We recently had to do some remodeling in my living room to accommodate an electrical switch, overhead light, and 2 wall sconses. This included a contractor making several holes in my ceiling and walls and repairing the holes with drywall. The drywall looks great, however when he came back to paint the drywalled areas, well, this is where the problem is.

Since he was fixing the major holes with drywall, I also had him touch up "old" holes from picture hooks (from the previous home owner). So he spackled the old holes and made a nice smooth finish on them too. No problem, as we had a full gallon of paint that the previous home owner had left us a couple years ago. Well he painted the repairs and the paint dried overnight. The problem is that you can clearly see where he painted over the drywall in both the ceilings and walls. I'm not sure why the paint didn't blend in with the existing paint on the ceilings and walls, as it's the same paint.

Does paint in a can for 2 years, lose some of it's coloring? Should I have him come out and do a second coat? Or is it the other way around and my walls have faded over the last few years and the paint he applied the other day hasn't seen the sun, so it's more of a true color?

I'm really unhappy as this was supposed to be a simple project and now I am looking at having to paint the whole ceiling and all 4 walls to avoid seeing those very noticeable lines where the paint he did ends and the original paint starts. Any advise out there?

I'm wondering if I made a mistake in hiring this "handy man" versus hiring a person to do the drywall , then another person to prep and paint, etc.

Also, final question would be this: do you think the plaster/spackling product he used to patch everything is the cause of the paint not coming out right? It was completely dried and sanded, but I don't know what to think.

If I have to hire a painter to do the entire room, can I get an idea of what the norm is for an hourly charge? Is it like $75 an hour? Or do most people do it by job? The problem I always find is that painters aren't interested in small jobs too. So if I have to do it myself, please offer any tips too!

Thanks.
Momtoafew:)

When I patch with topcoat or other premixed compound, I try to use a primer over the patch. Usually two coats of paint over that hides the patch.
A real good paint in two or three coats can work, too.

Any paint sitting around for maybe even 6 months might come out different because of the settling of the different colors. It has to be stirred well, and thoroughly.
Also, if the room has not been painted in two years, it could have faded or become bleached out by sunlight.
I think some of your dissappointment comes in thinking you could paint out these patches, and that may have worked if the paint on the wall was fresh. Otherwise, it's a shot in the dark.
If you went into this thinking you'd have to paint all four walls and ceiling, you might be less critical about the handy man.
I'd suggest re-painting the whole room with fresh paint.

It was not the handyman's fault. Shunned is right about the walls fading, also walls get dirty just like anything else and that can change the color some. It sounds like it is repaint time.
The price of a paint job differs in where you live. It should be bid out by the job, not the hour. If you like to paint, go for it. Your local paint store can give you some great ideas... or the name of some good painters. Good Luck

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I too think my walls have just faded over time. Initially I wasn't too concerned about the age of my paint in the can, as I did a touch up job myself on this room about 5 months ago (where my kid had banged a toy into the wall), and the paint totally covered up the mark and blended into the color of the wall beautifully. I was thinking this would happen again with this professional that I hired, but another 5 months means more sunlight fading my walls.

Another thing worth mentioning is that when this guy fixed the small picture hook holes he didn't just fill the hole, the spackling or whatever it is called had been brushed about 2 feet all around these holes... I'm gathering to create a very smooth finish, but of course now, he had to paint the 2 foot radius around these small holes and it's quite obvious it's patched by the color difference.

He's coming back in 2 weeks also, as the paint was peeling before he even left my home. He said that he didn't sand well enough, or that maybe didn't clean the sanding job well enough so the paint couldn't adhere. There was nothing he could do at the time as the paint was wet, so that's the reason for the 2nd appointment. I haven't told him since he left that the paint isn't matching up, as I wanted to give it 24 hours to dry, and at the time I figured it was just wet paint and of course wouldn't match up.

I'm kind of curious why the guy wouldn't even mention to me that more than likely this old paint in the can would be an issue, I mean, you'd think he'd say it's not going to match and bid out the job to paint the entire room? I mean he practically painted the whole room anyway as there were so many patches, it would have taken him maybe another 2 hours to do the rest of the areas, and maybe another hour for the ceiling. Now basically I'm paying him his fee to sand and patch which was about 3 hours and will have to get it all done over essentially. Whether if I hire someone or do it myself. :eek:

Smaller areas, you can get away with , sometimes. It's possible that not sanding the patch made the paint peel, and maybe the patch was not 100% dry. Hard to tell what was used.
To paint the whole room maybe would've taken more than 2 hours if prep is considered. Gee, your awfully hard on this guy! :)

I'm doing some remodeling and have painted a lot - all interiors of my last two houses. I'm wondering how many coats of paint are on the patches. If only one or two, I'd say it needs another coat or maybe two. Unless your original walls were white, the patch is lighter than the wall color and you need to compensate for that with paint. Two years is not long enough in my opinion to fade paint unless it's cheaper paint, in direct sunlight, or a deep color.

I had some patches just done in my kitchen - I took out the soffits - and it took four coats of paint to blend the patch with the darker (dirtier and 10+ years old paint) ceiling.

Good luck!