Sherwin-Williams Slate Tile SW 7624 outside: LRV 14.8, siding, front doors and the blue-grays next to it

Sherwin-Williams Slate Tile (SW 7624) is a dark slate blue-gray with a faint green cast. Sherwin-Williams publishes an LRV of 14.769, an RGB of 96, 110, 116 (hex #606E74), rates it for interior and exterior use and files it in its Neutral family, at 233-C6 on the same strip as Smoky Blue. On a house it works as a body color on board and batten, lap siding or shingles, and as a front door or shutter color that reads quieter than navy or black. Like every color that dark, it is not for ordinary paint on vinyl siding: Sherwin-Williams' data sheets set the limit at an LRV of 56 unless you use its VinylSafe colors, and Slate Tile is not one of them.

Color values below come from Sherwin-Williams' and Benjamin Moore's own color pages and data; color differences between look-alikes are our calculations, labeled as such.

Slate Tile at a glance: the numbers Sherwin-Williams publishes

These values come from the color's page (Sherwin-Williams, SW 7624 Slate Tile) and Sherwin-Williams' public color data, which matches it. Hex and RGB are an approximate digital rendering, not a tinting formula: decide on a painted sample outdoors.

All three coordinating colors are rated for exterior use: a cool white (Ice Cube), a warm white (Shoji White) and a warm mid-gray (Intellectual Gray) for gables or a garage wing.

What an LRV of 14.8 means on siding and doors

Light Reflectance Value runs from 0 (black) to 100 (a perfect white). At 14.8, Slate Tile reflects roughly one seventh of the light that reaches it: a genuinely dark color, deeper than its soft chip suggests, though far from navy (Naval SW 6244 is 4.46, Tricorn Black SW 6258 is 2.85). Our guide to LRV and how to read it explains the scale.

On a house, that number has two practical effects. First, heat: a dark surface absorbs most of the sunlight that hits it. ASTM's standard for predicting heat buildup in PVC building products (ASTM D4803) says it plainly: generally, the darker the color, the more energy is absorbed and the greater the heat buildup, which can lead to distortion. Second, contrast: white trim in the 70s or 80s sits 60 to 70 points above Slate Tile, so every casing and corner board shows. Our overview of the pros and cons of dark exterior colors covers heat, fading and upkeep.

Door makers use the same logic: Simpson Door says any paint with an LRV under 55 counts as a dark color for its exterior products, because dark-painted wood, fiberglass or PVC absorbs more heat. Slate Tile is firmly in that category.

Slate blue, gray or green? Reading the undertone

The numbers explain why Sherwin-Williams calls Slate Tile a neutral. In RGB, blue (116) leads, green (110) is close and red (96) trails by only 20 points: heavily grayed. In Lab, b −5.11 is the blue lean and a −3.86 a green lean of almost the same size: a gray with a blue-green cast, clearly less blue than Smoky Blue (b −8.67) and greener than Wall Street (a −1.71). That is the "slate" in the name: a cool, slightly green gray, not a denim blue.

• North-facing wall or overcast sky. A deep charcoal-gray, the blue barely visible.
• Full sun. Lighter and bluer than the chip, a soft weathered slate.
• Next to lawn and evergreens. The green cast comes forward; at dusk it can read faintly teal.
• Against red brick or warm stone, or under a charcoal roof. The masonry pushes it bluer; the roof makes it read calm and coordinated.

Strip 233: Slate Tile between Wall Street and Smoky Blue

Slate Tile sits sixth on Sherwin-Williams strip 233. The strip is unusual: its three deepest colors have almost the same LRV, so they differ in hue rather than depth. Values from Sherwin-Williams' color data:

That makes a ready-made two-tone scheme: Reflection or Evening Shadow, near-neutral light grays in Sherwin-Williams' Lab data, on the upper story or gables, Slate Tile on the lower story or porch, and a white trim from outside the strip.

