Gray Paint

[Peter De Smidt]

I'm investigating which paint to use to paint the area where I do print evaluation. Ideally, a neutral light gray, such as a Munsell N8, would be good. GTI does make such a paint, but it's only available in gallons, and it's pretty pricey. Any suggestions for a less expensive paint that would work? I suppose I could take a MacBeth color chart and have the paint store match one of the light gray patches.

[Drew Wiley]

It's all relative to your light source anyway. Also be aware that all the black pigments
used in paint aren't really neutral, so need to be balanced with something else. Lamp
black has a purplish bias, and mineral black a greenish one. I once used a spectrophotometer to mix up a batch of "perfect" 18% gray paint that was within
half a percent of accuracy not only throughout the entire visible spectrum, but a step
into both the UV and infrared too. No commercial gray card even comes close to that,
and no paint store can match that trick, even given a previous formula. But it doesn't
really have to be that precise. No matter what kind of gray you choose, there are going to be certain prints which fool your eye due to the physiological law of simultaneous contrast. That is why I like viewing color work with a variety of
backgrounds, including both light grays and off-whites, as well as a variety of light
sources. Ideally you match the print to the final display environment itself. The same
concept applies when viewing transparencies on a lightbox. An "industry standard" light
source will be skewed by the tint of the glass or plastic around and over it, and won't
necessarily match real world conditions.

[Peter De Smidt]

I will be using Solux bulbs to light the area, the same ones that I'll use to display the prints.

I plan on using 2 coats of Rustoleum's magnetic primer, which'll allow me to use magnets to hold the prints up, and then two coats of a fairly neutral light gray paint. It doesn't need to be laboratory grade neutral.

[Drew Wiley]

Simultaneous contrast is most likey to kick in when the value (lightness or darkness) of the gray is close to that of particular hues in the object you're viewing. Basic color
theory. In other words, as hues approach similar value, they start to compete for the
eye. The receptors of the eye for the dominant hue quickly fatigue, and the opposite
ones are unduly excited, so the gray appears to take on just the opposite hue as the
dominant hue in the print. So if you're prints tend to have certain saturated colors,
it's best to use a neutral gray which is fairly light, and not medium gray like a gray card. I often simply used a light gray piece of matboard around 60% reflectance. As
long as there's no conspicuous hue bias to the gray, it isn't all that fussy to choose
a suitable paint.

[Peter De Smidt]

Right, I'm looking for a light gray. I remember reading one of Bruce Fraser's books wherein he recommended a specific paint, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to find the info.

Ok, I've found it:

1. Mix one gallon of Pittsburgh Paint's pastel-tint white base #80-110 with Lamp Black (B-12/48 PPG), Raw Umber (L-36/48 PPG), and Permanent Red (O-3/ 48 PPG).

2. Kelly-More Paint Co. Pastel-tint white with Lamp Black (4/48 PPG) Raw Umber (27/48 PPG), and Violet (2/48 PPG).

3. Sherwin-Williams paint code: 2129 Zircon.

Zircon
Colorant 32 64 128
R2 Maroon 1 - 1
Y3 Deep Gold 3 1 1
B1 Black 15 - -

And a few more from various sources:
Try either Benjamin Moore 1459 (Metro Gray) or 2112-60 (Cement Gray) in
product 215 (flat finish). Both have a CIE L* around 80 and are quite
neutral.

Behr Base Premium Plus Interior Flat (1500A) pastel base

Formula:
Colorant OZ 48 96
B Lamp black 0 15 1
I Brown oxide 0 3 1
T Medium Yellow 0 1 1

Of course, given that paint manufacturers change their formulas about 50 times a year, these are only starting points.

[jeroldharter]

Is the paint flat or semi-gloss? I would prefer the gloss. I assume these are wet prints? How are you dealing with drainage? I would worry about fixer gradually accumulating on the wall.

[Peter De Smidt]

Matte paint. DesignJet prints.

In a darkroom, I use a big sheet of plate glass propped up in the sink. The wall behind is white. I use a fairly dim bulb, ala Bruce Barnbaum.

[Drew Wiley]

I'd pick a washable eggshell enamel or, better yet, something like Benjamin Moore
Bath and Spa, which if fairly impervious to moisture, yet won't either yellow like a traditional oil-based enamel or stain and chalk like an ordinary latex wall paint. If fixer
is a problem like Jerold implies, there's a simple answer which I myself use - I have one
washable viewing setup near the darkroom sink, and a more formal one for fully washed
and dried prints in the framing room.

