Why You Should Combine Paint Cans Before Painting Your Home's Exterior

Although painting your house's exterior can be pretty fun, it is sometimes a bit of a hassle. Between all the prep work and the cleaning up afterward, it can also become really laborious. On top of that, not everything will always go according to plan.

We've all been there; you bought 8 gallons of paint and started painting your exterior walls until you finished the first paint can, but you realize that although the new can says they're the same color, they're not the same hue when you put it on the wall. This is common in large-scale painting projects, but you can remedy this completely by properly boxing your paint.

Boxing is a technique professional painters use to get a more consistent result regarding color when painting large walls or any house's siding. If you plan on painting the exterior of your house and want the best results colorwise, we'll show you how to box your paint before doing the hard work.

To box several paint cans, you'll have to combine them all in a single container to get a more homogeneous result when painting a large exterior wall. As a point of reference, suppose you'll work with 4 gallons of paint on your project; in this scenario, you'll need a 5-gallon bucket and a long paint mixer.

First, open all your paint cans; make sure each cap is loose. Then, empty the cans in your 5-gallon bucket or the large container you decided to use. Now, use the long paint mixer to ensure everything is evenly mixed in the container. If you don't have a paint mixer, use a wood stick that won't break; it'll take more time but it'll work wonders.

If you're working on a smaller wall or don't have a large enough container but still want to box your paint, try boxing as you go. Start painting using your first paint can; when you're running low, open the second can and pour half into the first. When running low for the second time, empty the rest of the second can and keep going as needed; this will do the trick without that much hassle.

The vast majority of paint cans sold in the US are mixed by machines and their color mix is easily trackable with a reference number; this ensures consistency across thousands of paint cans, but it's not perfect. Besides, machines needing regular calibration to function correctly, human error is also involved; this means that if you buy 4-6 paint cans with the same color reference number, the hue or the shade may not be precisely the same.

Boxing your paint will remedy this entirely; when you mix everything, those little differences will disappear and you won't notice anything. Boxing is essential in large projects to avoid repainting, but you don't have to think about it if you're going to paint something small. If you're painting large exterior walls, always box your paint.

While painting your home's exterior can be laborious, the effort is absolutely worth it. Next time you have to paint a big wall and use multiple paint cans, remember to box your paint and avoid repainting those ugly shade lines!