Do any companies mix paint samples smaller than quarts?
when picking a color we sure waste a lot of paint and money choosing colors. I am surprised the EPA doesn’t get into it – lots of wasted paint nationwide
Is there a technical issue or is it a money thing?
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Replies
One of the paint companies- I believe it's Ben Moore, just started selling little jars- maybe 1/2 pint, so you can pick colors. I saw them advertised the other night.
Bob
Yeah, and probably charge the same amount for a half pint as they do for a quart.
I once worked for a lady who had more money than God and she could never make up her mind about anything. She spent over $400 just on sample paints for the outside of her house. She had hired a designer and everything. After she finally decided on (you guessed it), a very common stock color, where did all that paint go?...
Some people have waaaaaay too much money and time on their hands.
Vaspar (and privately labled Vaspar sold under a variety of brand names) sells bags of pre-mixed colors for about a $1.50 that have enough paint to do about 4 sq/ft.
WSJ
Benjamin Moore has small "sample" containers (1/2 pint?) of paint and I hear that they're really popular.
I would also like to see quarts priced differently. A few months ago, I painted part of my kitchen and the two quarts of paint I needed cost almost as much as a gallon. The paint guy probably thought I was an idiot for buying quarts but I have all the partially full gallon cans I can store. - lol
When we had the house painted a few years ago, the painter got 8-1/2" x 11" color samples from Kelly-Moore. Not as good as real paint, but way better than those goofy little squares. - lol
Edited 7/22/2005 9:42 am ET by Dave
Benjamin Moore is the only one I know that uses something smaller than quarts. Sherwin Williams offers quart samples fro $5. Not too bad. I try to minimize the number of samples. I usually go with the one I originally wanted and one more.
The other thing you can do is get about 12 paint chips, tape them together, and then hang that on the wall. No wasted paint but you may have some wasted paper.
the problem with the chips is that they don't give an accurate read of how the color "amplifies" when the whole room is painted, and you have the light bouncing off all the walls and looking much more intense (pure; less muted). that's why it is a good idea to hire someone who knows, paint larger test swatchs, or both.i do scenic art etc and keep a stock of oops paint, so i use what i have left over. and yes, it's really annoying how littl the price differes between a quart and a gallon. i figure, try the gallon. 50/50 chance it will be right, and you're ahead of the game if you need to buy more. but then, as i said, i'm an artist and i guess correctly most of the time. it does cost more if you are wrong, but it's a relatively small price to pay to get it right. as far as environmental concerns, don't waste the cans of wrong paint. donate to a local theater's scene shop, or use as a basecoat or sealant where color doesn't matter. i used lots of cheap discard paint to basecoat the cinderblock walls in my garage, since the raw block soaked up so much of the first coat. then i painted white over it all, and the second coat went much further. the color difference probably shows, but it doesn't matter in there.
I agree with you 100%. That's why I buy the paint samples. I usually only buy 2 colors and settle on one of them. I bought the Sherwin Williams sample recently. I was offering the paint chips as a way to get an idea w/o wasting paint.
yes thang, the chips are definitely the first step in paint selection, and those with a knack can use them alone successfully. but too many people aren't good at reading them. it's great that more paint companies are starting to sell the little samples.
My problem with the chips is that even with a properly tinted primer, the color always ends up slightly lighter than the chip sample.
As posted above, Ben Moore does offer these now. My wife picked up 2 of these the other night. I think she has another job for me to do now. Damnit, why do I let that woman handle money?
I guessed to her that they cost 1 or 2 dollars. Silly me, she shook her head. She could not remember how much they were. Again, damnit. Seeing the other posts, I guess they were $5. They are about 1/2 pint in size.
The samples I got last year were something like $2.19 less my discount.
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Hi Wain,
Cabot's used to offer 1/2 pints samples for their siding stains.. I got some directly from Cabot, this was at least 10 years ago, so Ben Moore's idea is not something new..
this is from the sherwin williams website
http://www.sherwin.com/do_it_yourself/sherwin_williams_products/new_products/
Color To Go
COLOR To Go offers the widest selection of designer colors available, including your own custom-matched tints. Mini-sized Twist-n-Pour™ containers provide enough paint to cover a generous 70 square foot area.
