Cold Steel (Behr MQ5-20)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Cold Steel (Behr MQ5-20) is a deep, cool blue from Behr: LRV 26.5, so it reflects about 27 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Cold Steel
Four Behr colors picked for Cold Steel by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper blue, a quiet contrast from another family, a dark accent. Behr did not choose these pairings.
Closest match in every other brand
Each brand's closest color to Cold Steel, ranked by CIEDE2000 (deltaE): under 1.0 is indistinguishable, 1.0 to 2.3 very close, 2.3 to 5 noticeably different, over 5 clearly different.
| Brand | Closest color | Code | LRV | deltaE | How close |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams | Poolhouse | SW 7603 | 29 | 2.6 | noticeably different |
| Benjamin Moore | Mineral Alloy | 1622 | 28.5 | 1.1 | very close |
| Valspar | Sharkfin | 4007-2A | 26 | 2.6 | noticeably different |
| PPG Paints | Chalky Blue | 1153-5 | 26 | 1.8 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Behr
The Behr blue colors nearest to Cold Steel (LRV 26.5 (estimated)) by LRV.
Lighter than Cold Steel
Darker than Cold Steel
Color data
| Brand | Behr |
|---|---|
| Color code | MQ5-20 |
| Hex | #808F98 |
| RGB | 128, 143, 152 |
| HSL | 203°, 10%, 55% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 26.5 (estimated from the hex) |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 58.5, -3.4, -6.6 |
| Undertone | Cool |
| Temperature | cool |
| Color family | Blue |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Cold Steel (Behr MQ5-20), published as #808F98
#6E8696
#929998
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Behr
More from Behr
Common questions
- What is the LRV of Cold Steel (Behr MQ5-20)?
- Cold Steel has an LRV of 26.5 (estimated from its hex value). LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Cold Steel is a deep color.
- What is the closest match to Cold Steel in another brand?
- Mineral Alloy (BM 1622) from Benjamin Moore, at a deltaE of 1.1 (very close).
- Is Cold Steel warm or cool?
- Behr lists Cold Steel as cool, with a Cool undertone. Its Lab b* value is -6.6; a higher b* is warmer and yellower, a lower one cooler and bluer.
Sources: hex as published by the manufacturer, via PaintDB (CC BY 4.0); LRV is not published by Behr for this color and is estimated here from the color's own hex value. Color differences are CIEDE2000 values computed by this site from the hex values (data snapshot 2026-10-01). Color names and codes belong to their manufacturers.