Decorating With Dark Colors

Decorating With Dark Colors

Red paint, along with other dark colors contains a great deal of pigment. This is what presents the problems, to most do- it- yourself painters. The more pure the color, the more difficulty you will have getting the proper coverage. Red and yellows are the most difficult in the spectrum of colors. Dark blues and greens are a bit better but still can present problems if the proper preparation work is not done. Why does this happen? Like all dark paints, they can contain 12 to 16 oz. of pigment per gallon, compared with a few drops for a pastel. The pigments needed to create bright reds and bright yellows are transparent. To further complicate matters, red paint is made from a tint base that's virtually clear instead of the usual white titanium-dioxide base. The base is what helps paint to look opaque. Without that opaque base, red paints are virtually transparent. If you are definitely set on using red paint, or any darker paint you should be properly prepared to do a few extra steps to have better success when painting in these colors. The simplest solution is to choose a red that includes other pigments, such as black. These pigments add opacity and improve covering power.

Preparation will solve the first problem of coverage mentioned above, with white still showing through after applying 4-5 coats of paint. To prevent this, or at least help with this visually, ALWAYS apply at least two coats of a DEEP BASE tinted primer. When purchasing your paint color ask the store to mix up some primer with the same exact amount of tint into the gallon of primer. Apply this deep based tinted primer first. This will eliminate the showing of white streaking underneath your dark painted top coat. This will eliminate the frustration of not getting proper coverage. You will still need about 3-4 coats of paint, but that should be all that’s needed for proper coverage.

Now onto the second most common problem. Shiny spots on a dark painted walls. This is called burnishing. Burnishing is the increase in gloss or sheen of paint film when subjected to rubbing, scrubbing or having an object brush up against it. This occurs when a flat paint is used in a high traffic area, where frequent washing and spot cleaning needs to be done, where objects such as furniture or a person rubbing against the walls occurs or when you use lower grades of paint with poor stain and scrub resistance.