Painting - Paint swatches and helping the customer choose colors

How can I help the customer choose paint colors, since there are so many colors and sheens? I'm thinking I would carry a few brochures with me, and suggest the customer visit the paint store for more paint and color choices.

Also, Sherwin Williams and some other paint companies have on-line help at their Web sites, but I guess some customers may not be comfortable with online help.

Thanks!

no offense, but i wouldn't think that customers will be asking you for help in the color selection process. i would think they'd have already decided on colors & sheens and would be looking to you to simply provide the labor.

but one good rule of thumb is that the paint always dries darker, and will seem brighter on the wall than on the tiny little swatch. a good idea is to select the color they like on the swatch, but purchase paint a shade lighter and maybe even a duller/grayer version. then when it's on the big walls, it will seem closer to the one they liked.

also, buying a small amount & painting it on several big poster boards, tacked up on each wall & viewed for a few days, is a good idea. depending on windows & time of day, each wall can appear a slightly different color.

gloss or semi gloss is best for trim, whereas flat, eggshell, & satin are good for walls.

ceilings are generally done in ceiling white or a very very pale version of the walls.

I have often had to help customers chose colors. I learned a long time ago that it is better to present them with a color brochure than to hand them a fan deck. Too many choices will confuse a lot of folks. Using a limited selection and saving the fan deck to zero in on the correct color is often a lot faster.

Sometimes a customer will want to match a certain item. This is best addressed by taking the item to the paint store and letting them match it up. There will be occasions that it will be necesary to buy a quart [s] and apply samples.

There are a fair amount of customers that have little or no knowledge of what type of materials need to be used [although most everyone can tell a good job from a bad one] You may need to suggest what type of materials are appropriate for the job.

Ditto to what Marksr said. I'm often asked for my opinion, and am expected to know what colour would look best with that furniture etc. Paint store people are great (esp. Ben Moore) for helping narrow down the choices and for saying why choose this colour over that one.
I also find the brochures very helpful as they have some great colour combos I certainly wouldn't have thought of and they look so good they get people enthusiatic about decorating!
If people have already chosen the colours, great, but make sure that's the colour they want so that if it turns out they don't like it on the walls, they have to pay for another colour. So it's not your fault they don't like the colour.
Ben Moore has giant colour chips for the same price as tester pots. These are great because you can move them from room to room and they're big enough to give a good idea of the colour. Plus you don't have to paint over a bunch of tester patches on the walls.

A quick tip:

If you are going to play decorator as well as painter, charge for ALL the time spent with the customer. You will lose big $$$ playing the color game with some fickle clients. Give them 2-3 complimentary color samples on the wall (charge for each quart retail + markup), and then a flat fee for each one over that. I charge $50 per color + materials. Might sound high, but after 1/2 hour to pick up paint, another 1/2 hour to lay out a drop, crack the can, sling a couple spots, clean brush, then another 1/2 hour discussing it, etc etc; that $50 just got burned up quick.

Never ever forget, time is money.

Thanks very much for the very helpful feedback. As an amateur painter, I have been frequently asked for advice about color selection. When I go professional, I expect to have many requests for help with colors.

In my humble amateur opinion, spending some time and money to get the colors right is invaluable. When the colors are right, the additional costs are quickly forgotten, and the pleasures are long lasting...

You folks are indeed great. I'm in the same boat as Wanna-be-pro. Was a social worker, funding cuts happened and I got laid off. A good friend of mine asked me to 'pick up the hammer' and trained me as a handyman for a few years doing all sorts of stuff. Now he's moved away and I'm on my own. I enjoy painting the most, and it's what I seem to be the best at. So, that's what I'm moving forward with and focussing on. I often come here for info and have found the site and suggestions from moderators and other posters to be of great assistance.

Just wanted to say thanks again from us wannabe's for helping out when we're trying to look confident, but don't really have a clue as to what the heck to do!

Johnsmith and Wanna Be --

Click here (http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=188088) for more info on the painting business.

I rarely try to choose colors for my clients...
Colors are not my forte'.....(red-geen deficient)
I'd rather they choose and I paint..this way there's no issue as to which color was chosen..and if it doesnt suit the client..then I re-paint and charge for it.
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Awesome link, Prowallguy.....
Thx a mil.

I'd rather they choose and I paint..this way there's no issue as to which color was chosen..and if it doesnt suit the client..then I re-paint and charge for it.

Right on! You pick it, we stick it. Works for wallpaper also.

Another tip:
After the color/s are chosen, whether you help or not, make the customer sign off on it. Meaning, have a spec sheet with color name, sheen, brand, # of coats, and area it is to be applied in, and have the client sign it. If you would like a copy of one of these, PM me. This way, everyone is on the same page. If they don't like the color after its applied, then its not your fault. Charge them appropriately to re-do.

..."If you would like a copy of one of these, PM me."
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I got it.. from 2004 and use it, tuvm.
No changes to it since 2004, cept for the year is there?

If you have one of mine, then no, no changes have been made that I recall.

Yes I do...
Thanks again.