[Peter De Smidt]

I agree with drew. In a darkroom, I'd use water resistant paint.

I wouldn't put a wet print on a painted surface. Plate glass works well. It's very easy to squeegee the print when it's perfectly flat, and glass is non-porous. A fairly neutral light gray counter top laminate might also work. You can glue the laminate to whatever flat surface you'd like to use.

[jeroldharter]

I didn't realize you meant inkjet prints. Makes more sense. I was having a hard time with the idea of slapping a wet print against the wall for inspection. I use the back of a flat darkroom tray.

For the darkroom and workroom, I like semigloss paint because it is easily washable, attracts less dust, and does not scuff up like flat paint.

[Bruce Watson]

This topic of neutral gray wall paint comes up sometimes in video forums. For more or less the same reason. So here's a thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14133869) that might be interesting to you.

[Peter De Smidt]

Thanks for the link, Bruce. It looks like TRUE VALUE TRU-COLORS 1983 WINTER MIST would work well.

Note that http://www.easyrgb.com/index.php?X=SEEK#Result will translate RGB numbers into paint, along with dE info.

[Drew Wiley]

Anyone who claims that RGB values can be translated into any kind of architectural
paint equivalent whatsoever lives in a make-believe world. Yes, this kind of program is
available for a very crude kind of interior design work which can be communicated from party to party via portable electronic devices, but is going to be very disappointing if this is how you expect paint to actually turn out. Even official "paint chips", made with printing technology, are no substitute for an actual sample using
actual relevant pigments. Just choose a quart of paint, have it batched up, and go
from there.

[Peter De Smidt]

Just choose a quart of paint, have it batched up, and go
from there.

That's what I'm planning on doing. It'd be nice to not have to go through multiple quarts to get something that'd work for my purpose. If you have a better idea than using spectral info provided by the manufactures to narrow down the choices, then I'm all ears.

[pherold]

Here's a flat latex enamel from GTI. It's not particularly cheap either, but they offer a pint size:
https://www2.chromix.com/colorgear/shop/productdetail.cxsa?toolid=1043

[Peter De Smidt]

Hi Pat,

Yeah, that's the spendy, but no doubt very good, option. I wish it came in quarts.

I've got two options available locally. I'll pick up a quart of each, make some samples, and check them with my spectrophotometer.

[mrladewig]

Sherwin Williams has a ton of gray tints in their current catalog. So far as I can tell, their paint chips have accurately reflected their colors in every case where we've used them. Perhaps they are not as common in other parts of the country as they are where I live? Their most expensive latex is about $45/gallon and you can go down in price from there. And they run coupons all the time. That $45/gallon Duration stuff is really nice though. We use it in bathrooms and the kitchen and it can be scrubbed clean and is not affected by splashes of water. Its very durable and flows, covers and self levels very well when you paint. Its far better than the Valspar, Olympic, Sears and Behr stuff I've used.

Since metamerism affects paint pigments just as it does pigments in inkjet prints, you're going to need to find a gray that works in your room with your dominant lighting. The GTI product is stupid expensive. $73/gallon is absurd for latex paint. Further, following all those video discussions, they are talking about painting a wall to project an image onto the wall. It does not sound to me that you are looking to do that. The GTI product is labeled N8, and appears to be tailored specifically to that market. I'd probably go a little darker myself for judging prints.

[Drew Wiley]

Heck - I work with paint more expensive than that all the time, and in real world
use it's often the cheapest to use because of better coverage and durability, with
proprietary pigment technology that's dramatically more fade-resistant. I'm itching to try to get a set of process colors for carbon printing from the same technology. I'm referring to Benjamin Moore Aura line. But it doesn't take that to get a decent
background for color evaluation. It did jog my memory how I once used a very light
neutral gray for slide shows because it made the colors look richer than a typical white projection screen.

[Peter De Smidt]

I went to True Value and had them read a patch from a Mac Beth color chart.

This gave:

Base: Easy Care latex Flat Enamel Finish Pure White Pastel Base.

Ingredients Formula
E 0 Y 5.50
I 0 Y 3.50
L 0 Y 6.50

My spectro says that this give a paint which reads :
L80
A0.5
B-2.0

In other words it gives a light gray paint that's ever so slightly blue. For my purposes, it's fine.