I am using Rustoleum’s Rusty Metal Primer as one of my railroad’s colors. I recently contacted the firm regarding what RGB values that color possessed, so I could use that info in my computer design work on my railroad logo. They replied that they only have lighter/darker limits to that color, which sounds a lot like the old railroad color drift card system used in the 20th century. Since the source itself cannot help me, is there a way for me to determine the RGB ( red green blue ) color mix values which that particular color possesses? I know that paint stores analyze old paint samples and can closely replicate a match, but that involves base and tinting proportions of liquid paint. Has anyone tried to do this for their railroad colors for use on a computer? Cedarwoodron
I THINK you might be able to do this with a scanner and one of the more advanced image editing programs. Of course if your scanner isn’t accurate, it will throw everythign off. But unless you also have a high end monitor that is properly calibrated, what’s on the screen will never match the actual sample anyway. If your monitor is calibrated you can probably get close enough by eye, just paint on a small card and hold it up. If they just use a range in manufacturing the paint int he first palce, rather than always an exact value, by eye will probably be close enough.
–Randy
Take a digital photo of a paint sample. Turn off the flash. Be sure it’s well lit with the same type of lighting that’s on your layout.
Take the digital photo, and open up mspaint.exe (The paint program that comes with windows)
You’ll notice a little eye dropper on the tool buttons on the left side It will say “Pick Color” Choose that tool.
Rest your mouse over the color you wish to have information on. Click the mouse button. You’ll notice your primary color choice (two boxes in lower left hand corner) will change to match what color you just picked.
Go to menu:Colors->Edit Colors…
A new window pops up. Hit the [Define Custom Colors >>] button.
Your currently selected color will show up in the RGB boxes. Feel free to add it to your custom palette
Sometimes color will drift due to differences in printers, monitors, and cameras. So print out a sample color swatch. If the color drift is too great, go ahead and post here again and I’ll give you a “rough” way to correct for it.
I have done it with the photographic method just described, but I used my regular photo editing program (Serif PhotoPlus X5). When I use the eyedropper it magnifies the area that it is looking at, and you will discover that you are not looking at a single color at all, but an array of similar colors that together make the appearance of the color that you want. In other words the color that you want, really does not exist on the photo, and therefore cannot be replicated with an RGB value.
That said, you should be able to get close enough for government work, and that is all that any railroad requires anyway.
ROAR
Yup, best bet is to get it matched - Ace or some other HW store, second would be as stated above - put a painted test splotch up next to your monitor and adjust the monitor color accordingly. You will get it close enough.
BTW: RGB values are for transmitted light. CYMK for reflective colors.
ctclibby
Thanks very much for all your replies. That will get me where I want to be with the computer end of the coloration process for my railroad. This forum is like an expert “cloud”, where assistance and advice are always available. Cedarwoodron