Slate Tile vs Smoky Blue and the other Sherwin-Williams blue-grays

These are the colors Sherwin-Williams' color data lists as similar to Slate Tile, plus Distance and Naval, two blues people often compare it with. LRVs come from Sherwin-Williams; the color difference (ΔE2000) is our calculation from its published Lab values. A value under about 2 is hard to tell apart on a wall; above 5 is clearly a different color.

One trap in that list: Sherwin-Williams' similar colors for Slate Tile also include Stargazer SW 9635 (LRV 16.57), which its data rates for interior use only, so it is not an option for siding or a front door. Torn between the two strip neighbors? Our Smoky Blue SW 7604 exterior guide covers the bluer one in the same detail. For a navy body instead, see the Naval SW 6244 exterior guide; the dark blue siding guide compares blue-gray and navy families across brands.

Benjamin Moore colors near Slate Tile

There is no official cross-brand equivalent. These are the closest by our calculation from the LRV and screen RGB on Benjamin Moore's color pages, with its own descriptions quoted.

Only Blue Spruce is close enough to be hard to tell apart on a screen, and it is about two LRV points lighter. Treat all four as starting points for a painted sample, and confirm the color can be tinted in the exterior line you choose.

Slate Tile as a siding color: board and batten, lap siding, shingles

• Board and batten. Under a charcoal standing-seam roof with black window frames, Slate Tile gives a cool, low-contrast modern farmhouse look; wood porch posts and a stained door keep it from feeling cold. See our board and batten painting guide.
• Lap siding on a Colonial, Cape Cod or Craftsman. With crisp white trim, a deeper take on the pale gray-blue clapboard house.
• Cedar shingles. On rough-sawn shingles a solid color can read slightly darker than on smooth boards, because the texture holds shadow; test on a scrap shingle, not a smooth board.
• Fiber cement and stucco. The Duration data sheet lists both among its surfaces, with a primer on masonry above pH 9.

Slate Tile on vinyl siding: the LRV 56 rule

Vinyl siding expands as it heats, and a dark coat makes it hotter than its factory color. The data sheets for Duration, Emerald Exterior and SnapDry all say: do not paint vinyl with any color darker than the original, or with an LRV below 56, unless you use VinylSafe colors, because the vinyl may warp. The Duration Exterior data sheet is one example.

Slate Tile, at 14.8, is far below 56, and it is not in the VinylSafe palette, a separate collection of 100 colors coded SWVS that Sherwin-Williams says is formulated to resist warping and buckling on sound, stable vinyl. The page lists the lines that carry it: Emerald Rain Refresh, Emerald, Duration, Resilience, Latitude and SuperPaint, plus SnapDry Door & Trim Paint. None of the VinylSafe names is Slate Tile (the only one with "blue" in its name is Nikko Blue, SWVS 393): for a dark slate on vinyl, pick from that palette and hold the sample next to a Slate Tile chip. Vinyl siding itself is made to ASTM D3679, and its certification program is now run by the Polymeric Exterior Products Association, formerly the Vinyl Siding Institute. Our VinylSafe guide goes through the palette.

The SnapDry data sheet repeats the same limit for vinyl and other PVC products, so Slate Tile shutters belong on wood or composite shutters, not on vinyl ones.

Slate Tile on a front door

As a door color, Slate Tile frames the entry the way black does, with less severity, and still reads as a color in daylight. It works best on a white, cream, light gray or greige house, and on red brick, where its cool cast balances the warm masonry; on a house that is already blue-gray, a wood or muted red door is safer. Sherwin-Williams' own front door color ideas name Tricorn Black, Iron Ore and In the Navy as timeless door colors. Slate Tile is not on that page, but it plays the same role at a lighter depth (LRV 14.8 against 2.85, 5.55 and 3.71), so it is the softer choice when black or navy feels too heavy. Our Sherwin-Williams front door colors guide compares the main options, and pairings by house color are in front door colors for a gray house and for a red brick house.

