Can I take a different brand shade of paint and have it mixed elsewhere?

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this shade of paint by Parker, but the problem is, Parker is only sold in like 3 states (so I'm told), and of course none of those states are close to me! I saw this color in a lady's bathroom online, and she gave me the paint ';recipe'; from the place she had it mixed. The guy told her that it wouldn't look the same if it were mixed elsewhere though. Is this really true, or are they just trying to make you buy it from their store?Can I take a different brand shade of paint and have it mixed elsewhere?
I do believe Parker's retail outlets are limited to the northwest states, so unless you are there you will indeed have a hard time finding the actual product.





Using a formula from one paint company to mix in a different brand of paint usually will not work. The colorants are more or less universal, but they may be labeled a bit differently to discourage this type of thing. The bigger problem is the formulation of the mixing bases. Different companies use different amounts of white (sometimes yellow and/or red) colorants in their base mixes. If it is just a matter of white level, you will end up with a different tint, if there is some yellow or red involved you will end up with a completely different color.





All may not be lost. If you can get a sample chip of the color, most larger paint stores will be able to match it for you with a computerized matching machine. These matches are usually fairly close. If you visit http://www.parkerpaint.com/, scroll to the bottom. Note that there is a button to order color chips. I did not go through the registration process, and I am not sure that they would not question it if you are out of their sales area, but certainly worth a try.





Also, you might have your local paint store call the manufacturer and see if they already have a match for the color you want. I know Valspar has a fairly extensive database of competitor color matches (although I have never asked for a Parker color), I would assume other manufacturers do the same.Can I take a different brand shade of paint and have it mixed elsewhere?
it might be a shade off but you would not be able to tell unless you had the original paint on wall right next to it
Home Depot can match any color just by the name. I have done this a few times and the color is great.