Running out of paint, any way to stretch it?

[Jason]

After 2 days of painting my office, this is absolutely driving me insane!

I had a gallon of paint mixed at Lowes, and figured that a gallon would be enough to do 3 walls. Well, I didn't think that I would need 3 coats! It's called "Praline Cake," which is a brown/yellow color (American Traditions, Historic series).

Well, it's all done except for the 3rd coat on the final wall, and a few minor touch-ups in the corners. I have just enough paint left that I might be able to fill the roller one more time, but I'm worried that this won't be enough. What's worse is that if I go back for more, I have to buy a full gallon ($20+), and there's no guarantee that it will be a perfect match for the rest of the room.

So... any tips on stretching this last fraction of paint to make it last for the entire wall?

TIA,

Jason

[tinacci336]

You absolutely can not thin paint and have it hold its color in the amount you will need. If Lowes mixed it then they should be able to mix more the same color. Paints are usually sold in Gal- Half-Gal,- Qts and sometimes Pts. Do a bit of checking. Or don't be cheap and buy the Gallon.

[Orenthal]

You could thin it, but probably not enough to make a significant difference. Unless $20 is a real burden to you, I would recommend buying the gallon and keeping it on hand for future use. Heck, you might even want to put yet another coat on your walls right away. It won't hurt.

Our local Lowes is pretty good at matching paint colors, especially since it was originally mixed using their paint computer, and the color number and a sample dab of paint are attached to the original paint can.

OJ

[Cheri]

I would go ahead and buy more, and file this away for future use. I think the American Tradition paint is the worst paint I've ever used as far as coverage goes. My kitchen ended up taking three coats, covering Navajo White with DreamCake, a pale yellow. I sure didn't think it would take that much paint. Nothing but Sherwin Williams for me in the future. It's expensive per gallon, but it's well worth it, and probably cheaper in the end. Good luck.

Cheri

[ken_wood56]

Lowes and other chains don't have the best paint, and good paint is really important for exteriors where the paint has to really stand up to abuse instead of just looking good.

KW

[buffalobill]

[pipedown]

Paint the top of the wall, furniture will hide any thin spots near the bottom usually. I did that in my bedroom and have no regrets, can't notice once the room was filled back up.

[Toller]

I would remove part of the wall to make the room smaller. You are kidding about this, aren't you?

[Jason]

OK, I took your advice and just got another gallon of paint. I was worried because my original paint was several months old and I figured it wouldn't be a perfect match, but it turned out to look perfect.

If nothing else, when I was searching for ways to stretch the paint I couldn't find anything, so maybe this thread will help people that are just as ignorant as me in the future.

J