Golden acrylics grey question

[KThompson]

Being lazy and not a "natural" at mixing colors, I wondered if anyone has found any of the golden acrylic (matte) grey colors to be close for redheads, mallards, pintail, goldeneye hens, etc.? Seems I get the color right about 1 out of 3-4 times I mix and then I waste more paint then I can afford. I'll take any suggestions out there... additional photo evidence of end product would be even better, ha!

 

[Lou Tisch]

Kyle,
To the best of my knowledge, there is no gray in the Matte or Matte Fluid Acrylics. There are some neutral grays in several different shades in the full body/glossier colors.
I typically start with Titanium White, Add a bit of Carbon Black and then some Burnt Umber to get the gray I want. I have reference sheets that I've made up for comparisons.

Seems to me that if you start with Bone Black and white, you get a truer gray and it stays away from the bluish gray.

Lou

 

[Pat Gregory]

Kyle - I try to avoid mixing at all costs. Reason being is when you touch up your decoys, matching the paint is impossible. My recommendation is take a sample of the gray you want to Sherwin-Williams. They can put the scope on it and mix you a quart of exterior latex or oil whichever you prefer. Finish options would be flat or satin, whichever you prefer. I just put some gray on some green wing drakes this morning. I use it for all my basecoats and primary coats on all my decoys...

 

[BillS]

black duck black(I believe the ratio is 1 part ultramarine blue and 2 parts burnt umber) and then mix in white to get desired grey. mars black will give you blueish grey, or cold grey. I will mix up big batches and store in empty paint jars.

 

[KThompson]

Thanks for all the suggestions... I believe Pat comes closest to the "easy button"

Lou - I've also put some notes on paper relative to what I added to the paint to get color variations. However, I'm an engineer and don't like working with unmeasurable quantities of anything, ha. A "dab" of burnt umber doesn't mean anything to me after I've slept a few times.

 

[george w]

You can also add a smidgeon af raw sienna to the mix.
I believe Golden DOES make various hues of fray, but it is best to contact them for verification
The mix Bill left is correct for a neat black color---Mars and white will yeild blue. If you play with carbon black and white, you might get what you desire by playing judiciously with rw umber, BUT my money is on blackduck black and white, with a tad of raw umber.
Don't get too tied up with esoterica when painting decoys.