Why color match isn’t really a thing for your home’s exterior paint
There are many exterior painting companies that note their ability to ‘match’ your home’s current exterior paint color. Using software or their expertise, they promise a color match for your new paint.
This is really appealing to many homeowners who like their home’s current color or what they remember it was like before fading. Plus, they know that the color is already HOA-approved. Color match promises to be the equivalent of keeping the status quo. It’s an attractive option for many homeowners.
However, it’s actually far more complicated than that. There are a number of factors that make exact color matching nearly impossible.
Your memory works against you
Human memory is tricky, especially when trying to recall a precise detail about something that you see every single day looked like years ago.
You may remember loving the exterior color of your home when it was first painted, but after years of it ever-so-slightly fading with each day of UV exposure, do you really remember the color correctly?
There have been situations where homeowners have us paint their home the exact color that they used a decade or two before, and they ended up hating the color after seeing it again. It’s often because the paint is more vibrant and less faded than their current faded paint color.
That exact color may not be available
With the right prep work and expertise, your home’s exterior paint should last for years to come. That means a long time passes between paintings. Paint companies phase out products regularly, so it’s very possible that the paint once used on your home is no longer available.
This is especially true of new home construction that is now receiving its first post-construction painting. Homebuilders tend to use lower-grade paint (in contrast to the paint we use) to save money, which means finding that paint again can be even more difficult. That’s even if your homebuilder took notes on the color of paint used on your home.
Work on finding a color that you love because it looks great, not because it’s a perfect match.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Our advice: love your new paint
Even if you really like the current paint color of your home, embrace the idea that your new exterior paint isn’t going to be an exact copy. Work on finding a color that you love because it looks great, not because it’s a perfect match.
As we’ve discussed, a color match can only get you into the general ballpark. If you go into your home painting process expecting an exact match, you’re probably setting yourself up for disappointment.