• Wood or steel door, hardest finish. Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel is for doors, trim and other small areas, not the body of a house; its semi-gloss data sheet calls for application above 50°F.
• A door that must close the same day. SnapDry Door & Trim's semi-gloss data sheet gives 1 hour to touch and 2 hours to recoat at 77°F, within 50 to 90°F and 40 to 70% humidity. Our SnapDry vs Emerald Urethane comparison covers the trade-off.
• Smooth fiberglass door. Therma-Tru's finishing FAQ asks for an exterior-grade acrylic latex on its Smooth-Star doors and warns that paints labeled interior/exterior often do not adhere well to them. Read your door maker's instructions first.

Trim, door and accent colors with a Slate Tile body

Extra White against Slate Tile is a gap of about 71 LRV points: sharp on a symmetrical house, busy on one with a lot of trim. Shoji White closes the gap by about 11 points and warms the scheme. All values come from Sherwin-Williams' color data, where all eight colors are rated for exterior use.

Which Sherwin-Williams product, and when to paint

Figures from the product data sheets:

Duration and Emerald Exterior should not be applied if air or surface temperatures may fall below 35°F within 48 hours, which still leaves room for a late-fall siding job on a dry, mild week. The door and trim enamels need 50°F, the real limit for a front door once nights turn cold. More detail: SuperPaint vs Emerald and the Duration Exterior guide.

If the house was built before 1978, assume the old paint may contain lead. Under the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, paid contractors who disturb paint in pre-1978 homes must be certified and work lead-safe; homeowners doing their own work are generally exempt, but the precautions still protect your family.

How much Slate Tile do you need?

Our arithmetic from the coverage figures above, for two coats:

• Body of a two-story house. Take 2,000 sq ft of siding after subtracting windows and doors. Two coats make 4,000 sq ft; at 250 to 300 sq ft per gallon of Duration or Emerald Exterior that is about 13 to 16 gallons: three 5-gallon buckets, plus a spare gallon for rough or thirsty siding.
• Front door. A 3 by 7 ft door with its edges and frame is about 45 sq ft on the outside; two coats make 90 sq ft. At 350 to 400 sq ft per gallon of trim enamel, a quart covers 87 to 100 sq ft: just enough, so buy two if you also paint the inside face.

Going from white to Slate Tile is a drastic color change: the SnapDry data sheet notes that a coat of primer then improves the hiding of the topcoat, and recommends its P-Shade primer for hide and color.

How to test Slate Tile before you commit

1. Paint two coats on a 2 by 2 ft board: a dark color looks deeper on a large area than on a chip.
2. View it on each side of the house, morning, noon and evening, and on an overcast day, with your trim white and roof in the same view.
3. Put Smoky Blue and Wall Street next to it to see whether you want bluer or plainer.
4. Try it on a photo of your own house before buying a single gallon.

For the wider Sherwin-Williams exterior range, start with our Sherwin-Williams exterior paint guide.

Sources and references

• Sherwin-Williams, SW 7624 Slate Tile: LRV, RGB, family, strip, use, coordinating colors.
• Sherwin-Williams, VinylSafe colors for vinyl siding: the palette and the lines that carry it.
• Sherwin-Williams, product data sheets for Duration Exterior, Emerald Exterior Gloss, SnapDry Semi-Gloss and Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel Semi-Gloss: LRV 56 vinyl rule, temperatures, recoat, coverage, primer.
• Sherwin-Williams, front door paint colors: the maker's own door color ideas.
• Benjamin Moore, color pages for Blue Spruce 1637, Britannia Blue 1623, Knoxville Gray HC-160 and Nocturnal Gray 2135-30: LRV, screen RGB and descriptions.
• ASTM International, D4803, Standard Test Methods for Predicting Heat Buildup in PVC Building Products and D3679, Standard Specification for Rigid PVC Siding: heat buildup of dark colors; the vinyl siding specification.
• Polymeric Exterior Products Association, certified siding products: the certification program formerly run by the Vinyl Siding Institute.
• Simpson Door Company, Paint it black: LRV under 55 defines a dark door color.
• Therma-Tru, frequently asked questions: paint type for smooth fiberglass doors.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program: pre-1978 homes and certified contractors.