Sorry I should add that these are Benjamin Moore color codes. What I'm looking for is a color name or closest color name that I can use to hold my BM fan deck up to something to compare colors.

A little background - we drove by a house and absolutely loved the colors they used. They said they were custom colors and these are the codes so am trying to test something similar out on our home.

Thank you for your detailed response. I had no idea how complicated it was.

If the codes you listed are the actual codes from the paint they used, you should be able to walk into a Benjamin Moore store and give them these codes, and they should know which base to use to make exactly the same colour you saw on the house.

Keep in mind that depending on light conditions and the surrounding area, the same colours might look different on your house.

They said they were custom colors and these are the codes

If you have the complete formula, then a Benjamin Moore store can try to duplicate it.

If all you have is the list you posted, they won't be able to do anything with it because it's missing quantities; how much of each color. In other words, the complete formula.

What I'm looking for is a color name or closest color name that I can use to hold my BM fan deck up to something to compare colors.

The best way to find the closest color match to a custom color is to use a Color Muse or Spectro 1 from Variable, Inc. It's a portable color measurement device that works with an app. You scan/measure the color and the app searches a data base for a match.

Below is the color and # of ounces of each of the codes. That will only help to a certain extent as the actual color would be different based on the base you use (light or dark). You could take this to the BM store and they could narrow it down to the colors that would result depending on which base tint you used. Hope this helps.

Benjamin Moore Abbreviation

Oxide Yellow Y3

Black S1

Oxide Red R3

Thalo Blue B1

White W1

Organic Yellow Y2

Magenta M1

Thalo Green G1

Organic Red R2

32 UNITS = 1X OR 1 OUNCE

If I understand things correctly (which I may not) the OP has only the list of WHICH colorants are in the paint, but not in what quantities. Which means, if it's truly custom, the lists are pretty much useless to recreate those colors. You might have to knock again and see if there were more numbers describing those quantities.

There is no way that list can be converted to a color. Go look at BM colors you like and do it the right way. Really .

@Creative Visual Concepts, Kevin Strader, Thanks for this list. I have a set of BM paint samples with the recipes. Knowing the codes helps me understand why I like one colour better than another or which direction (more yellow, more black, less blue, etc.) I need to move to find the colour I really want. It's particularly helpful when choosing among the various "whites"!

@Jennifer K - Agree with you 100%,

There are times when I use a color Muse to determine a colors properties and get me in the ballpark for selecting a color, but there are many tools that can be used to tweak a color or get to the exact shade you want on your walls. One of those tools is a good understanding of the base paint and the colorants that were added to create a color.

I do have more information (which I believe may be the quantity) but started off with the format because I was looking for a website to convert. It sounds like there is not. Thank you all for helping me understand these color codes, especially Creative Visual Concepts, Kevin Strader.

Patricia Colwell Consulting no need to be unkind in your response.

Hopefully this additional will help.

This is from the paint label

W103 - 1X Gallon

Y3 2x 2.0000

S1 2x 14.0000

S2 0x 8.0000

R3 0x 1.0000

Y1 0x 7.0000

#2nd color (door)

W103 - 3x Quart

Y3 0x 3.2500

S1 1x 0.0000

W1 0x 6.0000

B1 0x 16.0000

I just want to point out that since I'm still determining if this color will work, I'm trying to find the closest BM color to compare on my fan deck. I'm not able to get to a store at the moment. Is it possible to get the nearest color name of an existing BM color or is that not possible?

Thanks again for all those that posted helpful response!

I just want to point out that since I'm still determining if this color will work, I'm trying to find the closest BM color to compare on my fan deck.

I get it. Something to think about is if that color was a stock color that existed in the fandeck, they would have used that color and not gone thru the hoops to get a custom mix.

There's really no way to look at the formula and get any sense of what the color looks like because the individual colorants don't mean anything on their own.

Your question is actually a really good example of how unhelpful referencing the formula is.

@showing my home love

Understanding how paint works will help you with this endeavor.

To get an exact match to the paint that was used on the house that you loved can be accomplished. Go back to the owners and ask to see the cans again. Take a picture of the can and the label.

There are two components to every can of paint.

The base - Each Brand, Line, Base Code and Sheen are different. If you used the exact same formula and colorant in 10 different bases sold by Sherwin Williams you would produce 10 different colors.

The colorant formula - includes the colorant code and the volume added to the can. Can size is important - a quart and a gallon will need different amounts of color added.

Getting the exact same paint with the exact same formula will get you very close to the exact same color, but even with all of that information colors still may both appear or be slightly different.

Rough surfaces appear darker than smooth surfaces, rolled paint is darker than sprayed paint and even the temperature and humidity can alter the appearance of paint colors. The faster paint dries the darker the color will be. You also have to factor in fading and weathering that may have altered the color over time.

@showing my home love There isn't an application or way to convert the color formula to find the closest color match. You can have a store mix a sample size of each color, but it will require a visit to a BM Store.