I decided to write about colour matching as a result of a series of events that happened over the last couple of weeks.

First, I had a designer blame a bad paint colour choice on a bad colour match. They wanted us to use Benjamin Moore paint but the customer’s budget didn’t allow for it and we had done a colour match instead. The truth was the colour match was good but the colour choice was bad.

Then, I saw a YouTube video where a painter is sitting around playing poker with his friends, telling them how he secretly did a colour match for a customer instead of using Benjamin Moore paint, much to his buddies’ disgust.  And just the other day, I was at a client’s renovation where we did a colour match that was so bang on, it sparked an argument between me and Warren over how perfect a colour match can be.

Benjamin Moore is adamant that you can’t colour match their paint colours. They go so far as to have online videos of their CEO and tech experts, along with a slough of designers discussing this issue. On the other hand, Cloverdale Paint, a local painting company advertise their ability to do any type of colour match. They go so far as to make this part of their marketing and radio advertising campaign.

So who is right?

First, let me clarify that I am not talking about taking in your giant stuffed duck to the paint store for a colour match or trying to match a colour on a wall that was painted 10 years ago to do touchups as to avoid repainting the entire wall. I am talking about colour matching from one company’s colour fan deck with another brand of paint.  To keep things simple, I am using Benjamin Moore and Cloverdale Paint here because these are the brands we primarily use. Also, the fact is, most of the colour matching we do for our painting clients in Vancouver and around the lower mainland are to Benjamin Moore colours.

So if you like a Benjamin Moore colour, why not just use Benjamin Moore paint?

Most often its cost. Benjamin Moore’s top of the line Aura paint is $75 a gallon. For many homeowners that can have a big impact on the budget of their paint job.  We tell customers all the time “when it comes to choosing the paint, you are better off buying high quality paint from Cloverdale Paint then buying lower grade paint from Benjamin Moore, at the same price point. You will get better long-term durability from the higher quality paint, regardless of the brand.”

Cloverdale Paint’s Super Acrylic II is an excellent choice for painting the interior of homes.

By the way, if you are on a fixed budget for a paint job, spend your money on quality labour before you spend it on expensive paint. After all, if the prep work is shabby, the cut lines are wavy and there are paint hits on your ceiling, it won’t matter how expensive the paint was. It will still look cheap.

Okay, so let’s say you have decided to use Cloverdale Paint but really like a colour from Benjamin Moore. Can you get an accurate match? You can get close. We tell customers to expect a 3-5% difference in colour. In most cases that is close enough that you won’t notice the difference unless you are using dark, rich colours. Click here for my tips on how to get the best colour match possible. Colour matching can be very accurate, especially if you follow the right steps. It is a bit of an art form and we know who the best colour matching staff is in each store we deal with, so don’t be afraid to ask at the counter for someone to help you that is experienced in colour matching.

At Warline Painting, we work with our clients to find the best products and paint solutions to suit their budget and that means sometimes using Benjamin Moore and sometimes using Cloverdale Paint. At the end of the job, the customer’s satisfaction is what matters the most and we do everything possible to ensure that our clients love the colours they paint their spaces. There are no labels on the wall that say what brand and colour paint was used anyway.