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donaleen

Color difference Benjamin Moore Regal Select versus Regal Classic

Donaleen Kohn
11 years ago

We've been using Benjamin Moore Regal Classic semi gloss Wyndam Cream for our kitchen trim and cabinets for several years now. My DH replaced our island; it was just installed a month ago. He painted it with BM Regal Select semi gloss and I've noticed a color difference. The Regal Select looks a little greenish next to the Regal Classic

Here is a photo showing a door painted with Regal Classic leaning against the new island which is painted with Regal Select.

Has anyone else seen a difference like this with these two paint lines? I know they use a different coloring system but I thought the result was supposed to be the same.

I suppose it is possible the paint store made a mistake.

Comments (24)

  • khinmn92
    11 years ago

    The difference is miniscule at best according to my monitor; but you're comparing something freshly painted to something that's been in place for some time. I wouldn't be surprised to see some difference due to the time difference and the effects of light, air, moisture in this type of environment.

  • Donaleen Kohn
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    It is not so miniscule in real life. I would not choose a color that has that green tint. It looks cold in daytime light (north facing window). The Classic looks warm in the same light.

    We are going to try painting a board with each paint, side by side to take care of any differences due to age, etc.

    Further, I am not painting anything else with that Regal Select. It is back to Classic for me.

  • Donaleen Kohn
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Yes, it is possible to repaint the island... but a lot of work.

  • Donaleen Kohn
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    And by the way our paint store has stopped carrying Regal Classic. You can still get it at a different paint store.

  • MuleHouse
    11 years ago

    Would you be interested in putting a glaze on the island pieces? That would move it into the 'different color' category.

  • Donaleen Kohn
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Interesting idea. Thanks for the suggestion. I've never done a glaze.

    I am hoping that when the fall light changes some, it may not be as obvious. I know the fall light can really change colors. There is a house down the block that looks gold colored in every season except now, when it looks green. That's the thing about these complex subtle colors. They change with the light.

    We will see what happens with our experiment on painting a board with the two colors. I will be talking to my paint store. And getting in touch with Benjamin Moore.

    I feel bad for DH. He worked so hard on the island. Building it and painting it. At least it was his decision (not mine) to use the new Select instead of Classic.

  • brickeyee
    11 years ago

    Different lot numbers of the same pint wander around slightly.

    You expect different lines of paint to match?

  • Donaleen Kohn
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I wouldn't expect to touch up one with the other. But I DO expect that they will look similar enough that my eye won't pick up the difference when they are several feet apart. This started because my eye DID pick up the difference when they are four feet away from one another.

    And I don't want a greenish cast at all that is in the Select but not in the Classic.

  • suzanne_sl
    11 years ago

    Yes, I've noticed exactly that. Our local paint store carries Regal Classic and that's what we've been using (we're to the last room in the house). If we need paint on a Sunday though, the local store isn't open, but Ace Hardware further away is. I needed just a bit more Dove Wing for a closet. Ace Hardware carries Regal Select. Who would think it made a difference? Turns out, it does.

  • Donaleen Kohn
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    How it looks in a larger view...

  • Donaleen Kohn
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    We scheduled a painter to come and repaint our island. I think he was shocked by the color difference between Select and Classic.

    My local paint store says Benjamin Moore is sending someone to look at it. I told them they better hurry because we are painting within a week. I said I thought they should pay for it. The paint store owner said BM will make it right.

  • Donaleen Kohn
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    The island got repainted yesterday with Classic. It is so beautiful. We don't have the hardware back on yet but I am so excited to have the right color and sheen.

  • SparklingWater
    11 years ago

    donaleen, while in my BM store this weekend to buy White Dove semigloss, I asked about the color difference between BM Classic and Select both of which the store carries. I did not tell your story.

    The store owner answered immediately that the Select would have more gray in it. I didn't press why, as I was buying Classic White Dove but I found that interesting in light of your reality. I'm sorry they didn't tell you from the onset.

  • Donaleen Kohn
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Well, interestingly, not only did they not tell me of any color difference, but, when I complained about it, they asked me to paint the color on one of their color chips to illustrate the difference, and, yes, there was a difference.

    Does your store have different color chips for Select vs Classic? It is not my understanding that there are different color chips for the two lines.

  • brickeyee
    11 years ago

    " But I DO expect that they will look similar enough that my eye won't pick up the difference when they are several feet apart."

    Different batches of the same paint wander.

    Add the vagaries of store tinting and you can understand the oft repeated warning of mixing all the cans together before starting the job.

    Sometimes it shows worse than others, and sometimes it is the room light not being exactly the same on two surfaces painted with the same paint (let alone batches, lines, or even different tinted gallons.

    One very old trick in reair work is to paint a wall from floor to ceiling and corner to corner.

    Since the light is not going to fall the same on perpendicular walls, a slight mismatch is 'hidden' in the corner.

    We expect the walls to appear slightly different.

  • SparklingWater
    11 years ago

    "Does your store have different color chips for Select vs Classic? It is not my understanding that there are different color chips for the two lines"

    No, I understand there are not actual chips of Benjamin Moore Classic and Select White Dove.

    I'm very happy for you both your island already has it's new appropriate color!

  • Donaleen Kohn
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I always wish I could edit my posts... I meant to also say that the color chip matches the Classic. It does NOT match the Select.

    I know that chips are not real paint but they are supposed to match the color.

  • Lake_Girl
    11 years ago

    Well...your DH is super handy, and I'm glad it worked out. How frustrating!

  • Donaleen Kohn
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Well, I got my check today from BM.

  • boopnp
    9 years ago

    There is a dramatic color difference between the BM pint samples and Regal Select. Here is a side by side of Gentle Gray 1626 - Regal Select on the left and the pint sample on the right. Both well dried and in the same light. This makes the pint samples virtually useless if you are going to use Regal Select. The same thing occurred with BM Blue Lace 1625. This did not happen when I used plain Regal in the past. I was actually able to use the pint sample for perfect touch-ups. Obviously I can't use the pint sample for touch ups with the Regal Select I just put up on my walls.


  • avamom2012
    9 years ago

    boopnp-the "sample pints" have more white in them than the quart/gallon paints. That might well account for the color difference you show. Once our painter used up a paint sample in a corner of a room. I immediately could see the difference with the non-sample size BM paint. Whoosh with a brush; problem fixed.

  • boopnp
    9 years ago

    Why should the pint samples have more white in them? What's the point of the samples then? Just to rip you off at over $8 per and then drive you crazy?

    I hope BM is reading this!

  • avamom2012
    9 years ago

    I don't know why, it's just what I heard and saw when a sample bit was used on the wall. Why don't you ask at the store?