Graphite vs RAL 860-5
Graphite is a Cloverdale Paint color while RAL 860-5 comes from RAL Effect. Both sit in the grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. With LRVs of 19 and 20, they'll behave almost identically in terms of how much light they reflect back into a room. With a ΔE of 0.7, the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side to reliably tell them apart. Below you'll find 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Graphite vs RAL 860-5 in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Graphite and RAL 860-5 are close enough that the difference can be hard to judge from a chip alone — these photos show how each reads at scale, across different spaces and lighting conditions.
Living Room
Living rooms test a color across a full range of conditions — morning sun, afternoon shade, and evening lamp light all shift how both of these read. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Bedroom
Bedroom walls are often seen under warm artificial light, a context that shifts both colors from how they look on a chip. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Kitchen
Kitchen lighting tends to be bright and directional, which sharpens contrast and makes undertone differences more apparent. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Bathroom
Bathrooms amplify color — the enclosed space and reflective surfaces make what reads subtle elsewhere feel more present here. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Color Details
Graphite vs RAL 860-5 Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Graphite on one side and RAL 860-5 on the other.
Digital color is approximate. These simulations are generated from the manufacturer's hex values and overlaid on grayscale room photos — your screen's calibration, brightness, and viewing angle all affect how they render. Before committing to either color, test physical samples in your own space under the light you actually live with.
More Graphite comparisons
See how Graphite stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 19), opening up a space where Graphite encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 19, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
A 11-point LRV gap (30 vs 19) makes Evergreen Fog the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 60 vs 19, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 19), opening up a space where Graphite encloses it.
Denim Drift reads slightly lighter (LRV 27 vs 19), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 43 vs 19, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 19), opening up a space where Graphite encloses it.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 19), opening up a space where Graphite encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 19, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 19), opening up a space where Graphite encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 19), opening up a space where Graphite encloses it.
Graphite reads slightly lighter (LRV 19 vs 12), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Graphite reads slightly lighter (LRV 19 vs 8), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 19), opening up a space where Graphite encloses it.
Graphite reads slightly lighter (LRV 19 vs 12), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 19), opening up a space where Graphite encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 19, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.