Can I Use Base Paint Without Tint? (What You Need To Know)

Simply put, yes: you can apply base paint without tint or untinted light base paint—but you probably shouldn’t.  

Remember that base paints are basically incomplete paints; they were created specifically to take colorant, at which point they’re ready to use. 

Painting with a base paint without tint means you’re rolling, brushing, or spraying on a less-than-ideal ratio of clear components to basic neutral pigments.  

The result you’ll get depends on what kind of base paint without tint you’ve used.  A Base 1, which has the most white pigments of any base, might look fine—a basic paint white shade—but could also leave the previous paint color peeking through. Base paint without tint won’t cover it much at all, since most of it will be clear.

The best scenario to successfully paint a wall with untinted deep base paint would be a Base 1 applied to a white wall, or perhaps over a very light base pastel. Coverage still won’t be optimal, but it’ll get the job done.  

A base paint is a paint without tint color pigment added or too little tint color. Instead, they have varying levels of white pigment.  

As the name implies, paint base determines the final new paint formula, after pigment is mixed in (either by yourself or at a hardware or paint store).  

Other paints name you’ll hear is “tint paint,” and that means the same thing: new paint that needs concentrated basic neutral pigments added before it’s ready to use.  

You can’t use primer and base paint interchangeably. Primer and base paint are quite different, even if they look identical at first glance.  

While base paints are basically unfinished paint formulations in need of colorant, primers are ready to use as-is. They’re meant to prepare—or prime—your surface to better accept the paint.  

Base paints are mostly clear (especially Base 3 and 4, explained below), even though they’ll often look like regular white paint when you open them.

It's better to think of base paints less as paints and more like the beginnings of a recipe: they're made specifically to accept colorants and aren’t finished until that step occurs.  

With that in mind, some base paints are more “complete paint” than other paints like spray paints, depending on how much white pigment they have. This dictates how much colorant they can accept, and therefore how rich and deep your final desired color will look.  

Paint bases are categorized according to just how much of this white pigment is in that formula, and therefore how much colorant can be mixed into it.  

You might be wondering why these 4 formulations exist, and if choosing the correct one really matters. The answer is: absolutely.  Your base paint determines how light or dark your final desired color  and maximum color richness will be.  

If you try to achieve a deep blue using a Base 1, for example, you would need so much colorant the paint formula would then become imbalanced. The adhesion would be inferior, resulting in inadequate coverage, drips, and other eyesores.  

By using the proper base, you can achieve the correct tint paint color with as little colorant as possible. This dilutes it to just the right consistency for great adhesion, vibrancy, and evenness.   

Say you’ve chosen a pale blue for your bathroom or a breakfast nook, and aren’t sure whether to go with Base 1 or 2, since either could work just fine for such a light base color.

Or perhaps you want to put a vibrant orange in your kids’ room, but can’t decide between Base 3 and Base 4.  

A great rule to follow is “when in doubt, go lighter.” This means choosing the lower base paint, at least in a small testing size, to see how you like that shade first. It’s much easier to base paint a darker color over a light one if you change your mind, rather than the reverse.  

There are two ways to customize your base paint at home:  Create colored paints together and adding colorant to an untinted base. 

Though the former is easiest (since you don’t have to worry about balancing the formula), it’s only doable when your base paint tinted in store and mixed already. What if all you have is an untinted base on hand?  

The first step is to make sure you have the appropriate base for the desired final lighter color or darker color. Remember: the lighter the color, the lower the base number should be, and vice-versa.  

You’ll also need concentrated pigments such as Cal-Tint in your chosen color (more on that in the next section).  

Keep in mind that color science is intuitive in some ways, but not quite as straightforward as “red and blue make purple” when it comes to base tinting paint medium specifically manufactured. Paints actually use several colors, mostly primaries, to achieve a specific final result.  

There are under- and overtones to consider, not just the main color. For example, grays can be cool or warm. Similarly, purple can be bluer or redder depending on the look you’re after.  

Every color in the color wheel can be achieved with primaries.  Because of this, it might be better to purchase a set of primary colorants rather than secondary or tertiary shades—even if those are your desired final colors.  

When mixing paints and tints, you’ll quickly find unexpected combinations produce beautiful results. Adding a little red colorant to a green-tinted base, for example, can make that green closer to what you’d find in nature–a slightly warm, inviting shade similar to leaves, rather than a lime color.  

You can also build upon existing paint combinations to create grays, blacks, and muted versions of those colors, as well as warmer or cooler tones. Blue and orange can make a great brown base for navy tones or cool charcoal grays.  

While it’s possible to use base paint without tint added, it’s generally not advisable.

Base paints are formulated to take colorants, so applying them without those pigment concentrations can result in poor coverage and adhesion. 

If you do decide to use medium base paint without tint, you’ll see the best results using a White Base coat 1 on a wall that’s already white, or a very light pastel.