Cracked Pepper (Behr PPU18-01) vs Iron Ore (SW 7069)

Living room with walls painted Behr Cracked Pepper PPU18-01 (simulated) — Cracked Pepper Behr PPU18-01#4F5152, LRV 8.2 (estimated)

Living room with walls painted Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore SW 7069 (simulated) — Iron Ore SW 7069#434341, LRV 6

Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.

Quick decision

Lighter: Cracked Pepper, LRV 8.2 vs 6.
Warmer: Iron Ore, both neutral gray (Lab b* 1.2 vs -0.9).
North rooms: Cracked Pepper keeps more brightness (L* 30.2 vs 24.4 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
Trim that works: Ivory Keys Behr T16-17, #F3F1E7, LRV 87.7 (estimated): the Behr white closest in hue to both.
Closeness: deltaE 5.1, clearly different. At 5.1, treat them as different colors.

See each color

Cracked PepperBehr PPU18-01LRV 8.2 (estimated), #4F5152

More comparisons with Cracked Pepper

Cracked Pepper vs PeppercornBehr PPU18-01 vs SW 7674deltaE 2.8, noticeably different

Iron OreSherwin-Williams, SW 7069LRV 6, #434341

More comparisons with Iron Ore

Cracked Pepper (Behr PPU18-01) is slightly lighter than Iron Ore (SW 7069) and slightly cooler: LRV 8.2 vs 6, deltaE 5.1 (clearly different).

Side by side

Measure	Cracked Pepper	Iron Ore	Gap
Brand	Behr	Sherwin-Williams
Color code	PPU18-01	SW 7069
Hex	#4F5152	#434341
RGB	79, 81, 82	67, 67, 65
HSL	200°, 2%, 32%	60°, 2%, 26%
LRV (light reflectance value)	8.2 (est.)	6	+2.2
Lab L*	34.3	28.4	+6.0
Lab a*	-0.6	-0.4	−0.1
Lab b*	-0.9	1.2	−2.1
Undertone	Warm	Warm Charcoal
Temperature	warm	neutral
Color family	Gray	Black

Same paint, two kinds of light

Cracked Pepper (Behr PPU18-01), published as #4F5152

North light (cool, indirect)
#404850

South light (warm, direct)
#5E5A52

Iron Ore (SW 7069), published as #434341

North light (cool, indirect)
#343B3F

South light (warm, direct)
#524B41

These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works

Which should you pick

Rules of thumb computed from the LRV and Lab values in the table above; no room test was done.

Pick Cracked Pepper (Behr PPU18-01) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 2.2 LRV points lighter (8.2 vs 6), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Pick Cracked Pepper (Behr PPU18-01) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is -0.9 against 1.2, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
Pick Iron Ore (SW 7069) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 1.2), which counters cool indirect light

Closest matches to Cracked Pepper in other brands

Closest matches to Iron Ore in other brands

Common questions

Is Cracked Pepper the same color as Iron Ore?: They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 5.1. Cracked Pepper and Iron Ore are different colors.
Which is lighter, Cracked Pepper or Iron Ore?: Cracked Pepper, with an LRV of 8.2 against 6.

Full pages

Related comparisons

By Paint Pairs. Color data from manufacturer specifications, via PaintDB. The most-viewed colors are checked against each manufacturer's own color page.

Published 2026-10-01. Updated 2026-10-01.

Sources: Cracked Pepper: 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; Iron Ore: 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.