How can i match a paint color

If you need to match your wall's paint color, use your phone to take a picture of your wall and use it as a reference when you browse the samples at the paint store. At the paint store, grab a few samples that look close to your photo, take them home, and tape them to the wall. Throughout the day, compare the samples to the original paint and take note of the shades that seem like a match.

If one sample is a match earlier in the day and another matches better in the evening, ask the paint store if they can mix a shade in between.

For more tips, like how to use a phone app to find a color match, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account.

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Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Expert Advice. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Clean the area you're trying to paint match. Over time, fingerprints, dust, and dirt can collect on the surface of an object or a wall, and this can make the paint color seem darker than it actually is.

To make sure you're testing the actual color, wipe the paint down with a damp, soapy sponge, and allow it to dry completely before you try to match the color. Scrape off a 1 in 2. Thanks to the computerized color-matching technology at most paint stores, you can match almost anything! The staff at the paint store will then scan the item and come up with an exact or near-exact digital match to the color of the object.

Method 2. Visit the app store on your smartphone and choose an app that will scan your wall color and provide you with a color match. If you remember the brand you used originally, download their app. Scan your paint in natural lighting for the best result. Differences in lighting can make your paint more yellow or more blue, depending on which type of light is being used.

Like clothes, car colors and photos hung in sunlight, paint colors also fade over time. Even if you know a wall's original paint color, a new coat of paint might look off either because of color fading or loss of sheen.

A difference in wall sheen can cause a color to look very different. If you'd like to match new paint to an old color, you'll likely need the help of more than just a paint chip. Here's where tech can really lend a hand. Paint manufacturers and third-party app designers alike offer color matching apps that analyze color in photos taken with your phone's camera or images uploaded from your phone's library.

With a good photo of your wall, you might be able to come up with the closest possible match from a variety of paint manufacturers. Sherwin-Williams offers an app called ColorSnap Match , that allows you to upload an existing photo or take a new photo to find paint colors that match it.

There's also a virtual painting tool, and multiple ways to explore all the Sherwin-Williams paint collections. The app includes RGB color values for Sherwin-Williams paints, lists of coordinating colors for each paint, as well as the color strip you'd find them on in a hardware store. The app is free and works on iOS and Android devices. Behr's ColorSmart app works much the same as the Sherwin-Williams app, with options to take new photos or upload existing ones.

You can also view selected colors in generic scenes like kitchens or bathrooms. The free app works with both iOS and Android devices. The Home Depot offers a color app that pulls from multiple brands sold at Home Depot stores. You can match colors through you phone's camera or photo library and view results on the walls of a room through your phone's camera lens in real time. Color Grab is a third-party app that identifies color in real time using your camera's viewfinder.

Color Grab can also match colors from photos in your phone's library. The app is free and works with Android devices. Unlike the branded apps from paint manufacturers, third-party apps sense color without trying to sell you a specific paint.

The downside is that there aren't any branded paint colors to choose from as results. You'll simply be able to identify the color value of the object or wall you're scanning. Once you've got a color value, you can use that to find a matching paint color, likely by using the RGB value, as it is the most commonly used value in the paint industry. Autumn Glimmer.

Autumn Russet. Autumn Sky. Autumn Spice. Autumn Surprise. Autumn fog. Azure Jazz. Azure Snow. Baby Blush. Badlands Taupe. Baked Bahama. Baked Scone. Baking Stone. Ballet Slippers. Abbey Brown. Abingdon Putty. Acapulco Sand. Adirondack Brown. Adobe Beige. Adobe Dust. Adobe Orange. Aegean Olive. Aganthus Green. Aged Bronze. Alaskan Husky. Albany White. Alexandria Beige. Algonquin Trail.

Alligator Alley. Almond Beige. Almond Bisque. Almost Black. Alphano Beige. Alpine White. Amazon Soil. Amber Winds. Ambler Slate. Amelia Blush. America's Heartland. American Cheese. American White. Amethyst Cream.

Amethyst Shadow. Amethyst Sky. Amherst Gray. Anchor Gray. Anderson Blue. Angel Pink. Angel's Trumpet. Angel's Wings. Angels Gate. Annapolis Green. Antelope Canyon. Antigua Aqua. Antique Bronze. Antique Copper. Antique Glass. Antique Lace. Antique Pewter. Antique Rose. Antler Brown. Aphrodite Pink. Appalachian Brown. Appalachian Green. Appalachian Spring. Apple Crisp.

Apple Froth. Apple Green. Approaching Storm. Apricot Beige. Apricot Chiffon. Apricot Tint. April Pink. Aqua Marina. Arctic Blue. Arctic Gray. Arctic Seal. Arctic Shadows. Arizona Canyon. Arizona Peach. Arizona Tan. Army Green. Artichoke Hearts. All White. Ash Grey. Ball Green. Blue Gray. Blue Ground. Borrowed Light. Breakfast Room Green.

Broccoli Brown. Cabbage White. Calke Green. Card Room Green. Charleston Gray. Charlottes Locks. Churlish Green. Cinder Rose. Cooking Apple Green. Cooks Blue. Cornforth White. Crimson Red. Dayroom Yellow. De Nimes. Dead Salmon. Deep Reddish Brown. Dix Blue. Dorset Cream. Dove Tale. Down Pipe. Drop Cloth. Duck Green. Dutch Orange. Eating Room Red. Elephant Breath. Emerald Green. Farrow Cream. French Gray.

Great White. Green Blue. Green Ground. Green Smoke. Hague Blue. Hardwick White. House White. Imperial Purple. Inchyra Blue. India Yellow. James White. Joas White. Lake Red. Lamp Room Gray. Light Blue. Light Gray. Lime White. London Clay. London Stone. Lulworth Blue. Manor House Gray.