P. 11

Curious to know if you found a Ben Moore or Sherwin Williams color comparable to Marvin's "Stone White" @bardzil? I was hoping to find something straightforward like a color code, but nothing is ever easy!!

Document above appears to be gone but the screenshot for matching Stone White is still here. I have Marvin Windows and thought about using this color for my interior trim, but I can’t quite remember why I didn’t. Maybe too white for my (interior) taste. I ended up using White Dove which is not a perfect match to my interior windows but certainly close enough for me.

if you want to use the formula for Stone White, SW can do it easily.

Thank you so much @ILoveRed!

YW 😊

Ben Moore said they had the formula in their computer but didn't have a sheen so it wouldn't match correctly. So I went to SW (which I prefer anyways) this morning with this formula and they advised me that it had been updated since. I assume that is why the PDF was removed from Marvin's website. They were able to make a quart size sample in the exterior sheen that would match the window sheen. I haven't installed the new windows yet but It looks real close to Marvin's color chip which was spot on when I matched it up to the display window.

Can you screen shot the formula? I called Marvin who said call SW, SW has nothing. I made my trim paint with the old formula provided by the Marvin window dealer and it is a terrible match, will have to repaint all the way around.

Sandra,

Absolutely. I am not home but when I get home, I will take a picture of it. It was Sherwin Williams and they were able to make a very very close match. Did all of my exterior trim in it and you can't tell any difference between the trim color and window color.

thanks so much! the house is being built 3 1/2 hours away which adds to the challenge

Hopefully the paint smear in the middle didn't cover anything of use but I would imagine if you showed them this at SW, they could figure it out and make it.

The end result. It is a pretty overcast day so the picture is a little darker but the point is it is as perfect of a match to the stone white as I could ever ask for. Hope this all helps!

wow that is a great match...can I ask when you had your windows installed - just in case there has been a subtle change in the 'stone white' fiberglass itself

I think there is enough info on the can lid - compared to the formula there is no black, and I think the black is what gave my paint the hard blue undertone

We installed them in early September of 2020. We ordered in late July and they were finished and ready for delivery in mid to late August so it wasn't too long ago.

OK so should be the same fiberglass as my order / install was at almost identical times. Thanks so much!!

also I want to say congrats on taking the extra effort to do a real sill and drip cap, it makes such a huge difference to the overall appearance but takes thought to accomplish when installing a flanged window

I just found this post and I am so grateful!

I didn't even know I needed this.

I have a house-full of Marvin windows in Stone White about to be installed and started wondering how to match the white.

So, thank you very much!

Now, does anyone know how to convert this (or if it's even possible do to so accurately) to Benjamin Moore?

Joe, not sure but I know I've asked similar questions to sherwin williams (trying to convert ben moore to see)and the answer I was given was since the color tints and names can vary between companies, it's very difficult to match closely.

Sandra, I agree the drip and sill look like they complete the window and make a big difference. Our house is from the early 1900 so to keep the charm and look, details like that definitely could not be overlooked.

Thank you!

Hi Joe, let me give you a BIG warning about trying to carry a white between SW and BM. My local SW guy - after a very frustrating experience trying to match a BM color for ceiling paint - was really up front and said that matching whites between manufacturers is extremely challenging because there is a fundamental difference in the base that cannot be compensated for by changing the pigment formula, since extremely small amount of pigments are used. So going in either direction - BM to SW or SW to BM - is unlikely to lead to a perfect match. Also, it is not wise to have them make up the small 'sample' size paint to judge, because the amount of pigment that goes into the sample for a white color is minute. You need a quart (if available) or a gallon if not. So yes I have spent a lot of money on expensive gallons of paint get the white right!

I discovered that for Stone White at SW, changing from Doug's product (Reliance) to my product (Duration) required a totally different color formulation. SW has the ability to 'convert' from one base to another, I had them do the conversion and it did not work. So I had a manual color match (Doug had a manual color match too). If you can give me a week, I will be taking my gallon of Duration paint to the new build and putting some on next to a Stone White window and I will take a picture and post it and you can decide how you feel about it.

Also the "color scanner" thing - which was the first try - was totally off, don't even bother.

I have some of my 'best so far' formula painted on a piece of the fiberglass, I can take a picture of it and upload it now if you are in more of a time crunch. However this will only be relevant for SW Duration satin exterior paint, not any other paint product.

