Choosing Paint To Cover A Dark or Contrasting Color

How to choose paints for covering up darker or contrasted coloring.

The colors we choose to paint our houses on the inside, as well as on the outside, are a direct reflection of our personal tastes. Some people like the warmth of reds, yellows, and oranges.

Others prefer light and cheery colors such as white and yellow. Lighter colors can help to make a small room look bigger too, and make a low ceiling appear to be higher. Still, other people choose darker colors like brown or blue. These darker colors can help to create a warm, cozy, effect in large interior rooms. On the flip side, they can also make a small room look even smaller. And, dark colors shows every crack, repair, dent, and every other imperfection that is on the walls.

If you have a dark room in your house that you want to lighten up, you can easily do this yourself. Here’s a tip for you: you don’t need to hire an expensive contractor to do the job for you. It doesn’t matter if the existing color of the room is brown, dark gray, royal blue, or even black. Any color of the rainbow, no matter how dark it is, can successfully be covered over with any other color. If it is done correctly, there will no bleeding of the darker paint into your lighter walls.

You need to choose a suitable paint that will cover the dark colors completely. Don’t even consider purchasing cheap, thin paints because they won’t do the job. Instead, these types of paint can streak and run when they are applied to your walls. Instead, in order to get the results you are after, and cover existing dark colors, choose a good – quality paint. It can be either flat or glossy, latex or acrylic latex, the type of paint doesn’t matter. This is because the primer sealer will do the basic job of covering up the dark colors.

The next step in this project is to properly prepare the walls. Wipe them down with a clean, damp cloth; rinse cloth in clean tap water often. Make sure the walls are free from dirt, grease, and other debris that can prohibit the paint from adhering to the walls properly. Use soapy water and rinse thoroughly, if need be.

Then, after the walls have dried, use a good – quality brush or roller and a primer sealer. Not just a primer, but a primer sealer. The primer part of the product will help to cover the dark colors. The sealer part of the product will help to seal the surface so the darker colors can’t bleed through the new paint. Be sure that you follow the manufacturer’s directions in order to achieve the best results. Here’s a valuable tip you can use: two coats of the primer sealer will provide the best coverage for the dark colors you are trying to eliminate. Here’s another tip you can use: usually primers come in a basic white shade. If you add some of the top coat paint to the primer, it will help the final coat of paint cover better.

Allow the primer sealer to dry thoroughly, according to the manufacturer’s directions. Then, apply the top coat of paint to the walls. Follow the manufacturer’s directions in order to achieve the best results, but, just like with the primer sealer, two coats will do the best job.

(Featured article from: Home and Interior Improvement Textbook)