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HOW TO TOUCH-UP PAINTED WALLS

A newly painted wall is usually flawless. However, over time, paint endures a lot of wear and tear and flaws start to appear—scuffs marks, dirt, chipping, holes that need to be repaired and other types of damage.

Try Washing the Walls First

Premium quality paints can withstand some light cleaning. So, if your walls are getting a few marks or stains, your best course of action is to try washing them as soon as possible in order to keep the mark or stain from setting into the paint.

First mix some water and dishwashing liquid, and if that fails, try a non-aggressive household cleanser.

1. Soak your sponge in soapy water and wring out excess moisture.
2. Using light pressure, wash your walls with the sponge to remove surface dirt, marks or grime.
3. Dry the walls with a clean towel, and rub a soft cloth over the painted surface if it looks dull. Dullness occurs on some glossy, paint surfaces after repeated washing.

If the mark or stain still appears after washing, you’ll either need to try touching-up the marred area or consider repainting the entire wall.

For more information, see our How to Care for Newly Painted Walls guide or watch our How to Care for Painted Walls and Touching-up video.

Best Practices for Touch-up

Touch-up refers to the application of paint to a painted surface that was recently painted; less than one year ago. These may be missed areas or areas of repair. High-use or high-traffic wall sections, such as the front door, around door handles, around door frames, near baseboards and around light switches, usually require regular, semi-annual touch up paint jobs.

Touch up is undoubtedly the most difficult type of paint application. In fact, no touch-up is perfect, and getting good results is challenging. Why? Because there are so many variables that affect touch up, from the age of the original paint job to whether or not the same paint used on the project is still available. But if done correctly, touch up should blend in acceptably with the surrounding painted area. Use these tips to learn how to apply new paint so that it blends in with the old paint without obvious differences.

1. Use the same batch of paint and apply the touch-up in the same manner in which the original paint was applied. In most cases, if the original coat was sprayed, it is not possible or practical to perform the touch-up using the same application procedure. However, it may be possible to set aside a small amount of the originally sprayed material for touch-up use. If there is no original paint available, make sure the touch-up paint used has been tinted properly (correct base, correct color formula and product.)
2. If given a choice between a brush and roller, always use a roller to perform the touch-up. The preferred roller is a "weenie" roller with a good quality synthetic cover. Choose a nap thickness of ¼- to ½-inch.
3. Make sure the surface area is clean and free from any dirt, dust, grease or oils. The surface must be dry and free from all loose or peeling paint.
4. When loading the roller, use the least amount of paint necessary. This will help to limit excessive film build in the touched-up area.
5. When performing a touch-up on a smooth wall with a brush, avoid feathering into the originally painted areas. Feathering with a brush will produce a flat “halo” (outline) around the touch-up. Feathering with a synthetic roller cover will aid in blending slight differences in color and sheen without producing a noticeable halo.
6. When performing a touch-up on a smooth wall with a water-based non-flat paint, the paint should be thinned (about 5-10% clean water) in order to help minimize the sheen difference from the original application.
7. If a given surface requires an excessive number of touch-up applications, it may be best to repaint the entire wall from corner to corner.