Match Backwater
Cloverdale Paint Backwater is a deep, low-reflectance shade with an LRV of 18. The matches below are ranked by ΔE, a perceptual color-difference score.
View full Backwater color page →
Closest matches across every brand
One match per brand, ranked by ΔE — a perceptual color difference score calculated from Lab color space values. Lower is closer. Click any card to compare side by side in simulated rooms.


Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 18 vs 18), so neither reads brighter in a room. A ΔE of 0.3 means the difference barely reads in a finished room.


With LRVs of 18 and 17, the two reflect almost the same amount of light. At ΔE 1.5 you'd need them side by side to tell them apart.



Grey Splendor reads slightly lighter (LRV 21 vs 18), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms. At ΔE 2.1 you'd need them side by side to tell them apart.



With LRVs of 19 and 18, the two reflect almost the same amount of light. At ΔE 2.5 you'd need them side by side to tell them apart.


Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 19 vs 18), so neither reads brighter in a room. A ΔE of 2.5 means the difference barely reads in a finished room.



With LRVs of 18 and 16, the two reflect almost the same amount of light. At ΔE 2.9 you'd need them side by side to tell them apart.



With LRVs of 18 and 18, the two reflect almost the same amount of light. At ΔE 3.0 you'd need them side by side to tell them apart.



Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 20 vs 18), so neither reads brighter in a room. The ΔE 5.4 gap is real but not dramatic — distinct as a choice, harmonious together.



A 4-point LRV gap (18 vs 14) makes Backwater the marginally brighter of the two. The ΔE 6.9 gap is real but not dramatic — distinct as a choice, harmonious together.