As far as doing this in BM paint, if that is your definite product, I think you should just ask them to do a manual color match off the fiberglass sample and then paint half the fiberglass and look at it outdoors in sun / overcast / shade etc. Don't get misled by sheen differences and remember that you will generally be further back from your windows than you are from the sample fiberglass!

Sandra,

Thank you so much for the info!

My Benjamin Moore guy said it is absolutely not a problem to match, but now I'm definitely not comfortable going that route.

I would love to wait a week (or as long as you need) and see what the Duration paint next to the windows looks like.

Hope for both of us it looks beautiful!

Thanks again,

Joe

OK I will get you photos, hopefully the weather will cooperate for shade and sun.

I have both double hung and awning windows. On the awning windows, because the trim is flush against the fiberglass with two out-ward facing surfaces, the difference was very noticeable. On the DH windows, it was less noticeable (but still not great) because there is a narrower strip of fiberglass abutting the trim and then the fiberglass turns 90 degrees.

Separate note - On the repaint the sides of the trim will be white, the first go round the painters painted them the wall color.

Doug - This window is about 25 feet in the air and this is a zoomed in photo, the drip cap and sill are more 3-dimensional when viewed in real life.

OK here's the expensive paint science experiment report. Joe this isn't going to make your life easier.

Color scanner SW store #1: total fail (above)

Color scanner SW store #2: total fail

Doug's formula in Doug's product: fail

Starting from Doug's formula and slowly adding black pigment and umber pigment: fail

Starting from 'seems like the closest' Pure White and adding pigment: fail

I believe this has to do with the extremely small amount of pigment used to create a white paint and the fact that there are tiny but important differences between the pigment machines from store to store (probably why Joe's umber only failed for me).

What finally solved it was starting with a paint that was too creamy / yellow, not too bright / blue. Everything that started from a brighter / whiter shade made the fiberglass look dingy no matter how much we toned it down with black.

Also be aware that they cannot guarantee a color match between a quart of paint and a gallon of paint mixed to the same formula, so be further prepared to lay out $$ on gallons. Hopefully my experience will keep it down to one gallon for you.

So here is my advice for what it is worth: have your window dealer or Marvin ship you 6 - 10 strips of the fiberglass. Give them a good scrub. While at the paint store (BM if you prefer since there is no SW magic), identify the closest white that is on the "creamy" or "too yellow" side. Have them mix it up, take a sponge paint stick (multiple) with you (not a paint brush because you want a smooth finish), paint some on about 1/3 of the stick and let it dry all the way.

Go outside and look at it, holding the stick VERTICALLY since this turns out to make a huge difference. I had multiple 'looks like a match' moments in the store holding the stick flat, and even outside holding it flat, but turning it vertically changed the reflectance and the apparent color remarkably. I think an overcast but bright day is best for this. Take a friend so you can back up.

To reduce the creamy / yellow, add tiny amounts of black. Keep painting the sticks and number them. Keep track of the formula and the stick # as you go in case you overshoot.

There may also be a recommendation to add a bit of red to reduce the yellow, I literally ran out of time before we could do that.

Pick a time when the store is well staffed or very slow, Saturday morning was neither.

Putting the paint on a piece of their 'sample' paper and holding it next to the fiberglass does not work. Put it on the sample fiberglass stick. This is critical.

As a final test paint some on a piece of vertical trim, let dry for several hours and contemplate.

You can see the difference between the first color match attempt and the final here.

PS I am don't have my formula to hand, but I would not recommend that you even try to start with my formula for the reasons given above. Best of luck!!

Sandra, THANK YOU for the advice to ask for a few extras of the fiber glass for SW to sample on!! What a great idea!! Also!! I have found through lots of $$$ that you can never truly match BM to a SW or SW to a BM paint (or other brand for that matter) because they all use different bases and sheens. You'll never have it perfect. It's cheaper and just more simpler to get the brand of paint you want from the start.

I want to thank everyone who commented on this previously! I was in the same boat and thought I'd throw in my two cents in case it helps anyone else in the future. I purchased Marvin Elevate windows in stone white and my painter uses SW Super Paint (not Reliance or Duration). The formula my SW store had didn't match and neither did Reserve White or Spare White. After playing around with the SW color wheel on site, I painted two coats of SW Alabaster onto the Miratec trim material and it's a very close match! I agree with Sandra that the color is on creamier/yellow-er side - my original attempts were too gray.

