Paints › Army Painter › Steel › vs Heavy MetalSteel vs Heavy Metal
Brand Army Painter Range Warpaints Historical Code WP4038P Type a metallic Swatch #5a5a5e (estimate)
Brand Scale75 Range Metal n' Alchemy Code SC65 Type a metallic Swatch #686e72 (estimate) How close are they?
ΔE 8.1, close: similar, with a visible difference side by side. Heavy Metal is a little lighter than Steel.
Can I use Heavy Metal instead of Steel? Usually, if you are not matching paint already on the model. Close match (ΔE 8). Heavy Metal is a little lighter than Steel.
Can I use Steel instead of Heavy Metal? The same difference applies the other way round: Steel is a little darker.
ΔE is the colour difference between our two swatch estimates: under about 6 is close, over about 15 is loose. Real paints also differ in finish, coverage and how they thin, so test before you commit.
See Steel on the colour wheel See Heavy Metal on the colour wheel
Other Scale75 paints close to Steel Other Army Painter paints close to Heavy Metal All matches: Steel equivalents · Heavy Metal equivalents
© 2026 AK Tabletop Studio. Swatch colours are estimates and will differ from the real paints; cross-brand matches are close, never exact.
Chart-listed matches come from the Two Thin Coats Paint Comparison Chart 2024, the Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic conversion chart, the AK 3rd Generation Acrylics equivalence table (2021) and the Herrick Games hobby paint comparison chart; the rest are a nearest-colour calculation.
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