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Home FAQs Color Match Tool I have a paint that looks darker/lighter than what you have. Why?

I have a paint that looks darker/lighter than what you have. Why? PDF E-mail
Written by Administrator   
Saturday, 17 November 2007 06:34

That is quite likely.  You must understand the process that is used to manufacture paints.

When a company has a new paint line set to manufacture, they will develop a set of master colors that are used to compare all the following colors to.  Now depending on the manufacturer, they will set a specific tolerance that each batch of paints must meet in order to be considered an accurate color.  More often than not, this tolerance is at or around 2 units in the CIE Lab colorspace.

On the surface, this doesn't seem like a problem - 2 units in the CIE Lab colorspace are generally below the perceivable range of differences.  However if you consider a point on a grid and another point that is 2 inches above that point (representing the first batch) and a second point that is 2 inches below that point (representing a second batch) you now have a difference from the first batch to the second batch of 4 units in the colorspace.  This is definitely perceivable by many people.  It becomes an even greater issue when you consider that the points can be on any side of the master color within the colorspace - in 3 dimensions.  That is a lot of potential colors which are all close enough in terms of manufacturing standards - but noticeable for us, the end users.

 
Durable Finishes

When you are painting a miniature that will get a lot of use, be sure to spend extra time on the clear coat varnishes to finish it off. This will prevent chips and wear from showing and save you the hassle of repainting.

The most durable finish is a pure clear coat as opposed to a matte finish. In order to get the best of both worlds do one or two coats with a gloss clear coat and follow it with one or two coats of matte. The gloss will protect the paint job, while the matte finish will help to reduce glare.

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