Why color match isn’t really a thing for your home’s exterior paint

There are many exterior painting companies that note their ability to ‘match’ your home’s current exterior paint color. Using software or their expertise, they promise a color match for your new paint.

This is really appealing to many homeowners who like their home’s current color or what they remember it was like before fading. Plus, they know that the color is already HOA-approved. Color match promises to be the equivalent of keeping the status quo. It’s an attractive option for many homeowners.

However, it’s actually far more complicated than that. There are a number of factors that make exact color matching nearly impossible.

Your memory works against you

Human memory is tricky, especially when trying to recall a precise detail about something that you see every single day looked like years ago.

You may remember loving the exterior color of your home when it was first painted, but after years of it ever-so-slightly fading with each day of UV exposure, do you really remember the color correctly?

There have been situations where homeowners have us paint their home the exact color that they used a decade or two before, and they ended up hating the color after seeing it again. It’s often because the paint is more vibrant and less faded than their current faded paint color.

That exact color may not be available

With the right prep work and expertise, your home’s exterior paint should last for years to come. That means a long time passes between paintings. Paint companies phase out products regularly, so it’s very possible that the paint once used on your home is no longer available.

This is especially true of new home construction that is now receiving its first post-construction painting. Homebuilders tend to use lower-grade paint (in contrast to the Dunn-Edwards paint we use) to save money, which means finding that paint again can be even more difficult. That’s even if your homebuilder took notes on the color of paint used on your home.

Same color, different results

Even if you’ve found the exact same color of paint, from the exact same manufacturer (and they haven’t changed the formula), there’s a chance that your new exterior paint will look different. That’s because process matters. 

At Crash of Rhinos, we do a lot of prep work for stucco and use a thorough two-coat process on homes. This, in turn, makes paint more vibrant (and likelier to last) than a house painter that slaps on one coat and calls it a day.

Our advice: love your new paint

Even if you really like the current paint color of your home, embrace the idea that your new exterior paint isn’t going to be an exact copy. Work on finding a color that you love because it looks great, not because it’s a perfect match.

As we’ve discussed, a color match can only get you into the general ballpark. If you go into your home painting process expecting an exact match, you’re probably setting yourself up for disappointment.

Schedule a color consultation with us

There are two ways to pick your home’s exterior paint colors. For an additional charge, we offer one-on-one consulting with our Professional Paint Consultant. With this service, our advisor will meet with you at your home and help you select the right color.

This process includes digital renderings, and we’ll help you work with your HOA on finding compliant colors.