Gray Shadows vs RAL 830-1
Where Gray Shadows belongs to PPG's range, RAL 830-1 is a RAL Effect color. Both sit in the grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (52 vs 50), so they'll read as similarly Medium in most lighting conditions. At ΔE 2.8, these are close — the kind of difference that matters when choosing between them, but doesn't read strongly in a finished room. Below you'll find 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Gray Shadows vs RAL 830-1 in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Gray Shadows and RAL 830-1 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
In a living room, color works across both daylight and evening light — the same wall can read very differently at noon and at 8pm. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Bathroom
Bathrooms are one of the few spaces where you're genuinely enclosed by the paint color, which makes the choice between these two more consequential. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
House
Seen across an entire facade, subtle tonal differences become pronounced. What reads as nearly the same on a chip often reads as clearly different at scale. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Color Details
Gray Shadows vs RAL 830-1 Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Gray Shadows on one side and RAL 830-1 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 Gray Shadows comparisons
See how Gray Shadows stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 52), opening up a space where Gray Shadows encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 52, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 52 vs 6, Gray Shadows is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 52 and 52, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Gray Shadows reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 52 vs 52), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Agreeable Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 60 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 6-point LRV gap (58 vs 52) makes Accessible Beige the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 52 vs 27, Gray Shadows is decisively the brighter choice.
Gray Shadows reads slightly lighter (LRV 52 vs 43), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Gray Shadows reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
A 3-point LRV gap (55 vs 52) makes Tranquil Dawn the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 52 vs 13, Gray Shadows is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (52 vs 44) makes Gray Shadows the marginally brighter of the two.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 52), opening up a space where Gray Shadows encloses it.
Gray Shadows reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 52, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 52, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 52, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 52 and 51, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 52 vs 12, Gray Shadows is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 52 vs 8, Gray Shadows is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 52, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Gray Shadows reads slightly lighter (LRV 52 vs 41), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 52 vs 12, Gray Shadows is decisively the brighter choice.
A 7-point LRV gap (52 vs 45) makes Gray Shadows the marginally brighter of the two.
Gray Shadows reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.