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i__ratcliffe

I’m I crazy or this Benjamin Moore cabinet paint looks different?

I. Ratcliffe
last year

My contractor got the INSL-X by BM but the the paint ship and the swatch look different than the cabinet color.

Comments (10)

  • herbflavor
    last year

    you have to sample the color on the surface. it looks like the color under your thumb joint..soft chamois?? No guessing and assuming things....samples....in the space..on the surface in question whether painted walls/ floor stains/ cabinet stain/ cabinet paint / etc. cabinets all painted and installed now??..so how does this work with everything. sometimes things end up okay. Basically you have white cabinets.....if its a good paint job maybe let it go. exasperating.

  • PRO
    Lori A. Sawaya
    last year

    Unless the swatch is also INSL-X, I'd expect to be different.


    The question for me would be how much different.


    We'd measure the colors either at the store or with a portable device like a Spectro 1 from Variable.


    A Delta E more than 1.0 and we'd be having a discussion that's it's the wrong color. Less than 1.0, and it's splitting hairs.


    At the less than DE 1.0 rate, after a couple weeks living with it, looking at it, you'll forget all about the difference and won't even notice it.

  • I. Ratcliffe
    Original Author
    last year

    I forgot to specify the color is Creamy White. I checked the can of paint and it has the right color written on it. My walls are SW Alabaster white and I expected to have a little more contrast with the cabinets. This is frustrating.

  • Verbo
    last year

    Different paint chemistries will always be ”different” colors when mixed in different bases. That goes for different sheen levels looking different in the same exact brand of paint and tint, and different sub brands looking different than each other in the same color tint. Exact 100% color matching across systems and brands is never a realistic expectation.



  • PRO
    Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor
    last year

    Take your cabinet door to the Ben Moore paint shop and have their mixer compare to a chip in person. Expert eyes>online.


    We've noticed that paint chips fade with exposure and may not match duplicate chips.

  • dan1888
    last year
    last modified: last year

    The BM guy can shoot the color of your door and a formula will be produced. You can then compare that to the formula for Creamy White. Bets it's not going to match. Too green on my monitor.

  • raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
    last year

    The sample board looks like a good match to the door; the chip on the BM card looks much different (on my computer, which isn't always reliable). Did you approve the sample board?

    Take the paint can and the door to a BM store as Dan 1888 suggested.

  • I. Ratcliffe
    Original Author
    last year

    I might do that but if the store somehow, what can I do at this point. Do I need to pay my contractor to paint it over?

  • I. Ratcliffe
    Original Author
    last year

    Sorry, I meant if the store is somehow at fault.

  • raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
    last year

    If the store is at fault, you could ask them to pay for the re-paint, or at least provide new paint for free.

    But, this is where the question about that sample board is important - if, as it appears to me on my computer, the sample board matches the finished doors, and if you saw and approved the sample board, then the cost of re-painting is all on you.

    If you didn't see and approve the sample board, and the contractor just went ahead and used it based on the label on the can, he bears responsibility and should do the labor at no cost to you.