Benjamin Moore  Classics® Collection  Blues

Steel Blue

A mid-tone, muted blue. Tinted at the counter in the Benjamin Moore lines below, while you wait.

823LRV 35Exterior approved

On the wall at Raintree: Classics, left bay, middle band

Reading

LRV is how much light a color reflects, from 0 for black to 100 for pure white.

At LRV 35 it absorbs roughly two-thirds of the light that falls on it, which is where a wall facing the afternoon sun starts to get hot.

Aura Exterior and Element Guard hold their color in our sun at this depth. The wall that takes the afternoon sun is where fading shows first.

It works across a whole room with good south-facing windows, and as a single wall, a cabinet body or an accent anywhere else.

Matte or eggshell on walls; satin holds up better on garage doors and high-touch trim. Flat on exterior stucco.

Master Color Index

Code
823
Collection
Benjamin Moore Classics® Collection
Family
Blues
LRV (official)
35
Exterior
Approved for exterior use
Tints in
Every Benjamin Moore line we carry

Also known as

No alias codes. 823 publishes in the Benjamin Moore Classics® Collection only.

Works on

  • — Exterior body: outside the Scottsdale and Paradise Valley limits
  • — Garage doors and exterior accents
  • — Feature and accent walls
  • — Cabinet bodies

On the wall

A stucco front, saguaros along the walk, shown in Steel Blue
A stucco front, saguaros along the walk
A ranch house with a front porch, shown in Steel Blue
A ranch house with a front porch
A pueblo-style front, saguaro at the corner, shown in Steel Blue
A pueblo-style front, saguaro at the corner
A living room, steel windows to the desert, shown in Steel Blue
A living room, steel windows to the desert
A living room under a vaulted ceiling, shown in Steel Blue
A living room under a vaulted ceiling
A great room with a stone fireplace, shown in Steel Blue
A great room with a stone fireplace

Get it mixed

Every line below tints to 823. Pick the one that matches the surface.

Neighbors

Two steps lighter, two steps darker, and the color most often mistaken for it. Ranked by measured color distance.

  • Harlequin Blue830LRV 38Three points lighter and warmer. Also in Blues.
  • San Francisco Bay802LRV 38Three points lighter at about the same warmth. Also in Blues.
  • Blue Dragon810LRV 28Seven points darker and cooler. Also in Blues.
  • Violet Stone2069-40LRV 29Six points darker at about the same warmth. Also in Blues.
  • Pressed VioletCSP-520LRV 38The closest color in the catalog by measured distance. Three points lighter at about the same warmth.

Questions

  • Will it look like this on my wall?

    Not exactly. Screens vary, and paint shifts with the light in the room. Before you commit, put a sample on the wall for a full day. See it in morning light, afternoon light and lamplight before the gallons are tinted.

  • Is it approved for my HOA?

    It depends on your community. Search your HOA to see its approved palette, then bring the scheme in and we will tell you how Steel Blue compares. Committees approve the color. The brand on the can is not part of the approval, so Benjamin Moore is fine as long as the color matches the approved sheet.

  • Which line for a west-facing exterior?

    Aura Exterior or Element Guard. At this depth the wall gets hot enough that the quality of the paint decides how long the color holds.

  • Can you match it in another brand?

    We tint Benjamin Moore. 823 is a Benjamin Moore formula, so nothing is approximated; it is mixed exactly as published. If you have a Dunn‑Edwards code, Benjamin Moore already has that formula too. For a chip or a lid with no code, bring it in. We will read it and tell you how close we can get.