Dulux White Cotton - grey/blue?!

[HolmeH]

After popping testers on my wall, I decided the white on them currently (which I like) was White Cotton as the sample dried & I couldn’t see it compared to the others. Or if not white cotton, it was close enough & the sample dried a pleasant slightly off white.

However, after spending £25 on a massive tin of paint, it’s nothing like the sample colour?! It’s grey/blue?!

Is this normal for this colour? Was the sample quite misleading..? I’m so annoyed 😭

Dulux White Cotton is a high value (very light ) white from the
Green-Yellow Hue Family.

Lots of people describe low Chroma, (near neutral) whites, from this neighbourhood as ‘true’ whites.

In some settings you may see moments of its inherent green-ness, which is not so surprising considering in the Hue Family it sits.

BUT they need light, well balanced across the spectrum and lots of it, to work at their best.

What is a surprise, is that in lighting which spikes more heavily in blue-violet wavelengths, it can shift positively blue!

It doesn’t happen in every situation, but I’m sorry it’s happened here for you.

Not much comfort now I know, but choosing a white with a degree more Chroma (colourfulness) and from further back into the Yellow Hue Family can help off-set this effect in your room.

Let me have a look.

This is 98YY 82/022 - it’s a little less light than your original colour but it’s a more colourful (higher Chroma) white and sits further back into the Yellow Hue Family so would be much less inclined to shift blue-ish.

@colette100 Wow. I didn't understand a word of that but I'm impressed.

😆 All it means - is that EVERY white paint belongs to a Hue Family.

There is actually no ‘pure’ white paint readily available on the High Street. (No matter what they are called.)

They all contain some degree of colour.
Some have more, some have less.

For that room, with your light, you need a white with more colour from a different Hue Family neighbourhood. 🌈👍

I have chosen that for our En-suite. Haven’t opened the tin yet...

Don’t panic! In balanced lighting it should be a light, near neutral white.

It’s just the more neutral the colour, the more susceptible it is to changes in light quality. Change the light and you change the colour.

Test it on large board first, before hitting the wall with it.

your lighting and bulb choice can change the colour as can your flooring

paint the desired colour on a sheet of paper and move it around at different times of day, you will be surprised at how different it will look

not sure that the sample is different to the main tin either

people tend to slap on testers, one coat, and decide from there.....dulux newer testers have a built in mini roller

when applying to the wall you will take more care....prep/clean the wall,2 coats with a good dry time between etc

the exact same 'recipe' will be used for the tester and large pot

The trouble with sampling directly on to the wall, it leaves you no flexibility to move the sample around.

Most people choose the best lit spot to view their tester, but it’s often in the less well-lit areas and shadow where colour shift can happen.

Also edges of samples can telegraph through the actual top coats.

yes thats why i always recommend a portable sample...so it can then be viewed throughout the day as the natural light changes

Wondering where did get this colour codes from?? I am looking at Dulux trade colours and wondering which warm grey/slight off white should I go for..