Paint attributes... how do I describe what I'm after?

So, there's an attribute I'm not sure how to describe in some contemporary new car colors like this:

The taupe/tag/beige color the 500 is getting painted is another example, and I know I've seen non-500 examples lately.

The attribute is this sort of... opacity... dustiness... milkiness? warmth? I've even seen blues which had this sort of warm quality.

Gah, those aren't the right words. I think it's more than just the shade on the continuum between Forest and Mint, but maybe I'm wrong.

I'm trying to put my finger on it, because if I can figure out what it is, I have in my head that the 2002 would look good in a darker shade of blue that still had this... slate-like-ness?

Hopefully I'm not crazy and someone can help me figure out this attribute so I have some hope of coming up with the right color...

Is non-metallic the word you're after?

That's almost a glossy urethane finish. My suggestion is to find a good body shop and ask the paint guys. They can look up the paint code quick, most times. (I used to work at a Dupont store)

"I like that cool pastel-like green on the new Fiat 500."

Or just find out the color from the manufacturer and say that (Verde Chiaro).

I was thinking pastel like too

"pre faded"

I know exactly what you are trying to describe, but can't come up with a better term than "woody".

It certainly isn't tinny. You are certainly wordlier than me.

monochromatic?

"milky"

David S. Wallens wrote: Is non-metallic the word you're after?

To me that's what it seams like he's after. Seems lately your only solid color choices are red, black and white, anything else and it's a metallic. I guess that's due to the price of metallic colors dropping since the 60's and early 70's, when muscle cars came in a load of different solid colors. Ford though still has a nice solid blue on the Mustang.

Earthy is the word I keep coming to.

When I paint my race car I'm doing it all in battleship gray with clearcoat to add shine over the top of a flat earthy color.

Can we invent a new word here? Seems like we need one.

Datsun1500 wrote: I'd describe it as "creamy"

Yep, looks like "cream of pea" soup on that Fiat. That color is horrible IMHO, I've seen colors like that in my sons diaper.

"Muted" is the proper term for that shade of opaque (non metallic) green.

The term is used when the color is grayed out a bit, as to make it less vivid.

At least that is what my graphic arts teacher said 30 some years ago, and I have been in the sign/graphics/pinstriping business my whole adult life.

I'm thinking enamel finish- like an appliance.

Non-metallic pearl.

The pearl is what gives non-metallic colors their gloss and depth without having to do 50 coats.

PS: the color on that Fiat is called "Winter Chill Pearl" paint code "JBA"

This is a great resource I use: http://www.paintscratch.com/

I always try to double check the paint code, though.

No affiliation, no canoe.

Here is another example of a pearl coat, but this one probably cost $10k

<img src="">

In reply to Brett_Murphy:

'Winter Chill Pearl' looks too Blue. I went with 'Verde Chiaro' for the Fiat above.

Low saturation.

meth cook low key hue

just get paint code and call it done

The gloss and the absence of metallic are not what I'm after. Having given only one picture to work with, I know I've totally failed to give a good description of what I'm after.

I feel like the "milky", "low-saturation", "muted", "earthy" descriptors are folks who are talking about the same attribute I am.

I'm wondering whether there is a hint of brown to each of these colors... If you mix just yellow into a blue, it'll go green. If you mix red in, it'll go purple. But if you mix red and yellow you can get a brown...

Huh... I think I might be right. I got a blue that seemed to have some of that feel to it by going here and mixing almost entirely cobalt blue with just a tiny amount of primary yellow and a pretty middle-of-the-road red... At a lighter tint value, it looked like the sort of thing we see in the Fiat.

plance1 wrote: just get paint code and call it done

Just get the paint code for a color I've never seen?

The question was about an attribute of the color so I could figure out how to pursue a different color with a similar attribute.

Or maybe my description of what I was after was as bad as my description of the attribute itself...

How about 'chalky'?

In reply to JFX001:

Oo, that's a good one! That does describe it pretty well...