Help with Paint Disaster!
 

So I decided to paint my bedroom. I went to home depot and picked out a color I liked. It is one of Behr's Disney Colors. It's called Pooh's Kite.

It's supposed to be this color:
http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/z.../PoohsKite.jpg

I talked to the girl working in the paint department and she pointed out the Behr Premium Plus Eggshell finish. She never mentioned using tinted primer and when I asked if it would be okay to use on just the old white walls she said that yes it should be fine.

After two coats of paint it looks like this:
http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/z...m/DSC_0247.jpg

It's blotchy and not even close to the right color. Fortunately I have only done 1 wall so far.

What can I do? (with a very limited budget)

A) Finish this wall by applying coat after coat until it is dark enough. And then buy tinted primer to use on the other walls before painting.

B) Put the tinted primer over the ugly wall and then paint over it again.

C) Scrap this paint entirely and get a different brand in this color. Would I still need tinted primer with another brand?

D) Do you have any other suggestions

been there, done that. I have had the same trouble with Behr paint. My problem was with an easier color too. I would try this. Go to Benjamin Moore with your color swatch. Ask them to match a quart of their best paint in that color. Try that on an un-primed wall and see how it does. You are out less than $10 if its a bust. You might get away with one coat if you are careful and can definitely git er done with two coats, no primer, with a decent quality paint. If it works for you, you can then calculate how much of a proper paint you need to finish the job correctly.

I once had a living room painted a dark rich colored red. The painters started over fresh drywall with a white primer. I don't recall the exact number of coats, but it was quite a few. I'm thinking maybe 5. I was told that red is the hardest color to paint.

That said, the shade in your picture looks red. Not like the sample at all. I just don't see it getting that dark. Why not take it in and have them check it to determine if the mix is off.

Edit: I recently did a wall a similar to your color sample, but a bit more brown/purple. It was similarly dark though, not far off. It went on in one coat over a light faux (spelling?) paint.

I bought some better quality paint and painted over the one wall. It went on much smoother and blended nicely. I'm going to take a picture when it dries. I'm not sure if I will need another coat or not.

I was wondering what the progress was. Can't wait to see.

lets see some pictures with the better paint. I'm really curious how much of a difference it made.

Try This
 

If you were to paint the wall another five times it wouldn’t be the color you selected. I believe the problem began at the store. Most likely the clerk mixed the gallon using the wrong base. Manufactures make a number of different bases. Sherwin-Williams for example have a PURE WHITE BASE, PASTAL TINT BASE, MEDIUM BASE, DEEP TINT BASE, ULTRA DEEP TINT BASE AND BURGANDY BASE, and that’s just the bases I know of. Let’s assume your color uses 4 ounces of tint color, by adding that 4 ounces of color to a medium base will produce a lighter color. On the other hand by adding the same 4 ounces of color to an Ultra Deep Base will produce a completely different color.

Look on the label at the front of the can at the bottom and see what the base is. Manufactures will always indicate the base at the bottom of the label.

Without tipping off the clerk at the store to the potential mistake, ask him/her what base the color you selected uses, then check the base on your gallon. If you can prove they mixed the paint using the wrong base, I would say you are entitled to a refund or a free replacement.

Kaedence...

I use Behr paint, from Home Depot, all the time. Behr Premium Plus is good stuff, and it covers well.

Your problem started with the girl at the Home Depot paint counter. She did something wrong, as evidenced by the fact that the actual color on the wall doesn't even remotely resemble the color you were supposed to get. They should mix a different gallon, and do it right this time - and do it for free. It's their mistake.

Tinted primer is optional. Some people think that tinting it actually lowers it's adhesion. Regardless of that argument, using primer really is not an option. Use it. If you have 2 coats of paint on that wall in the picture, something is seriously wrong. No surface should suck in paint like that.


Again, you got bad advice and badly mixed paint from this one particular girl at Home Depot. Not to badmouth that store, because I live near one and buy virtually all my supplies for my own house, and rental houses, there. But some of their employees can be real doofuses.

^^^ yeah, agreed re Behr paint and Home Depot personnel ( or Valspar paint and Lowe's personnel, or Ben Moore paint and Ace Hardware personnel etc.). I recently finished a metal roof repainting project that involved special ordering the 'right' kind of Behr premium exterior primer and 100% acrylic roof paint ( which Home Depot doesn't stock ). With the exception of one 'old timer' in the Home Depot paint dep't, none of the other paint dep't staff had any clue whatsoever as to how to deal.


A definite possibility ! Actually I think the root of the problem doesn't stem from the paint suppliers, but from the home improvement big box stores A. hiring too many inexperienced people, plus B. only stocking and training their personnel about a limited number of ( mostly low end ) offerings out of what the paint suppliers ( Behr, Valspar, Ben Moore etc.) actually have available for sale.


I also agree with the 'Doctor's implication that tinting of primers is a risky business. Primers are supposed to do two things well ... adhere, and seal. Adding pigments undoubtedly 'dilutes' the primer's ability to do these things.

^ One time, at Home Depot, I actually had a guy in the paint department tell me that they absolutely could NOT mix a certain paint color because it was an "indoor only" color. And he was serious.

"Even with your color match computer?"
"Nope. It's an interior only color!"

I went back the next day, when he wasn't there, and got the paint.