Oh gosh, I can see I have a HUGE headache coming! I ordered Marvin windows—cannot recall the line name, but it’s their top double-hung and casements. They, too, will be Stone White which I knew would not match my interior trim, so I ordered those unpainted. The exterior of my house has white trim, so this’ll be a fun ride finding a match.

I just don’t understand why Marvin discontinued their whiter “Arctic White” window option. White is so popular. Why not have a brighter choice? (Pella does.) The Stone White is dingier looking as a white, but I like their product the best.

I just looked up my windows—they are Marvin Signature Ultimate. I may greatly regret not ordering them prepainted (interior) with a custom white finish. Too late now. Hope I can find a good and patient painter!

@kkhansen17 do you happen to have a photo showing Marvin stone white and alabaster together?

Here are a few shots (please ignore the abysmal paint job on the trim). You can see it isn’t perfect but ok when you’re not zoomed in. Siding is prepainted hardie cobblestone for reference.

Marvin signature ultimate windows in interior white. My installer gave me a screenshot of a 5 gallon label that they use to match Marvin interior white.

On the custom trim with backband they had made for one of the full frame replacements it appears to be a very good match. Hope that help someone for the interior side of things.

Thank you so much for the information on a match!

Benjamin Moore hardwood putty is a really close match. I am really happy with result, showing it in different lighting...front and back of house at same time of day.

@jaeger_amber Thanks for posting. It’s now my turn for this rodeo! What type of BM paint and sheen did you use for your trim?

Per Sandra’s sage advice above those details make a difference. Thanks so much! Your match looks perfect!

I have to find an exterior paint trim color to match my Marvin aluminum clad, double hung, divided light windows in Stone White. It looks to be such a bright white, but I know that matching whites is no easy task.

@jaeger_amber It's been a couple of years since you wrote about your BM color match for your exterior trim. Just to make sure I didn't lose something in this thread... you have Marvin aluminum clad windows in Stone White? The BM Hardwood Putty looks so gray that I never would have thought it would be a match. Has your BM exterior Hardwood Putty color weathered well and maintained a color match with the aluminum in Stone White?

@kkhansen17 - I have the same questions about your SW Alabaster White. Now that some time has passed, has the SW Alabaster weathered well and retained its match to the Stone White aluminum cladding?

I also got primed wood interiors, because I wanted to have some flexibility with the color I chose for my interior trim, but with the I-89 coating on the interior glass, I have no idea how a painter is going to manage to get such clean lines that no scraping at the glass will be required, which will scratch the I-89 coating. Does anyone in this thread have any experience with painting the wood mullions on windows with this I-89 coating on the glass?

Tape off the interiors with yellow frog tape. That way, there is no scraping.

cat-my - I would hope that would work, but it seems as if there is always some paint that seeps through, even when it’s an experienced painter. Is yellow frog tape better for that than blue tape?

Oops! I meant to type @cat_ky in my last comment.

I like it better for on glass windows. You need to press it down good, so paint doesnt seep under it. I have had excellent luck using it..

Good to know!
Thank you for responding.

@M. A. S. I had to go outside to look at the windows, so I think that's a good indication that I don't notice the color difference anymore. Here are a few photos of how it looks 3 years later. Good luck!

kkhansen17 - They look beautiful. The trim you added looks great too. I’ll be trimming ours out pretty much the same as yours. What material did you use for the additional trim?

@mabsy Thank you! I think the trim was Miratec.

I also am trying to determine which white matches Marvin Elevate stone white exterior window. Can you please tell me the paint and color KK Hansen used -
Picture look like a perfect match) or anyone else who has had to color match Marvin elevate stone white .

Did anyone have Sherwin Williams color match to Marvin elevate stone white?

december14 - kkhansen17 used Sherwin Williams Alabaster and posted some photos above that show how it looks now, after 3 years.
jaegar_amber used Benjamin Moore Hardwood Putty.
If you scroll back to the beginning of this discussion, you will see how these two people reached their conclusion. There is also a reference to Sherwin Williams being able to use a custom formula to match the Marvin aluminum exterior.