Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Near Miss-tint...



I have a project that I am working on...a pretty exciting project.  (to me anyway).  I am painting my first piece of furniture...actually, let me back up...I am painting my first piece of furniture, THE RIGHT WAY!  I have painted many pieces of furniture with less than stellar results, because I don't follow the rules of Priming (2-3 coats), sanding in between, Painting (2-3 coats) sanding in between, and putting on a final finish coat.  But when my finisher was out of town, and couldn't do the work that needed to be done, I thought...."you know, lots of people paint furniture all the time, with wonderful results...I am going to try it."  And the results are, well, lookin good:) (if I do say so myself!) I have had a bit of coaching from a Pro painter friend down the street, so I wasn't all on my own...but still, the paintbrush is in MY hands.

Anyhoo,

Back to the point of the post.  Miss-tints. 

Ya'll know I LOVE my Benjamin Moore Paint Deck   It goes with me everywhere...you never know when someone is going to ask..."What color would you paint this??" 
But my favorite Ben Moore Paint store has gone out of business, tear....but my local Ace Hardware has Ben Moore Paint, and a selection of the paint chips (that is why I loved my Ben Moore store, because I could find the paint chips and not have to carry around the whole paint deck.  sooooo, I walked in and told them my color, (Ponderosa Pine 531)....saw on the screen they had punched in all of the correct info...I am controlling like that:)  Lookin good up until the point they put the dot on the can...WAAAAAYYY off!  And here is what happened after that!

They said "it will probably darken when you paint it on, and I was like, um, I don't think so...and I am not going to take a chance with my client's furniture...." After a little bit of talking, and few other eyes it was diagnosed as a MISS-TINT.  The formula in the computer is wrong.  So now what am I to do?  I have been there for 45 minutes, gotton a miss tint, and Need to start today!  So I asked them to do a color match...but MY paint deck wasn't fitting into computer, and guess what the manager did....HE TORE THE PAINT CHIP OUT OF MY PAINT DECK!  He said "gotta do what you have to do"  And I was like, "you just dismembered MY paint deck!"   He said "oh, well" and walked away, leaving poor Mr. Guy(that was his nam) the sweet man that was helping me to pick up the pieces.  I said " are you going to fix that?" and he said "sure no problem".  I said while making a grand sweep with my arms "well I am sure you have the tools around to fix it, ha, ha"!

So back to the Miss-tint....

15 minutes later, after the color match.  The color looked good.  Completely different to the original formula.  So I got my primer, paint, brushes, foam rollers, and Minwax Polyacrylic payed, and walked out of the store...leaving my poor paint deck to be put back together by ol Mr. Guy.  I didn't have the time to sit around and wait...

The moral of the story on Miss-tints....it is NOT a myth, they happen...for real!  Pay attention to the dot on the top of the can.  If you think the color is wrong, it very well might be.  Don't let them tell you "the color will  change on the wall".  It will,  but not by 30 colors on the wheel!

Oh, and don't hand over your Paint Deck to a clerk.  Make them use their own...

Because, turns out you can't fix a torn paint deck.  I went back and THE MANAGER said "it's fixed, and I had no idea that was YOUR paint deck!"  But, it wasn't... he just jambed it back into the deck, and hoped it stuck...which it DID NOT. 

Oh, and Ponderosa Pine 531, it turns out was too yellow...I changed my mind to the Vienna Green 538...so this debacle could have been averted if I had just picked out the right color in the first place!

vienna green on left.


But on a lighter note....the painting is coming along Fabulously, and turns out when you follow the painting rules and the steps, and have just a little patience you can paint things on your own.!

This is the piece I am painting.  Will show it finished soon.  (just have one more coat of Poly!)



Have a great Day...and don't let those Paint People push you around:)  Can you tell I am still a little bitter!

6 comments:

pve design said...

My local trusted Ace hardware store guy loves me, and I love him because he is color-blind.
pve

Aimee@ the Functional Space said...

It's true. Miss-tints do happen. There was an old Martha Stewart color that I tried to get mixed for a bathroom. After going to 3 different stores with the same (WRONG) results I finally gave up.
Sounds like that store manager owes you a new fan deck! Sounds like it's all working out in the end though!

ALR said...

Sorry for your tint drama, that really stinks. I have never painted furniture the way you are really supposed to either. I would say my painting projects would turn out better if I did:) Hope to see your finished piece soon!

LiveLikeYou said...

Can't wait to see it finished. That's always the fun finding just the right hue, even if you have to repaint!! Did you ever get a hold of Omar? You got my e-mail right?
xx

Meredith Jewell said...

Gretchen, I've been away for a few days, but wow! Your new design & layout...love! Can't wait to do more 'catch-up' reading! Looks great!

Gayle said...

Gretchen, I love your style. Fun, colorful, and out of the ordinary. I found you on Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Friday. I have become a follower.
Gayle from Vintage Farmhouse