Did you know that when a store employee in the paint department makes a mistake mixing paint, or a customer isn't happy with the color that's been mixed for them and refuses to buy the already mixed paint, stores like Home Depot put these "pre-mixed" colors on a special "sale" table, sometimes with discontinued paints (that can be mixed to suit.) These "pre-mixed" paints are greatly reduced. I've been able to like find a pre-mixed color that I've liked on most occasions, and for a vey good price, too.
Home Depot sells their "mix-ups" for about "half-price" or around $9, but the Fred Meyer stores around here (greater Seattle area) sell their "pre-mixed paint mistakes" which include Dutch Boy and Glidden brand paints for only $5 per gallon. You can't beat that. That goes for all types of paints including indoor, outdoor, masonry paint and discontinued transparent and opaque deck and fence stains, too.
Most stores refuse to add any other colors to the already mixed colors, but they can match the "miss-matched" color you're buying with a computer most times and if you know even "just a little bit" about mixing colors, you can easily come up with a paint color you like for less than half the usual price. Sometimes you can just buy a quart of white paint and mix that with the color you've bought to lighten it up a bit.
I've also had great success with finding high quality paints for only $5 per gallon at Liquidation Stores. They have great (discontinued) colors, for only a fraction of the price. It's easy to find these discount gallons at Liquidation stores, but at stores like Fred Meyer and Home Depot, you may have to ask where their miss-matched paint table is, as they don't always make it obvious that you can buy less expensive paint from them. In my local Home Depot, it's on a shelf behind the paint mixing center. Just ask them where it is, odds are, they have a "sale table" hidden somewhere in the paint area, as they'd usually rather sell it for less than throw it away.
By Cyinda from near Seattle
It's called oops paint. It is all I preferably use. (03/07/2008)
By Kim
That is true, but some of the colors are atrocious. There have
been a few I really did like such as a pinkish lavender and a sunny yellow. My hubby liked this gray one they did not have enough for that reduced price so we walked without it. Praise
God. (03/09/2008)
This is one of my favorite ideas. I have bought mis-mixed paint for lots of projects and crafts. The best part is that if I don't like it I can Freecycle it to someone else. There is always someone who'll make use of it. (03/18/2008)
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
