Now, prepare new color viewing facilities or refurbish old ones with the industry-specified neutral matte gray specifically formulated for color viewing areas. Standard Gray Neutral 7 or Standard Gray Neutral 8 is a water-reducible vinyl latex available in one gallon or one pint cans, for convenient application by roller, spray gun, or brush. One gallon provides an approximate coverage of 450 square feet per gallon.

Not all grays are neutral! A neutral gray is not simply a black-white mix, but an equal mixture of all the spectrum (r-o-y-g-b-i-v) colors. A spectrophotometric measurement of such a gray will show it to contain approximately equal amounts of those spectrum colors. Non-neutral grays, however, have unequal amounts of the spectrum colors, causing a cold or warm color shift under differing lighting conditions.

Why is Neutral Gray specified and recommended for color viewing?

• 1. It eliminates simultaneous color contrast. For example, a red sample viewed on a blue background has an orange cast, while the same red viewed on a yellow background appears slightly purple. For the eye to see color accurately, it is imperative that the surround environment be chromatically neutral.
• 2. It minimizes color pollution of viewing areas caused by reflections from chromatic surfaces. When D50 or D65 standard illumination is reflected from colored walls, etc., its color quality changes so it is no longer standard. The application of a neutral gray to chromatic surfaces will eliminate such color pollution by providing spectrally neutral surfaces around the viewing area.