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"Getting the Measure of Colour"
First published in
 Historic House
, Vol 24 No 4 November 2000: 40-42.
Introduction
Writing from Samoa, to a colleague in London, in October 1892, Robert Louis Stevensonexpressed very well a typical request that I hear on the telephone every day:"For a little work-room of my own...I should rather like to see some patterns of unglossy - well, I'll be hanged if I can describe this red - it's not Turkish and it's notRoman and it's not Indian, but it seems to partake of the two last, and yet it can't beeither of them because it ought to be able to go with vermilion. Ah what a tangled webwe weave - anyway, with what brains you have left, choose me and send me some -many - patterns of this exact shade."
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We can all perhaps relate to this frustration, this inability of the human language to accuratelyconvey a colour. Apart from
black 
and
white
, there was a time when words alone could onlyvaguely point one in the general direction of what colour was wanted.For the owner of an historic house, this had not presented a major problem. He had either leftthe existing scheme untouched, or had relied on the skills of a traditional craftsman to mix therequired shade.However, by now, it could be that the existing scheme is so worn that it threatens to give thewrong message to visitors, and positively discourage corporate clients. Similarly, the skills of the house-painter no longer seem to match those of his father's generation.
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In recent years the appearance of paint ranges with seemingly countless colours has not provided the answer. How often has the painter's version of 
 Lily White
matched that on your colour card - indeed, is that colour still available? Have you always managed to find exactlythe colour you wanted amongst the many thousands on offer? Conversely, you might havealready given up that option and settled on a smaller range. However, do you really want the bland uniformity that results from choosing from the same 57 varieties employed in many of the houses run by our largest heritage organisation?
Aim
The purpose of this article is to show how recent technical advances can eliminate much of thefrustration and expense that paint colour so often seems to lead to.
The Portable Spectrophotometer
Since 1995 we have been using a portable spectrophotometer to supplement our forty years'experience of matching paint colour. Although those human skills are still essential,technology has allowed us to do things never before possible. As a means of improvingaccuracy and speed, eliminating doubt, and reducing cost, the spectrophotometer has paid for itself several times over.
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So what! How can this development be of any concern to the owner of an historic house? A brief description of what it is, and how we have been using it might suggest a few relevantapplications.The portable spectrophotometer is a hand-held instrument that can measure paint colour, andallow its accurate reproduction. A customer can either bring in, or send, a colour to bematched. The sample can be in the form of a paint flake, a piece of wallpaper, or fabric, alump of stone or brick, or one of the many countless objects that we have been faced with todate. We also have an extensive range of colour references, and paint colour cards (Englishand foreign) - some dating back to 1807. So if a
 Pea Green
from the 1846 edition of D.R.Hay's
 Nomenclature of Colours
, or an
 Imperial Chinese Yellow
from the 1952 edition of Thomas Parsons'
 Historical Colours
is required, let us know and we can produce it. Similarly,the colour on a piece of wall plaster brought back by Sir John Soane from Herculaneum is oneof a number of the more esoteric colours on file.Frequently, however, the colour is on an object that cannot be moved, and we are asked tomeasure colours
in situ
. It may be that an area of localised damage needs to be painted tomatch the colour on the surrounding wall. Perhaps the room is too large, and time and moneytoo limited to permit a complete repaint. The paint could be from a discontinuedor unknownsource. Cost-effective inpainting is made possible by measuring the paint, and producing anew tin that matches the original under all lighting conditions.
Metamerism
Traditionally, colour matching has resulted in what is known as a metameric match - anapparent colour variation that becomes clear in different light conditions (especially beside awindow, or in photographs if a flash is used). For years the big retailers have been usingspectrophotometry to combat metamerism. In this way they can ensure that the coat andtrousers of a ready-made suit, which might have been manufactured on different continents,actually match when the customer steps out of the shop.Computer software with the spectrophotometer allows colour matches to be made for all lightconditions (daylight, domestic lighting and office lighting being the most commonly specified)and metamerism can be avoided, or predicted, if inevitable.
Colour Surveys
We are often asked to make a site visit in order to carry out a full colour survey. Even the bestrun establishments lose track of what colours have been used, but either see no reason tochange the existing scheme of decoration, or want to rationalise it. Umpteen variations of off-white were identified at Lancaster House, for example, and it was decided that this wascausing too much confusion for the maintenance programme. After an hour-long survey, eachcolour was identified, and a proposal made for the gradual reintroduction of a single colour.On-site colour surveys have been carried out for various reasons elsewhere. At Spencer House, and No 1 Greek Street, the colours produced as part of recent restoration projectswere measured in order to facilitate redecoration. In both instances, the paint had originally been mixed up in buckets under the supervision of consultants. Needless to say, as a result,
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touching-in had proved difficult as nothing seemed to match. Colour measurement allows for the identification and formulation of a paint colour, minimising delays and costs.In an attempt to give greater articulation to the architecture, John Fowler had introduced anumber of colours in the Entrance Hall at Syon House. Twenty–five years later possibleoptions for redecoration were being considered. One school of thought felt that there was noreason to change the Fowler scheme. Once again, a survey has identified these colours and aseamless redecoration, using the same colours, can now be carried out if required.Occasionally, there is no wish to carry out redecoration, and a survey is requested as part of acondition report. This sort of work was undertaken at Newhailes, in East Lothian, for example. Although there was no intention to overpaint large areas of surviving eighteenth andnineteenth century paint, it was thought important to record how the rooms looked.We do a lot of work in clubland, in institutions where the fine line between minimum changeand good maintenance tends to be observed. In one club, members had grown used to thenicotine-stained ceiling of the Cocktail Bar. The Secretary, however, wanted to tidy up theroom without upsetting any sensibilities. Colour measurements were taken, and paint produced to match the average of the stained ceiling.In view of the speed and comparative ease with which a colour survey can be completed, onceon site, it is usual for us to be asked to take measurements from the whole building. These can be stored indefinitely on computer, and brought out when needed.Spectrophotometry can also be used for camouflage purposes, and colour matches made tomany natural finishes. By taking several measurements of a Portland stone façade, for example, the average colour can be found and produced in the form of a masonry paint for therender of a new extension, or in an oil paint for gutters and downpipes.
Paint Analysis
Increasingly, especially in houses open to the public, efforts are being taken to establish how aroom had been decorated at an earlier stage. Experience has shown that the paint scrapesmuch used by an earlier generation of interior decorators provide no meaningful information.
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However, the analysis of decorative schemes by examining cross-sections taken from a room iswell established, and many recent restoration projects have employed this technique.
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For a client commissioning paint analysis it is important that the investment is safeguarded bymaintaining quality control throughout all phases of the project. Using the spectrophotometer, paints can be mixed to match the colour samples provided in the report, and the colour of theearlier scheme reproduced exactly.Restoration projects often come adrift when the contractor is handed a copy of a paint report.Unless he employs craftsmen who can mix colours on site, he will have to try and find theclosest paint colour on his colour card. Invariably, no lighting conditions are stipulated andthe impression given is that if a match is close, it will do. Either way, problems will result. Inthe one instance, a good but metameric match will be produced - one that will prove hard tore-match when maintenance painting is required. In the other, a colour only partiallyresembling the earlier one is applied. One might ask why the analysis has been commissionedif the findings are not to be acted on.
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