African Gray (SW 9162)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
African Gray (SW 9162) is a deep, neutral gray from Sherwin-Williams: LRV 31, so it reflects about 31 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with African Gray
Four Sherwin-Williams colors picked for African Gray by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper gray, a quiet contrast from another family, a dark accent. Sherwin-Williams did not choose these pairings.
Closest match in every other brand
Each brand's closest color to African Gray, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Moore | Tucker Gray | CW-705 | 31.1 | 0.9 | indistinguishable |
| Behr | Gray Area | 770F-4 | 28.8 | 1.6 | very close |
| Valspar | Stone Mason Gray | 4008-1C | 34 | 2.2 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Steeple Gray | 1012-5 | 30 | 1.6 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Sherwin-Williams
The Sherwin-Williams gray colors nearest to African Gray (LRV 31) by LRV.
Lighter than African Gray
Darker than African Gray
Color data
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams |
|---|---|
| Color code | SW 9162 |
| Hex | #939899 |
| RGB | 147, 152, 153 |
| HSL | 190°, 3%, 59% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 31 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 62.5, -1.6, -1.1 |
| Undertone | Neutral |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Color family | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
African Gray (SW 9162), published as #939899
#828E97
#A4A299
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Sherwin-Williams
More from Sherwin-Williams
Common questions
- What is the LRV of African Gray (SW 9162)?
- African Gray has an LRV of 31. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so African Gray is a deep color.
- What is the closest match to African Gray in another brand?
- Tucker Gray (BM CW-705) from Benjamin Moore, at a deltaE of 0.9 (indistinguishable).
- Is African Gray warm or cool?
- Sherwin-Williams lists African Gray as neutral, with a Neutral undertone. Its Lab b* value is -1.1; 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.