You'll get a true sense of how your color choices will look in your own home. With Color to Go, you get:
Visit your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams store to learn more about COLOR To Go, and take the guesswork out of choosing color. Only $4.99 each.
Valspar makes little 2oz pouches for two of their premium lines.
Call around to paint shops. A friend was given a business card for a private colourist who came to the house with a nifty kit of pigments and a hair dryer and mixed and altered little dobs, and painted boards, right in the home's own light.
The customer chose 12 different not-quite-pure-white-but-I-can't-see-the-difference ceiling colours for a major reno -LOL. Felt pampered, no return trips to HD and no regrets.
I don't recall the price but it wasn't much. It can't have been cost-recovery but mostly for marketing and loyalty-building - possibly commission from the shop.
my local ici dulux benjamin moore dealer said "no way- we deal with the pros- no mom housewife deciding" no small samples. so much for sales skills
Tell him he is missing out on profit potential. My designers needed a couple hundred dollars worth of thopse samples to make up their minds
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actually wain,
I think the benjamin moore dealer is using a sound strategy with excellent sales skills.
It would appear that he is not trying for the WHOLE pie---but concentrating on serving one piece of the market---- contractors
And that piece of the market---buys in VOLUME---again and again and again.
I used to buy from a local Pratt and Lambert dealer---who tried to serve the whole pie---it's hard to do. about 2/3 of his space was given over to show room/display/comfy chairs and tables---so that " mommies" could brouse through paint and wall paper samples----he even had an emplyee ---Sally-----who primarily just held the hands of these " customers"
well the long and the short of it was-----I rarely, Rarely, RARELY ever waited behind one of these mommies buying at the sales counter
But INVARIABLY---when I arrived there would be a painter at the sales counter-----another packing up outside----and usually another arrived as I was leaving.
that paint dealer---is out of business( a shame---cause he was a really nice guy---always made you feel like you were his BEST customer ever.
where I go NOW---has 2 entrances-----one for contractors over on the side----another out front for the mommies. It's clear that the VALUABLE customers come in from the side door in this operation
stephen
"It would appear that he is not trying for the WHOLE pie---but concentrating on serving one piece of the market---- contractorsAnd that piece of the market---buys in VOLUME---again and again and again."Yes, but he is limited to a very small qroup of contractors. Those that do new spec construction. There they limit themselves to Navajo White, ceiling white, and 2 or 3 others and buy that by the 55 gal drum.But for custom home building, remodeling, redocrating, etc the client is the one that has to pick and approve the colors anyway.
Bill,
I am VERY familiar with 2 different operations( owner of one was best man at my wedding)
In practice it works MUCH closer to what I was decribing---than what you were assuming
Neither operation did any navahoe white spec housing
Both VERY custom work
who do you want as a customer------someone who buys 20-25 gallons a week from you year 'round
or the mommy who MIGHT buy 3-4 gallons from you every 4-5 years
Best wishes, Stephen
who is lowes selling to?
wain,
I would have to say lowes is aimed more at the " mommies"
and your benjamin moore dealer was aimed more at guys like the 2 painters I was telling Bill about.
BTW---one of the painters---married a doctor---and now HE is the stay at home "Mommy"
Man , I hope he doesn't read this----he is a great guy---playing mr. mom to 2 small, cute girls.
stephen
we did find the samples at Benjmin moore- $4.69 each could paint about a 3'x3' area with it. better than than lowes and dulux $9-12 a quartcool
wife picked a color
Ben Moore dealers have a "Colour Wheel", a display that has two ounce samples of hundreds of their most popular colours
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Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
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My local paint store has a library of quarts you can check out for $2 each. If its a color on the paper swatches on display and not in the library, they'll mix it for and then add it to their library. I swear - it really is better than sliced bread :)
If you're looking at a custom-mixed shade, the problem is that it's hard to get proportions right in a smaller amount, plus the labor involved is the same regardless of size.