- 1). Clean nearby wall surfaces with a TSP-based cleaning product and a rag. TSP, or trisodium phosphate, is used to clean most painted surfaces because it removes grime without leaving behind any residues capable of reacting with the paint. Cleaning is important because color-matching a dirty wall invariably leads to poor results.
- 2). Chip off a small piece of paint using a putty knife or razor blade.
- 3). Take the paint piece to a hardware store and match the color. Some paint suppliers use optical lasers for color matching, while others rely on purely sight-based matches from sample color swatches.
- 4). Sand the fresh plaster with 150-grit sandpaper. No matter how carefully you applied the plaster, it will still be rough and gritty if left unsanded.
- 5). Prime the fresh plaster with general purpose latex primer. "Spot priming" helps new paint cover evenly over the fresh plaster surfaces. Wait for the primer to dry before continuing.
- 6). Paint the freshly primed plaster with color-matched latex paint. Brush in parallel strokes, allowing at least 50 percent overlap between parallel paint lines.
- 7). Paint the fresh plaster with a second coat of paint after the first one dries.
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