"What color is "lead grey" actually?" Topic

I have seen many ships/ironclads listed as being in "lead grey". Some say lead grey / white, some say lead grey / medium grey, and so on. Looking at modern paints, "lead grey" is a medium toward darker grey (such as found on a new minie ball. But if the oxidizes, it becomes white, and lead was an ingredient used to make white paint. So, the questions is, when they say something like the "USS Tyler: Lower hull was light grey/lead grey" Civil war talk says of the CSS Manassas CSS Manassas: She has been reliably described as a bright "Union" or "Navy" blue during the Battle of New Orleans. Makes for a very striking model. (As a note, while several modelers have chosen this color, I have yet to locate my original source for the info.) Alternatively, the Officer of the Watch onboard USS Mississippi describes her as "The color of lead" – this can be anything from dark grey to blue grey to the traditional "lead grey".

I think that you have answered your own question…

The color range (Kelvin temperature scale or light spectrum in angstroms?) is rather broad. The best that you can do for one of these historical ships in question, is to make a best guess.

How will you know that you are wrong? Seriously, how can anyone tell you that you are wrong? Take an educated guess and run with it. Turn this 'mountain' back into the 'mole hill' that it really is. Cheers!

Shame couldn't send you a sample, probably have 600 pounds of it here.
Its dark mid gray IMO