There really isn't a good compromise in a SW stock color. There is no reason why your SW store should not be willing or able to match the Behr color. If your painter is the one insisting on using SW, then it's his job to get the color you want mixed in the paint he wants to use. Truly, if you've picked your color, the rest should be up to him. I would think if he's a dedicated SW painter, they'll take care of him and get him what he needs to do his job with their paint. :-)

The answer to your question, what is the SW equivalent to BenM's Coventry Gray: SW 7065 ARGOS Sherwin Williams Color ΔE = 1.5 SW 2850 CHELSEA GRAY Sherwin Williams Color ΔE = 1.6 The long answer: Sherwin-Williams doesn't really have a good color match for Coventry Gray. There is rarely a true match from one brand to the other. All we can do is search and find Sherwin-Williams colors that are closest to Coventry Gray. Delta E is a metric that indicates the color difference between two colors. Argos has a delta E of 1.5 and Chelsea Gray 1.6. That means the difference between those colors and Coventry Gray is going to be obvious to anyone with good color acuity. This is the scale: Delta E value Meaning 0- 1 A normally invisible difference 1 - 2 Very small difference, only obvious to a trained eye 2 - 3.5 Medium difference, also obvious to an untrained eye 3.5 - 5 An obvious difference > 6 A very obvious difference

"One also mentions an ultra white base. I’ve heard base can change the tint." Absolutely can and does make a huge difference. That is why if going with your method of buying it a gallon at a time, you absolutely need the same paint line and have started with the same base. Even then there is no guarantee that the colors will match perfectly.

First, any decent breakfast sandwich can get an account at Sherwin Williams and get a discount, so there is that. Since it is rental property, welcome to the property maintenance business, just name your company and fill out the app. Next, the paint at Lowes used to be SW paint, but it is my understanding that when SW bought out Valspar they actually just rebranded the Valspar paint as the SW HGTV line. So far as I know, the Duration line is not sold in Lowes and it is an excellent exterior paint. While the list price on the Duration paint is around $90 per gallon, it is pretty easy to get it for less than $70 per gallon with an account.