Why do people suggest painting testers on paper, they look completely different

[T3nessee]

I painted testers on the wall prior to plastering . Then thought I’d check the one I picked with the new kitchen and test on paper so as not to ruin the new plaster and it looks completely different. Decorator is coming this week!😫

I completely agree. I’ve just experienced the same. But I have seen so many recommendations to do this. Why?

I’ve seen brands recommended to do it that way. I think it’s so you can easily move them around to check in different lighting.

I know!! It’s not just a bit different either. So do I go with the colour on plaster or paper?😫

But the colour is nothing like what it is on the wall.

I’ve always tested it on the walls in the room it’s to be used in. Also look at it at different times of the day including bright days evening with lights on. When we were painting our north facing bedroom I found it very hard to match paint to the wallpaper.

So is it very different on paper? Slightly worried now.

Yes it looks completely different I actually tried to put paint onto a4 paper to go shopping for wallpaper and I originally discarded some colours because of how it looked.

Surely you don’t paint directly onto plaster - you paint on top of white primer. So testing it on plaster is pointless!

Because painting over large patches of deep colour that you didn’t choose is a pain in the ass.

It's more accurate on the wall in my experience

We get scrap lining paper from the shop and paint on there then glu tack to walls. I have experience of doing dark swatches on the walls that could then be seen through the colour painted. Don’t do it!

It’s so different as you are taking a RGB image from online to print a CMYK image to no doubt standard paper. Even with a gloss or quality paper that won’t translate.

Most paint use the RAL codes. So I can’t even begin to understand how anyone would advise doing that.

The only way to tell is to buy samples and paint them on the walls or use the company called LICK who provide samples on sticky back paper.

It's more accurate on the wall obviously, but then you have to paint back white over the ones you didn't pick. I did it on paper first, and only when I thought that it was what I wanted, I painted a patch on the wall. Less to have to paint over when I finally decided!

Yes originally painted on the old neutral wall colour. Then had plasters and a mist coat in so not painting on that now until the wall is painted by the decorator hence painting on paper and card to check the one we picked looks good with the new kitchen. Even the card v paper/ thin card are completely different to each other. The thin card makes our greyish colour yellow!

The one painted on top of the neutral wall colour will look different because of the surrounding colour as well as the original colour peeping through unless you did a couple of coats for the tester. I would just do a tester straight on the wall and then paint over with white paint once you have decided.

Are you doing the tester on bare plaste?

The paint on a white piece of paper or card should pretty accurately show the how the colour will look on the wall when it’s primed and the 2/3 coats are finished.

Equally if you are painting a patch over old colour it will also look different next to the old colour vs on its own or next to white.

You just need a mist coat, you don’t need to use a white primer. The mist coat could be any colour.

Paint the wall white first.

Use lining paper to paint the tester in, then pin the tester up in different locations to see it in different lighting.

That should be fairly accurate.

Well not quite, if you do a mist coat in blue you’re going to give yourself a lot of extra work to paint a light beige or off white colour.

The reason people use white is because it acts as a good primer for the most commonly used colours after.

That’s what I meant, I just didn’t know as DH does the painting here!

Painted a whole wall in two coats over old very pale neutral paint. The colour is completely different on thin card.

The paper really isn’t accurate. It’s completely different to the when it is painted on the wall and online. Not just a bit different.

The colour is influenced by the surrounding colour you are putting it on. Also the light. We have rooms painted using the same paint and colour but every room looks different.

You are so right. Even painting a sample on the wall doesn’t work because painting the whole room changes the light and reflection. Choosing a colour is a complete gamble!

Absolutely hence me trying it on various places in the room. However what is painted on paper is completely different.It’s nothing like the various places I painted it on walls..