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I've emailed SW - but maybe others have already inquired.
The Color to Go paint samples that SW sells... is it true that the product isn't real paint?
I want to use to paint a small wooden tray for grandchilds nursery.. I think it will be wiped down occasionally etc., but no real 'traffic' (will hold diaper cremes etc. on the changing table) I can probably put a sealant on it too ----if the 'non paint' won't wash away!!!
Have you had any experience with this? The salesclerk told my son not to use the samples they purchased when choosing the paint because the samples 'weren't paint.'
I'd be surprised if it wasn't paint--most of the major paint mfg's have samples like this available for you to test out paint colors with and everyone else's are real paint. I can't imagine what else theirs would be made of. And what the salesperson said doesn't make any sense, the whole point of the samples is to help you choose what paint to use, so the fact that he told your son not to use the samples to choose the paint tells me that he doesn't know what he's talking about.
The catch with the little paint samples is you probably won't be able to choose what finish it is--for a surface like you're describing that will be wiped down occasionally I would probably go with eggshell, semi-gloss, or gloss depending on the look you're going for, but there's a decent chance the paint samples will be in a plain finish which may not clean up as well (but you can always put a topcoat of polyurethane or something over it).
Yeah, that is what I figured - I could throw a coat of polyurathane over it. He was pretty clear. He said 'you can't paint with that' --it is a flat and that is what they would normally get for the wall anyway - so I don't think what he meant was that the finish wasn't right. I think the color samples are for testing the color in the room etc., and not so much as a preview for the finish. But I agree with you Ecrane. Time will tell - Sherwin Williams site says they will answer in 24 - 48 hours I think.
These products are solely manufactured for the purpose of sampling a color
and are not formulated with any specific performance specifications in mind.
That is why we don't recommend using them for a finish paint.
I think if people are using them on walls it's only to test out colors--those sample containers don't have enough in them to do a whole room or anything like that.
I agree - but sometimes you run out of paint--and just need a little more --- or later on --a touch up is needed...and there is that sample can that you originally bought ---very handy. If not aware that it is not to be used as paint...I think, I would grab it and use it. My point being that I think most folks would think it was real paint---- just a little bit of it. You believed it was and so did I. And, not to waste it... I can see folks just adding it to the bigger can --saves shelf space and if they think it is real paint --why not combine.
It is real paint, sounds like it's probably stuff that was slightly out of spec so they couldn't use it for their regular paint, and they're covering themselves by telling you not to paint with it. But I suspect that most of the time it's not that far off from what it was supposed to be, so if you do some touchups or smaller paint jobs with it I'd guess 90+% of the time you won't have any issues besides the finish maybe not matching the rest of your wall, etc. And if you mix it into a can of paint I can't imagine that it would be so awful that it would ruin a can of paint, there's just not enough of it compared to the amount in the can.
Just happen to have a Color to Go sample sitting right here.. It does state on the side of the Can that ...
COLOR to GO Paint Samples are for sampling only.. THEY MUST BE TOPCOATED. For beautiful finished results, ask your Sherwin WIlliams expert to recommend the right product for your room.
Hmmm so I guess where I tried the sample on the wall, I will have to paint over it once I decide on the color I want to paint the room.. Maybe they do that so whatever color you do choose, it will cover the sample paint. Say if you choose a different color from the sample.. Since its not sealed it will cover easier when you paint with the real paint? lol..
Nah, because you can cover 'real' paint with no issues. I think it is because it is cheaper for them to manufacture that way (they skip the cost of adding the top coat ingredient) and they want you to buy 'real' paint --even for for a the little job the sample size should cover. They don't want the sample to go to be the only thing you purchase.
There is a fair amount of confusion regarding Color To Go samples. Here's the real deal: Yes, it is paint, but it's a poor quality paint, without the long-term ingredients one might include for stability and ease of application.
It's made this way so the customer can get an inexpensive tester of any color they offer (with the exception of certain very light colors, which have so little pigment, the ratio doesn't break down into a quart).
I have used it on accent niches and on little art projects, but would never use it for an actual wall. It doesn't roll out as nicely as their better-grade products. It's OK to use in a latex glaze, because the ratio is 4 parts glaze to one of paint.
But I would never try to use it for touch-up. Every product line takes color slightly differently, and the sheen may also vary from say, Super Paint Satin to Duration Home Satin. Without going into all the technical reasons why, you don't want to start a job with Super Paint in Blonde, then try to touch up with the Color to Go or a different product line, even if they're all Sherwin-Williams.
Occasionally, one can do something crazy like that and it turn out allright. Thus, an urban legend is born that "it doesn't matter." Well, sometimes it will. So if it's a big room and a nice home, I wouldn't risk it.
