The closest Benjamin Moore match: Wrought Iron 2124-10, an LRV near 6 that lands almost exactly on Iron Ore's LRV of 6, with a slightly cooler undertone.
The closest Behr match: Cracked Pepper PPU18-01, a soft black around LRV 6 that reads a hair more neutral than Iron Ore.
The catch: the delta between these colors is small but real, so confirm the match on your own wall before you commit a whole facade or room.
Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore (SW 7069) is one of the most requested soft blacks in the country, so it is no surprise that people painting with another brand want the closest version they can get. Here is the honest starting point: no paint company publishes official cross-brand equivalents, and Benjamin Moore has never released a color it calls the Iron Ore match. What we can do, and what how cross-brand paint matching works explains in detail, is line up colors by their two measurable traits: light reflectance value (LRV) and undertone. Iron Ore sits at an LRV of 6, a very dark warm charcoal, and the goal is to find the color that matches that reflectance while drifting as little as possible in undertone.
The closest matches, side by side
We line up four colors below: Iron Ore as the reference, then the two Benjamin Moore candidates and the Behr candidate that homeowners and designers reach for most often when Iron Ore is not available. Read the table by the last two columns first. The LRV tells you whether the color will feel as dark, and the undertone tells you which way it drifts. A match that nails the depth but leans the wrong way in undertone can still disappoint on a big wall, so both numbers matter.
| Color | Brand + code | Approx LRV | Undertone vs Iron Ore | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Ore (approx #43403C) | Sherwin-Williams SW 7069 | 6 | Reference: warm soft black | The color you are matching |
| Wrought Iron (approx #494B4B) | Benjamin Moore 2124-10 | about 6.2 | A touch cooler, faint green-gray | Closest BM match |
| Kendall Charcoal (approx #63625B) | Benjamin Moore HC-166 | about 10.1 | Lighter and warmer, brown-gray | Softer alternative |
| Cracked Pepper (approx #454749) | Behr PPU18-01 | about 6 | Slightly more neutral | Closest Behr match |
Try it on your house
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LRV figures are approximations of each brand's published data and can vary slightly by batch and finish. The hex values noted above (for example, Iron Ore at approx #43403C) are digital renderings for on-screen reference only, and the same is true of any RGB you convert them to. A physical paint chip under your own light is the authoritative reference, and it will always beat a monitor.
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Why there is no exact Iron Ore equivalent
Two colors can share an LRV and still look different in the can and on the wall, and that is the heart of cross-brand matching. Each manufacturer builds its darks on a different tint base with a different set of colorants, so the path they take to reach a deep charcoal is not the same. Iron Ore leans warm, with a quiet brown-green complexity that keeps it from going flat. Benjamin Moore's Wrought Iron reaches a nearly identical depth but travels there with a touch more cool gray, which is why it can read a shade greener in bright north light.
Deck and chip differences widen the gap. Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, and Behr photograph and print their fan decks differently, so a chip comparison in the store can mislead you before a drop of paint is mixed. Undertone also shifts with sheen: the same formula in a flat exterior body looks different from a satin front door. None of this makes a good match impossible, it just means the match lives on your wall, not in a conversion chart.
There is one more honest caveat about very dark colors. At an LRV of 6, Iron Ore absorbs most of the light that hits it, so the small differences between it and Wrought Iron get amplified in the shadows and softened in direct sun. That is the opposite of a pale neutral, where undertone tends to show more in bright light. With a soft black, the surrounding light, the roof line, and the reflected color from a lawn or a brick path do more to the final look than the tiny formula gap between two brands. It is another reason we push people to sample rather than trust a spec sheet.
When the Benjamin Moore match works (and when to stay Sherwin-Williams)
A close match is a tool, not a rule. Whether Wrought Iron is the right call depends on what you are painting, what light it lives in, and whether you are free to choose or tied to an existing color. Here is how we decide.
- Use Wrought Iron when your painter or supplier stocks Benjamin Moore and you want the same near-black depth without a special order. The LRV match is close enough that most people never notice the swap on a full facade.
- Consider Kendall Charcoal if you loved Iron Ore in the fan deck but found it too heavy on a large sunless wall. At an LRV around 10 it keeps the soft-black character with a little more air.
- Stay with Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore when you are color-matching existing trim, a neighbor's approved HOA color, or a documented spec. Matching the real thing beats a close cousin every time.
- Check the undertone against your fixed elements (roof, stone, brick) before you decide. Iron Ore's warmth flatters warm masonry, while Wrought Iron's cooler edge can suit gray stone. Our profile of Iron Ore undertones and best rooms walks through where it shines, and if you are weighing it against a truer black, a related side-by-side comparison with Tricorn Black shows how far the softness carries.
Related matches
Matching one soft black often leads to the next. If you are also chasing a truer, flatter black, see the closest Benjamin Moore match for Tricorn Black. And if your project pairs Iron Ore with a warm greige-brown, the Benjamin Moore match for Urbane Bronze covers that earthy neutral the same way.
Frequently asked questions
What is the closest Benjamin Moore equivalent of Iron Ore?
The closest widely recommended Benjamin Moore match is Wrought Iron 2124-10, with an LRV near 6, almost identical to Iron Ore's LRV of 6. It reads a touch cooler than Iron Ore's warm charcoal, with a faint green-gray undertone. Kendall Charcoal HC-166 is a lighter alternative at an LRV around 10. No brand publishes an official equivalent, so confirm the match on your own wall.
Is there a Behr version of Iron Ore?
The closest widely recommended Behr match is Cracked Pepper PPU18-01, a soft black with an LRV around 6, very close to Iron Ore. It sits a hair more neutral, so in cool north light it can look slightly less warm than Iron Ore. Behr and Sherwin-Williams use different bases and colorants, so a physical sample is the only way to be sure.
Will the Benjamin Moore match look exactly like Iron Ore?
No. Even the closest match differs slightly because each brand mixes color from its own base and tint system. Wrought Iron matches Iron Ore's LRV almost exactly, but its undertone is a touch cooler. Under warm interior light the two can look nearly identical, while bright daylight reveals the small undertone gap. Always test both on the actual wall.
Does Iron Ore's LRV of 6 make it black or gray?
Iron Ore is a soft black, sometimes called a charcoal. At an LRV of 6 it is very dark but not a true jet black, which sits near an LRV of 3 or lower. That low reflectance is why it holds its depth on exteriors and trim while still reading softer and warmer than a pure black such as Tricorn Black.
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Trademark notice. Sherwin-Williams and Iron Ore, Benjamin Moore, and Behr are trademarks of their respective owners. FacadeColorizer is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by these companies. Brand and color names are used descriptively (nominative fair use). Hex and RGB values are approximate digital renderings; the only authoritative reference is a physical paint chip.
Trademarks mentioned (Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Behr, Caparol, Brillux, Sto, Alpina, Valspar, PPG, Glidden, Dulux, Crown Trade, Sandtex, Farrow & Ball, Johnstone's, Leyland) are property of their respective owners. FacadeColorizer is independent and not affiliated with any of them. Nominative fair use under Lanham Act §1125.
