Why do I have shiny patches where I touched up paint on my walls?

Question

We recently had some remodeling done and the walls were all freshly painted with Behr Premium Plus Ultra Matte paint. A lot of the walls got marked up from the workers still coming in and out, so I used the EXACT paint, from the SAME container that was used to paint the walls.

First I used the same roller that was used to initially paint the walls. Every area I touched up has more of a sheen to it!!! It's not noticeable when looking at it head on, but when you look from the side or in certain lighting, it's very noticeable.

Then I tried using the "dry brushing technique" and this made it even more shiny. Am I going to have to TOTALLY repaint every wall that I touched up? I'm so frustrated over this. Home Depot was at a loss. Thanks for your help!!!

Answer 1

This is a usually a problem with with the sheen differing due to different application techniques. That is mixing spraying, brushing, and/or rolling. My guess is the paint was applied by a roller or sprayer, and the touch up was done with a brush. The sheen between the different application techniques will be different and noticeable.

We usually try to make sure every thing is rolled in some way so we can roll out our touch ups so they hide better. So when we spray, we back roll a coat or the primer. Then when we touch up, we back roll all the brushed locations with a low nap roller. This typically will hide all the touchups very well.

Answer 2

Sorry that Home Depot was at a loss. I worked there in the paint department, and I received quite a bit of great training, so maybe things have changed.

What this sounds like is something that I have seen time and time again. The first coat of paint is simply absorbed by the wall differently than the next coat of paint. If you use a good coat of quality primer first, and then get a good coat of paint on the wall, this shouldn't be an issue, but with remodeling, and especially with new sheetrock, this can happen.

Anecdotally, one thing I have seen happen is a contractor will do the absolute bare minimum in prep work to keep their costs down because the customer insisted on a "premium" paint brand like Behr rather than the "builders grade" of paint (American Standard at Home Depot) that they normally use. This causes the paint to absorb into the surface more, so the sheen and durability are not what they should be, and if you try to touch up... well you've seen what happens.

Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to make the touch-up look the same as the first coat. The only option is probably to repaint. The "problem" is not specific to any brand of paint or any particular sheen of paint.

Answer 3

The shiny reflective property of a paint's sheen comes from a reflective particles in the paint. The more layers that are put on, the more light gets reflected back to the viewer. It's odd that this has happened with a low sheen; I have seen this with satin and eggshell quite a bit myself. I have got pretty results from patches I have painted by rubbing the shiny spots with a microfiber towel or even lightly with a Mr. Clean eraser to dull the surface.

Answer 4

With the recent remodel work, I wonder if it is not the paint but instead the walls. Meaning the "shine" might be lacking on the walls not the paint. I use shine loosely here. Have you wiped down the walls? They might have a layer of dust on them?

After a bathroom remodel where I did a lot of drywall sanding, despite my best effort the dust got onto the walls in our hallway and down the stairway, we only really noticed it at an angle but at the right angle it really stood out.

Answer 5

I don't know what type of paint is that you used (not trade mark and manufacturer but what type from the chemical point of view. But that's not really important. From my experience problem is that you just painted some places on the wall; patches.This is why you can spot differences. You should always paint over the whole wall, or at least one part which is, visually separated from the rest.

Answer 6

You said that you touched up with the last 2" in the can. I think the material that caused the shine was in the bottom of the can, and hadn't been adequately mixed in to begin with.

Two months ago we had our bedroom painted, and in some areas there was a lack of coverage, so when I pointed it out, the painters went over it with the last little bit of paint, scraping the sides and bottom of the can.

When it dried, this paint was visibly lighter than the paint applied earlier! (This was Benjamin Moore matte paint, mid-grade. Good paint.)

Another painter told us that issue was due to a white pigment in the bottom of the can, that was inadequately mixed into the paint before it was applied to the wall.

I bought more paint, and told the guy who mixed it about the problem with the earlier batch. He spent more time mixing the new batch, and the color problem didn't happen again, although I removed little lumps and painted over places on all the walls.

We learned lessons:

1--Be very careful that the paint on the bottom really gets mixed in.

2--Cut-rate painters don't do all the needed prep work, like getting little pieces of sponge and old "pimples" knocked off the walls before they start painting. But you can do it. It would have been much easier to do it before the paint went on, and avoided the repair work I did.

3--If your painter is confident he won't spill a drop and doesn't want to cover the WHOLE floor, SEE THAT IT GETS PROTECTED. Especially if you hired a cut-rate painter. I spent hours cleaning the tiny drops of paint, and smudges of paint that got under our feet and then on the carpet. Our painter knocked over a loaded paint tray, on brand new carpeting, too, but did a good job cleaning up 99% of it, with water and a water vacuum cleaner. Better that the carpet had been fully protected to begin with. For the next room, we covered the whole floor before they arrived.