"Black" means nothing to a painter: there are dozens of blacks. "RAL 9005", on the other hand, refers to the same shade at every powder manufacturer. That is the whole point of the RAL system, the most widely used reference in our trade.
Nearly a hundred years of history
RAL is a German organization founded in 1925. Its first colour charts, standardized starting in 1927, had 40 shades, according to the official history. The RAL Classic collection now has 216. An important point: RAL does not sell paint. The organization defines the shades, and each manufacturer reproduces them.
Reading a four-digit code
The first digit indicates the family, according to the RAL FAQ: 1 for yellows, 2 for oranges, 3 for reds, 4 for violets, 5 for blues, 6 for greens, 7 for greys, 8 for browns, 9 for whites and blacks. The other three digits are simply a sequence number. RAL 3020 is therefore a red, RAL 5010 a blue, RAL 7016 a grey. There are also two larger collections: RAL Design, with 1,825 shades, and RAL Effect, with 490 shades including 70 metallics.
The screen lies, and so does gloss
RAL says it plainly: a colour shown on a screen is only an approximation, and only a physical sample is authoritative. The second pitfall is gloss. The same shade looks darker and more saturated in a gloss finish, lighter in a matte finish, because the surface does not reflect light the same way, explains instrument manufacturer HunterLab. A matte RAL 9005 and a gloss RAL 9005 do not look alike, even though the code is identical.
How to choose
Give us the RAL code and the gloss you want: matte, satin or gloss. If the colour has to match an existing part, bring the part or a sample. And if you are looking for an effect that does not exist in RAL, such as a candy, a metallic or a textured finish, our suppliers' catalogues have thousands of them: see the Suppliers and colours page.
In summary
- A RAL code refers to the same shade at every manufacturer.
- The first digit gives the colour family; RAL Classic has 216 shades.
- Never choose a colour on a screen: ask for a sample.
- Always specify the gloss, which changes how the shade looks.
