My Home Depot

how does home depot match paint color to any item you bring in?

The house we just purchased is in urgent need for painting, and we cannot afford it right now. I thought I can go to home depot with some flakes of the current wall color and ask to match the exact color so we can patch the areas that mostly need it. Would that work ?

Public Comments

1. Yes it should, They use the computer to scan the color and then make a paint to match that color. Since the paint has been on your house for a while, I'm sure it has faded. Make sure you have a large enough paint sample for them to test it.
2. Yes it will. Try to get a piece of paint that has not been exposed to sunlight. Lowes and Home Depot also sell "Oops" paint, which are returns, at a much lower cost. You might find something you like (and can afford) there.
3. absolutely not... depending on how old the paint is, they will never match exactly, due to age, dirt, dust, and sunlight. they can get it close but you need to know if it was flat, satin, eggshell,semi, or high gloss... also, is it a plain color?, white, tan or is it a bright color, blue, pink, purple? best bet is to see what you can afford in all new paint and repair any probs with walls, you can find paint for as little as $8.00 a gallon and even cheaper if you buy a 5 gallon bucket!
4. probably, then again you might need a certain size for the machine that does the matching. best to call them and ask