Benjamin Moore Gray Paint Reflectance Spectra

I am posting this here as a point of information in case someone might find it useful. I'm organizing a new imaging space in my home and was looking for readily available neutral tone options for walls and surfaces. My long time colleague, Dan Kushel, Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus, Art Conservation, Buffalo State College, shared with me a spectral comparison he did of a few Benjamin Moore gray paints as related to Munsell calibrated neutral grays. He was seeking to find appropriate tones for the schools imaging/photographic labs and studios at the time. One can buy the Munsell paints but they are very expensive. He also tested some Gray Formica laminate surfaces to find the good neutrality for work surfaces. With his kind permission, I post his PDF.</h2>

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<p>This is rather old data I've kept around, YMMV:<br>

Go to your local PPG Paint dealer (PPG used to be known as Pittsburgh Paint<br />and Glass) and have them mix up the following formula:<br /><br />1 gallon Interior Latex Flat Pastel Base 80-110<br />B-12 L-36 O-3<br />This will make one gallon of Munsell #8 gray wall paint.<br /><br />And:<br /><br />Surround Recommendations:<br />N-7 Paint Formula<br />Recommended for interior walls<br />Behr Paint available at Home Depot<br />Base – Premium Plus Interior Flat (1500A) pastel base<br />Formula <br /><br />Colorant OZ 48 96<br />B Lamp black 0 15 1<br />I Brown oxide 0 3 1<br />T Medium Yellow 0 1 1<br /><br />Recommended for the metal walls of a SpectraLight booth<br />Polyurethane<br />Sherwin Williams <br />Tel: 201-933-3800<br />Formula F63VXA3082-4350</p>

<p>Thanks for the great additional info, Andrew! </p>

<p>X-Rite also provides <a href="https://www.xrite.com/documents/literature/en/N7_Memo_2013_en.pdf">updated N7 formulas for Behr paint</a> (the 1500A base is very much retired). </p>

<p>Thanks for the X-Rite link, Colin. Very Useful!</p>