How to Read Sherwin-Williams Paint Codes (Plus Benjamin Moore and Behr)
There's a can in the garage with a faded sticker that says SW 7029, Extra White base, eggshell. That sticker is everything you need to repaint the hallway perfectly. Here's how to read it, brand by brand.
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Anatomy of a Sherwin-Williams label
Take a real one: SW 7029 Agreeable Gray, Extra White base, eggshell. Four pieces of information, each doing a different job:
- SW 7029: the color number. One number, one color, in the master catalog at every Sherwin-Williams store in the country. This is the part that makes perfect remixing possible years later.
- Agreeable Gray: the marketing name. Helpful for searching online, useless at the mixing machine by itself, since names get reused across collections and occasionally retired.
- Extra White: the base, the untinted paint the colorants went into. Light colors use whiter bases; deep colors use Deep or Ultradeep base. Same code in the wrong base reads differently on the wall.
- Eggshell: the sheen. Two walls in SW 7029 look like two different colors if one is flat and one is semi-gloss, so the sheen is part of the record, not a detail.
Below those, the mixing label lists the formula: cryptic lines like "B1 Black 4/32" showing the exact colorant doses. You never need to understand them. If the SW number is legible, the formula lines are redundant; if the number has faded, a photo of the formula lines lets a store reconstruct the color.
Where the SW code hides
- On the can: the tint sticker on the lid or upper side, applied at mixing time.
- On a swatch or chip: printed directly under the color name.
- Online: search the color name at sherwin-williams.com and the SW number is on the color page, along with RGB values for digital matching.
- From the store: Sherwin-Williams keeps mixing history on customer accounts. If you or the previous owner bought there with a phone number, the store can pull every color ever mixed for that account. Worth one phone call before any harder method.
No can, no chip, no account? Jump to our hub guide on finding your paint code when the can is gone, which covers chip-scanning and color-match apps.
Benjamin Moore codes
Benjamin Moore organizes colors into collections, and the code carries the collection prefix:
| Prefix | Collection | Famous example |
|---|---|---|
| OC | Off-White Collection | OC-17 White Dove |
| HC | Historical Colors | HC-172 Revere Pewter |
| AF | Affinity | AF-690 Metropolis |
| CC / 4-digit | Classic and core catalog | 1548 Classic Gray |
The prefix-number pair is the whole identifier. Any Benjamin Moore dealer remixes HC-172 identically. The same color sometimes exists under two numbers (Classic Gray is both 1548 and OC-23), which trips people up online; either number mixes the same paint.
The can label works like Sherwin-Williams': color code, base, sheen, and formula lines, on a sticker applied at tinting.
Behr codes
Behr (sold at Home Depot) uses letter-number codes like N510-4 Wall Street or S350-2 Sage Green:
- The letter groups the color family. N codes are neutrals, S codes are saturated colors, and so on through the deck.
- The first number block places the color within that family's hue range.
- The final digit is depth: low numbers are light, high numbers are dark. N510-1 and N510-7 are the same gray family, several shades apart.
Marquee colors carry MQ codes and the classic numbered whites (Polar Bear 75) skip the system entirely, but the sticker logic is identical: code, base, sheen, formula, printed at the mixing desk.
Crossing brands: what transfers, what doesn't
The question behind half the searches that land here: can Home Depot mix SW 7029? Not from the code. Each brand's numbers exist only in its own system, and there's no official conversion table between them.
What does work:
- Physical matching. Any store with a spectrophotometer can scan a chip or a brushed-out sample and mix its own closest version. Accurate to the eye in most cases, but it gets a new code in their system.
- Published "equivalents" online. Treat them as starting points, not answers. Different pigment bases shift undertones, so test a sample on your wall before committing to a room.
- Staying in-brand. The only path to a true remix. This is why the brand name is part of the record: "7029" without "Sherwin-Williams" is just a number.
kept stores every paint code, brand, and finish by room so your next Sherwin-Williams order is a search, not a guessing game.
[ try kept free ]Make the code permanent
Reading the code is the skill you need today. Recording it is what makes today the last time. The record that survives is brand + code + sheen + room, captured while the can still exists:
the per-room paint record
- ☐ Brand (Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Behr)
- ☐ Color code and name (SW 7029 Agreeable Gray)
- ☐ Sheen (flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss)
- ☐ Base, if listed (Extra White, Deep)
- ☐ A photo of the tint sticker
- ☐ Where and when it was used ("hallway + stairwell, 2024")
Put that in kept per room and it joins the rest of your house's memory: the filter sizes, the model numbers, the project history you're already keeping in your home improvement records. New homeowners: this capture is easiest in your first week in the house, while the previous owner's cans are still in the garage.
Frequently asked questions
How do you read a Sherwin-Williams paint code?
A Sherwin-Williams code is SW followed by four digits, like SW 7029 (Agreeable Gray). The number identifies one exact color in the master catalog, so any Sherwin-Williams store can remix it perfectly. The full label adds the base (like Extra White), the sheen (flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss), and the tint formula: the exact colorant amounts the mixing machine dispensed.
Where is the paint code on a Sherwin-Williams can?
On the mixing label, usually on the lid or the side of the can. Look for the printed sticker the store applied when the paint was tinted: it shows the color name, the SW number, the base, the sheen, and the formula lines. On color swatches and chips, the SW number is printed under the color name.
Can Home Depot match a Sherwin-Williams paint code?
Not from the code alone. SW numbers only exist in Sherwin-Williams' system, so Home Depot can't type SW 7029 into their machine. What they can do is scan a physical sample (a paint chip or a brushed-out swatch) with a spectrophotometer and mix the closest Behr equivalent under a new formula. For an exact remix, take the code to a Sherwin-Williams store.
How do Benjamin Moore paint codes work?
Benjamin Moore uses collection prefixes plus a number: OC for Off-White Collection (OC-17 is White Dove), HC for Historical Colors (HC-172 is Revere Pewter), AF for Affinity, plus plain numbered colors like 1548. The prefix-number pair is the identifier any Benjamin Moore dealer can remix. Like SW numbers, they don't translate to other brands.
What if the paint can label is unreadable?
Cut a chip from a hidden spot (behind an outlet cover or inside a closet) and have a paint store scan it with a spectrophotometer. The match accounts for fading, which often beats remixing the original formula on an older wall. Then write down what they mix for you, including brand, code, and sheen, so this is the last time you do it blind.