Often, I've wanted to match a paint that I (or someone else) has used in my house. For example, I might want to repaint a place where I've removed a fixture, to match the surrounding wall; or I might want to use a paint that has proven particularly effective in a particular situation. Another situation is where I've used some weird paint that can't be overpainted with some other weird paint.

Of course, I try to keep a note of what paint and colour I've used; but this system frequently breaks down. And, of course, there are paint matching services which claim to match a given colour exactly; but it would be better if I could remember the manufacturer, product and colour name so I can buy it off-the-shelf and get a better match.

So.

My suggestion is that each paint manufacturer supplies, with each tin of paint, a small "Paint Pin". This would be rather like a drawing pin with a short, sharp point, with the manufacturer's name, product type and colour (eg "Dulux Int. Gloss, Sambuca Explosion") printed or (better) embossed on it.

If the Pin is just printed, it can be pushed into the wall or wood surface in some inconspicuous place once the job is finished, to be searched out and read at a later date. If it were embossed, it could be painted over, remaining visible but inconspicuous.

Of course, paint manufacturers change their colours over the years, and also paints may fade (so the new paint won't be a perfect match), but Paint Pins would help in many cases.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 04 2010

Pinhead http://en.wikipedia...inhead_(Hellraiser)
An alternative way to store your pins. [8th of 7, Jul 04 2010]

Pantone Matching System http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantone
It's not infallible, you can get inbetween shades, and it's better for some applications than others, but it's a place to start. Oh, and I finally figured out what you meant by FFI and TSF [normzone, Jul 04 2010]

European powdercoat reference, brought to my attention by a challenging designer... http://en.wikipedia...lor_space_system%29
[normzone, Jul 04 2010]

I thought this was going to be some cunning way of applying paint to a surface in a recognisable and repeatable way in order to authorise an ATM transaction.
-- hippo, Jul 04 2010


I thought so too. Funny how things work out, isnit?
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 04 2010


//in some inconspicuous place//

That will never be found again.
-- ldischler, Jul 04 2010


Always the top-left corner. Especially on ceilings.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 04 2010


Sounds good to me. "Key-ring" version would be just as good. +
-- xenzag, Jul 04 2010


PMS and RAL references won't suffice?
-- normzone, Jul 04 2010


//PMS and RAL references won't suffice?//

The might, but I haven't got the FFI what TSF.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 04 2010


Wikipedia sez...

"Fatal familial insomnia (FFI) is a very rare autosomal dominant inherited prion disease of the brain. It is almost always caused by a mutation to the..."

They also say...

"The Text Services Framework (TSF) , is a COM framework and API in Windows XP and later Windows operating systems that supports advanced text input and text processing"

I'm glad to hear you've evaded the first, but it you had the second maybe you could save your color notes in a word file ;-)
-- normzone, Jul 04 2010


[normzone] I'm aware of colour standards and colour matching systems, but they don't solve the problem. I have a room painted in "Guano Sunset" satin sub-gloss by Crolux, but I have no memory of this. I've also just removed a mounted badger head from the wall, and discovered that the area beneath it was unpainted.

I find that Pantone 187A is pretty close, but in fact Pantone 187A is just a small shade closer to "Pancreas Surprise" by Dulown than it is to Guano Sunset by Crolux. And, even if I match the colour, the degree of mattness or glossitude may differ.

How much easier if I can simply find the pin in the top left corner, next to the euphonium, saying "Crolux Satin Sub- gloss Guano Sunset", and then go buy some more.

And now at least I have the FFI what FFI stands for, thanks.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 04 2010


I recently went through a bunch of color drama with Sherwin Williams making a batch of RAL7030 for my employer at their Los Angeles powder coat plant to save us from a Canadian supplier who decided we were too small to fool with.

They got it close but too green, then even with all their color matching equipment and gadgets decided it was close enough and shipped it. I sympathize with you, but even with your pin (good idea, BTW) you'll find that the next guy to mix it will get it different.

I think your real problem is that you need a new mounted head - what kind of game is in season where you are right now?
-- normzone, Jul 05 2010


//you'll find that the next guy to mix it will get it different.//

Ah - but BUT but.

The point is NOT to go and get a matching paint mixed. The idea is to go and buy the same pre-mixed paint from the same manufacturer that I bought last time.

The big manufacturers do, it's true, often advise you to buy all your paint in one go to ensure consistency. But, by and large, if I go and buy a tin of Crolux Guano Sunset Satin Sub-Gloss today, it'll be a pretty good match for the Crolux Guano Sunset Satin Sub-Gloss that's already on the wall. If only I have something to remind me that it's Crolux Guano Sunset Satin Sub-Gloss.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 05 2010


Oh, and at the moment I believe partridge and Jehovas Witnesses are in season.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 05 2010


//What, the whole family?//
No, just the really irritating Danny.
-- coprocephalous, Jul 05 2010


As in "God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and - Danny" ?
-- 8th of 7, Jul 05 2010


//partridge and Jehovas Witnesses are in season//

A mounted partridge head (even the 'family' variant) probably won't come anywhere near covering the space left by the removed badger head, unless you're using a vastly oversized mount, and by the tone of previous annotations I suspect you're aesthetically 'picky' so will probably choose a mount size in keeping with the head size. On that basis your choice becomes limited to Jehova's Witnesses. Good luck with that.
-- Tulaine, Jul 05 2010


The problem is that I've already got one in the centre of that wall. And if I'm going to have two, they really need to be a matched pair.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 05 2010


No, two will be enough, to be sure.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 05 2010


[+] If the pin had an RFID in it, it wouldn't need to be removed from the wall to be read.

I can only think of one real downside to this idea...

Consider that if the room's paint has faded over time, the new paint, even if it is exactly identical to the room's old paint at the time that the old paint was applied, will be a brighter shade.
-- goldbb, Jul 05 2010


RFID: I don't have a reader handy, which is why I wanted it human-readable.

Paint fading: yes, I made this point in the final paragraph of the idea itself. However, I've often used tins of paint which I've kept, well-sealed, for at least 5 years after they were first used, to touch up damaged or new areas. There's a little fading, but it's not usually much.

Listen, all I want in life is a little tag somewhere that tells me what paint I've used. Is this....sob....so very much to ask.....?
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 05 2010


Just put the badger back. Can't understand why you'd want to take it down in the first place.
-- shudderprose, Jul 05 2010


//Just put the badger back. Can't understand why you'd want to take it down in the first place.//

Apparently, he was the best badger at the badge-making factory, and they want him there for their boardroom.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 05 2010


If the pin heads were square or hexagonal, you could cover the entire surface of the wall with them.
-- hippo, Jul 05 2010



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