Iron Ore (SW 7069) vs Forged Steel (SW 9565)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Forged Steel, LRV 10 vs 6.
- Warmer
- About the same, both neutral gray (Lab b* 1.2 vs 1.2).
- North rooms
- Forged Steel keeps more brightness (L* 34.5 vs 24.4 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
- Trim that works
- Natural White SW 9542, #ECEBE8, LRV 83: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 8.3, clearly different. At 8.3, treat them as different colors.
See each color
Iron Ore (SW 7069) is slightly darker than Forged Steel (SW 9565) and about as warm: LRV 6 vs 10, deltaE 8.3 (clearly different).
Side by side
| Measure | Iron Ore | Forged Steel | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 7069 | SW 9565 | |
| Hex | #434341 | #5B5B59 | |
| RGB | 67, 67, 65 | 91, 91, 89 | |
| HSL | 60°, 2%, 26% | 60°, 1%, 35% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 6 | 10 | −4 |
| Lab L* | 28.4 | 38.6 | −10.3 |
| Lab a* | -0.4 | -0.4 | −0.0 |
| Lab b* | 1.2 | 1.2 | +0.1 |
| Undertone | Warm Charcoal | Neutral | |
| Temperature | neutral | neutral | |
| Color family | Black | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Iron Ore (SW 7069), published as #434341
#343B3F
#524B41
Forged Steel (SW 9565), published as #5B5B59
#4C5257
#6A6459
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 Forged Steel (SW 9565) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 4 LRV points lighter (10 vs 6), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Closest matches to Iron Ore in other brands
Closest matches to Forged Steel in other brands
Common questions
- Is Iron Ore the same color as Forged Steel?
- They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 8.3. Iron Ore and Forged Steel are different colors.
- Which is lighter, Iron Ore or Forged Steel?
- Forged Steel, with an LRV of 10 against 6.
Full pages
Related comparisons
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.