Iron Ore (SW 7069) vs Cracked Pepper (SW 9580)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Iron Ore, LRV 6 vs 5.
- Warmer
- Cracked Pepper (Lab b* 5.0 vs 1.2). Iron Ore reads neutral gray; Cracked Pepper reads taupe.
- North rooms
- Iron Ore: keeps more brightness (L* 24.4 vs 22.5 in north light) and drifts less gray (chroma drop 0.0 vs 3.1).
- Trim that works
- Natural White SW 9542, #ECEBE8, LRV 83: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 7.1, clearly different. At 7.1, treat them as different colors.
See each color
Cracked Pepper
More comparisons with Cracked Pepper
Iron Ore (SW 7069) is about as light as Cracked Pepper (SW 9580) and cooler: LRV 6 vs 5, deltaE 7.1 (clearly different).
Side by side
| Measure | Iron Ore | Cracked Pepper | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 7069 | SW 9580 | |
| Hex | #434341 | #483C37 | |
| RGB | 67, 67, 65 | 72, 60, 55 | |
| HSL | 60°, 2%, 26% | 18°, 13%, 25% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 6 | 5 | +1 |
| Lab L* | 28.4 | 26.4 | +1.9 |
| Lab a* | -0.4 | 4.3 | −4.7 |
| Lab b* | 1.2 | 5.0 | −3.8 |
| Undertone | Warm Charcoal | Warm | |
| Temperature | neutral | warm | |
| Color family | Black | Black |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Iron Ore (SW 7069), published as #434341
#343B3F
#524B41
Cracked Pepper (SW 9580), published as #483C37
#3B3436
#564437
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 Iron Ore (SW 7069) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 1 LRV points lighter (6 vs 5), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Iron Ore (SW 7069) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 1.2 against 5.0, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Cracked Pepper (SW 9580) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 5.0), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Iron Ore in other brands
Closest matches to Cracked Pepper in other brands
Common questions
- Is Iron Ore the same color as Cracked Pepper?
- They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 7.1. Iron Ore and Cracked Pepper are different colors.
- Which is lighter, Iron Ore or Cracked Pepper?
- Iron Ore, with an LRV of 6 against 5.
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.