Using color charts downloaded from the web

**Ron Duke** · 09 July 2016, 04:28 PM

I try to pride myself in being accurate in regards to my renderings of vehicles. Not just the emblems and other details, but also the stock colors offered by the manufacturers for the vehicles originally.
The only source I could come up with was googling color charts posted on the web by researchers, fanatics and other sources.

My question, though, is there any possible way I can obtain/achieve the actual color for my projects? I've noticed, by chance, that some of the color charts, after downloading them, don't aren't rendered spot on, i.e. I just tested my Nova SS in what the chart said was Tuxedo Black, but it showed almost like a dark maroon.

I'm guessing there is no perfect way of doing this, but I've been wrong on most of my guesses. So, I'm hoping someone out there has a solution.

ron

**gwpriester** · 09 July 2016, 04:38 PM

Ron - These color charts will give you the correct Hue but you will need to adjust the saturation and values as needed.

**ss-kalm** · 09 July 2016, 05:04 PM

For Tuxedo Black specifically, THE PITTSBURGH & WEST VIRGINIA RAILWAY CO. used it as one of their colours, and have a colour conversion in the PDF document here

**Ron Duke** · 09 July 2016, 05:13 PM

Thanks Gary!

Keith,
Are you saying that if I can import a chart in PDF format into Xara 12, I can use the eyedropper and it will give me an accurate color?

ron

**ss-kalm** · 09 July 2016, 05:23 PM

Not quite where I was going, but it may work. What I was more referring to was that this page shows RGB etc. conversions. or that's the way I'm reading it ... probably wrongly.