C33 Color Theory and Color Matching 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'metamerism' in paint color matching?
- The tendency of paint to fade in sunlight
- Two colors that match under one light source but differ under another (Correct answer)
- The process of mixing pigments to match a target color
- The shift in color as paint dries
Correct answer: Two colors that match under one light source but differ under another
Metamerism occurs when two colors appear to match under one type of lighting (e.g., fluorescent) but look different under another (e.g., daylight).
Question 2: A painter needs to lighten a custom mixed color without changing its hue significantly. The best approach is to add:
- Black tint
- White base or white tint (Correct answer)
- A complementary color tint
- Yellow tint
Correct answer: White base or white tint
Adding white base or white tint increases the value (lightness) of a color while keeping the hue relatively stable.
Question 3: On a standard color wheel, which color is the complement of orange?
- Yellow
- Red
- Blue (Correct answer)
- Green
Correct answer: Blue
Orange and blue are complementary colors, positioned directly opposite each other on the standard RYB color wheel.
Question 4: When a client specifies a paint color using an LRV (Light Reflectance Value) of 85, the color is:
- Very dark, absorbing most light
- Very light, reflecting most light (Correct answer)
- A mid-tone neutral gray
- A saturated primary color
Correct answer: Very light, reflecting most light
LRV ranges from 0 (absolute black) to 100 (pure white); a value of 85 indicates a very light color that reflects 85% of light.
Question 5: A split-complementary color scheme differs from a complementary scheme because it:
- Uses four colors instead of two
- Uses the two colors adjacent to the complement instead of the complement itself (Correct answer)
- Relies only on tints and shades of one hue
- Combines only warm colors
Correct answer: Uses the two colors adjacent to the complement instead of the complement itself
A split-complementary scheme uses a base color plus the two hues on either side of its direct complement, offering contrast with more variety than a simple complementary pair.
Question 6: Which pigment type tends to offer the greatest lightfastness (resistance to fading) in exterior paints?
- Organic dyes
- Inorganic mineral pigments (Correct answer)
- Fluorescent pigments
- Lake pigments
Correct answer: Inorganic mineral pigments
Inorganic mineral pigments such as titanium dioxide and iron oxides resist UV degradation far better than organic dyes or fluorescent pigments.
Question 7: When using a spectrophotometer to match a paint color, the device measures:
- The viscosity of the paint sample
- The spectral reflectance of the surface across wavelengths of light (Correct answer)
- The amount of VOC emissions in the paint
- The drying time of the coating
Correct answer: The spectral reflectance of the surface across wavelengths of light
A spectrophotometer measures how much light is reflected at each wavelength across the visible spectrum, providing precise color data for accurate matching.
C33 Color Theory and Color Matching 5
What is 'metamerism' in paint color matching?