When mixing lavender or gray paint, white paint is required to tint or lighten darker paint in order to create a lighter shade. In this case, a purple and black paint would be used as the additive to white paint to create the desired colors.
Mixing Lavender or Gray Paint
When mixing paint, lavender and gray are tints of purple and black. This simply means that the two colors have been lightened through the addition of white paint. To achieve either lavender or gray paint, three basic paint colors are needed--purple, black and white. If purple paint is not available, mixing red and blue paint together will achieve a purple color.
Lavender is a light tint of purple and is achieved through adding small amounts of purple paint to white. The reason purple is added to the white paint is it is easier for a light paint color to darken than a dark paint color to lighten. Adding small amounts of purple to white will gradually develop the correct lavender color desired. To produce light lavender paint, your mix will be 15/16th white to 1/16th purple. This would be comparable to one cup white to 1/8 teaspoon purple paint. If the lavender is too dark add more white, if it is too light, add more purple.
If purple paint is not available, a mixture of red and blue paint will achieve purple. Add the blue paint to the red, as it is easier to darken paint than it is to lighten. When mixing purple paint with red and blue, many variations of purple will be created. Some will be more to the red side and some more to the blue. It is personal preference as to the color purple achieved and desired.
Once the correct purple has been mixed, the process of making lavender paint begins with adding purple to white. Make sure enough purple has been mixed to achieve the required amount of lavender desired.
Gray paint is a tint of black and is achieved by adding small amounts of black paint to the white. A good rule of thumb is to begin with a small amount of black paint added to the white as the color may always be darkened. Begin by using a ratio of 15/16th white to 1/16th black. If the color is too light, add more black to get the desired tint of gray. If the color is too dark, add more white.
Supplies
When mixing paint it is important to have an adequate amount of the colors required, in this case purple, white and black; a separate container to mix the new color of paint and a utensil to stir the paint mixture. It is also important to have some type of paint testing surface to try the new paint color after it has been mixed. Note: Paint normally dries darker than it appears when it is wet.
Hints
It is always better when mixing paint to begin by adding a small amount of the dark color to the light color. More dark, in small amounts, may always be added to achieve the proper hue. It is difficult to lighten a color because it takes two to three times more light paint to lighten a darker color.
