Can’t Find Your Colour at the Hardware Store? Here’s Why

You’ve got a chip on a window frame or a scratch on a security door, so you head to the hardware store for a can of touch-up paint. Then you’re standing in the aisle looking at a dozen common colours, and yours isn’t there. It’s one of the most common frustrations we hear about, and there’s a simple reason for it.

Why hardware stores don’t stock your colour

Big hardware stores mostly stock the colours that sell in the biggest numbers. That usually means the most popular Colorbond® roofing and fencing colours, plus a few basic whites and blacks.

But Australian homes use far more colours than that, especially on powdercoated aluminium. Window, door and security screen manufacturers work from architectural powdercoat ranges with dozens of shades, pearls and metallics. Older homes often have Colorbond® colours that are no longer common, and commercial buildings use specialist industrial colours. Most of these will never make it onto a hardware store shelf.

Colours that are hard to find off the shelf

These are the kinds of colours people most often struggle to find:

• Anodised-look frame colours, like Anodic Bronze, Anodic Natural Matte and Anotec Silver Gray. These are common on older aluminium windows and shopfronts.
• Pearl and metallic finishes, like Storm Pearl, Pewter Pearl and Metallic Bronze Pearl.
• Popular window whites, like White Birch, Shoji White and New Bright White. They look similar but aren’t interchangeable.
• Industrial colours, like APO Gray and Transformer Gray, used on switchboards, cabinets and commercial buildings.
• Less common and older Colorbond® colours, like Domain, Headland, Wollemi and Bluegum Matt.

Don’t settle for “close enough”

It’s tempting to grab the nearest shade on the shelf. The problem is that a slightly wrong colour often stands out more than the original scratch, especially on a white or light frame in full sun. If you’re going to fix it, it’s worth getting the right colour.

How to find your exact colour

1. Check your paperwork. The window or door supplier’s invoice usually lists the frame colour by name or code. For fences and roofs, check the builder’s colour schedule or fencing invoice.
2. Search by name or code. Our site lets you search by colour name (like “Storm Pearl”) or code (like “PC99” or “PC570”).
3. Not sure? See our guide on how to find your Colorbond® colour, or contact us with a photo and we’ll help.

Over 110 colours in one place

MatchMyPaint carries over 30 Colorbond® roofing and fencing colours plus over 80 architectural powdercoat colours, including many that are hard to find.

Browse the Frame Match powdercoat range or the Colorbond® Match range. Every can is $14 and delivered across mainland Australia.