Steel Wool (BM 2121-20)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Steel Wool (BM 2121-20) is a deep, neutral gray from Benjamin Moore: LRV 20.7, so it reflects about 21 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Steel Wool
Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for Steel Wool by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper gray, a quiet contrast from another family, a dark accent. Benjamin Moore did not choose these pairings.
Closest match in every other brand
Each brand's closest color to Steel Wool, 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 | Before the Storm | SW 9564 | 18 | 1.7 | very close |
| Behr | Liquid Mercury | N510-5 | 19.3 | 2.2 | very close |
| Valspar | Almost Charcoal | 4008-2B | 19 | 1.7 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Volcanic Ash | 1012-6 | 18 | 3.1 | noticeably different |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore gray colors nearest to Steel Wool (LRV 20.7) by LRV.
Lighter than Steel Wool
Darker than Steel Wool
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | 2121-20 |
| Hex | #787B7D |
| RGB | 120, 123, 125 |
| HSL | 204°, 2%, 48% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 20.7 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 51.4, -0.7, -1.5 |
| Undertone | Neutral |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Color family | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Steel Wool (BM 2121-20), published as #787B7D
#68727B
#89847D
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Benjamin Moore
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Common questions
- What is the LRV of Steel Wool (BM 2121-20)?
- Steel Wool has an LRV of 20.7. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Steel Wool is a deep color.
- What is the closest match to Steel Wool in another brand?
- Before the Storm (SW 9564) from Sherwin-Williams, at a deltaE of 1.7 (very close).
- Is Steel Wool warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Steel Wool as neutral, with a Neutral undertone. Its Lab b* value is -1.5; a higher b* is warmer and yellower, a lower one cooler and bluer.
Sources: LRV and hex as published by the manufacturer, via PaintDB (CC BY 4.0). 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.