...(1) if you run out you can't get any more for touch up, and (2) you void any manufacturer warranty should the product fail (very, very rare but can happen).
When you're talking about mixing paint in the quantities you are, you should ask if they can vat it for you. We charged a nominal fee to run paint through our vats for color consitency. You'd be surprised how much color can drift from the top to the bottom of your batch if you don't mix it thoroughly.
mixing is fine [latex to latex ect.] the trick is to mix enough to complete to job. because mixing a match after the fact is nearly impossible..kenmax
I have purchased Lowe's and Home Depot's OOPS paints - I'm on my second house, and although this has been for my primary residences (haven't actually started serious investing yet), I was careful to select neutral colors and saved a bunch on top of the line paints. Since my goal was to sell my home for top dollar (did it back in Mass, now in the process to make my exodus back, thank God), I had to save as much money as I could, while getting excellent results. The two are not exculsive of each other.
Here in Tucson I even got a can of expensive sand paint (forgot the name - its a brand that's sold in a blue and copper can) for about $10 instead of the $35 it usually goes for. Applied it with a foam brush, "faux-style" and ended up with two gorgeous bathrooms that also hid a multiple of wall imperfections. (Hopefully prospective buyers will like this effect...)
Sometimes you can even get more than one can in the same or very similar color. Good way to save money when ya need to. Good luck!