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Grey emulsion buying guide

Updated: October 2026

You have a spare evening, a roller still in the packet, and a screen full of grey tins that all look like the same square of colour. This grey emulsion buying guide puts the decisions in order before you pay: sheen, then undertone, then litres for two coats at the coverage printed on that tin. Shelf prices and star lines for the loaded amazon.co.uk set sit on the [grey wall paint comparison](/hub/paints-and-varnishes/wall-paint-grey). The Products Compared editorial team prepared this in October 2026 from those listing extracts and from public UK guides. There is no laboratory test behind these figures, and a qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a spare evening, a roller still in the packet, and a screen full of grey tins that all look like the same square of colour.

Our top picks

Johnstone's Johnstone's soft sheen Manhattan Grey, 5 L

Best overall

Johnstone's Johnstone's soft sheen Manhattan Grey, 5 L
9.4/10about £29.08
View offer
Johnstone's Johnstone's bathroom Manhattan Grey, 2.5 L

Alternative

Johnstone's Johnstone's bathroom Manhattan Grey, 2.5 L
9.2/10about £21.84
View offer
Johnstone's Johnstone's silk Manhattan Grey, 5 L

Best value

Johnstone's Johnstone's silk Manhattan Grey, 5 L
9.2/10about £28.65
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Sheen before colour
  2. 2.Undertone and a sample on the wall
  3. 3.Litres from the tin's own figure
  4. 4.What the listing is allowed to imply

Sheen before colour

Matt and silk are different films, and sheen is a separate choice from the colour name. Matt scatters light, so a dent, a filled crack, or a wavy plaster line stays quieter. Silk reflects more, so the same ridge shows once the grey goes on. The dry-room trade-off is on the matt or silk emulsion page. A steamy bathroom is a different product family, and the grey bathroom paint page is where that moisture claim belongs.

Undertone and a sample on the wall

A light grey lifts a small room, a mid grey is the usual living-room choice, and a deep grey closes a wall in. Dulux's UK grey guide points cool greys toward bright rooms and warm greys toward north light. A north-facing room in a British winter gets little direct sun, so a blue-grey that looked soft on a website can read chilly beside a white ceiling. Buy a sample before a 5 litre tin. Paint a filled patch about the size of an A4 sheet, let it dry, and look in daylight and again after dark under the bulb you use. The dried patch is the colour you are buying.
Johnstone's Johnstone's soft sheen Manhattan Grey, 5 L

Testsieger

Johnstone's Johnstone's soft sheen Manhattan Grey, 5 L
9.4/10about £29.08
View offer

Litres from the tin's own figure

Tin size comes from a sum. Multiply the wall area in square metres by the number of coats, then divide by the coverage that tin claims. Two coats are the normal plan when grey goes over a contrasting colour. One published illustration, not a measurement of your house, is 30 square metres of wall, two coats, and 12 square metres per litre, which comes to 5 litres. In this amazon.co.uk set the printed figures differ. Several emulsions state about 12 square metres per litre, a 5 litre Manhattan Grey soft sheen states about 20 to 24 square metres for two coats from the whole tin, and a one-coat listing stores the number 20 with no unit. The best grey wall paint page sorts that set for a dry room and for a lower price per litre.

What the listing is allowed to imply

A listing may describe a finish, and a wet room needs the waterproof flag. Johnstone's Steel Smoke matt is stored as not water resistant, with waterproof set to false, while several matt bullets still name bathrooms. The bathroom tin in this set is the product with waterproof set to true, at a higher price per litre. A one-coat name is a label. On the one-coat Manhattan Grey, UK reviews often still needed two coats over white. The VOC Regulations 2012 cap interior matt coatings at 30 g/l, and that cap is not a measurement of the tin in your basket.

Common questions

Matt or silk for a bedroom that is not perfect plaster?
Matt scatters light, so dents and a slight wave stay quieter on uneven bedroom plaster. Silk outlines that ridge. Choose silk when you want a wipeable film and the wall is already filled. A ridge you can feel at socket height is a reason to stay with matt.
Will a cool grey look cold in a north-facing flat?
A north-facing UK room gets little winter sun, so a cool blue-grey can look chilly beside a white ceiling. Dulux's UK grey guide points cool greys at bright rooms and warm greys at north light. Warm light greys suit that aspect, though they look muddy beside yellow woodwork. Test an A4 patch in the room before a 5 litre tin.
Is a 2.5 litre tin enough for two coats of a small bedroom?
At 12 square metres per litre, two coats use 2.5 litres on 15 square metres of wall, and that area is an illustration rather than your bedroom. If the tin claims less coverage, 2.5 litres runs out sooner. When the sum sits well above 2 litres, buy the 5 litre tin.
Can I trust a bathroom mention on a standard matt tin?
Read the waterproof flag. Johnstone's Steel Smoke matt is listed as not water resistant, with waterproof set to false, while matt bullets in this set still mention bathrooms. That copy describes a dry-room paint. The bathroom tin here is the one with waterproof set to true, at a higher price per litre in the loaded extracts.
Do I need a tester before a 5 litre tin?
Buy a tester before a 5 litre tin. A wrong undertone means painting out a whole small room. Fill an A4 patch, let it dry, and look in daylight and at night under your usual bulb. Hex codes in these amazon.co.uk scrapes are often generic screen greys.
What coverage number should I use, the tin or a generic 12 m² per litre?
Use the coverage printed on that tin. Thirty square metres at two coats and 12 square metres per litre equals 5 litres only when the tin claims 12. A 5 litre soft sheen here states about 20 to 24 square metres for two coats, so the same calculator would order the wrong volume. Ignore a bare number that has no unit.
Is "one coat" a reason to buy less paint?
The one-coat name is a label. On the one-coat Manhattan Grey, UK reviews often still needed two coats over white, and the stored coverage is the number 20 with no unit. Order two coats at a stated square-metres-per-litre figure. Running short on the second coat is what makes two batches of grey look patchy.

Related pages

How to paint walls grey

Wall paint grey

Grey bathroom paint: which tin sets waterproof true

Best grey wall paint: the soft sheen top pick or silk

Matt or silk emulsion for grey walls in your UK home

Sources

Public UK sources used for VOC limits, lead in old paint, and paint reuse. Prices, stars and review counts are from the amazon.co.uk listings in this set. No EN 13300 class is claimed for these tins.

  1. VOC Regulations 2012, Schedule 2 (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  2. British Coatings Federation — VOC Globe (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  3. Brillux — EN 13300 (classes, not a result for these tins) (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  4. HSE — Lead in old paint (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK — Lead information for the public (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  6. Community RePaint — paint types for reuse (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  7. Dulux UK — how to find the right shade of grey (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  8. Johnstone's — finishes (retrieved 17 October 2026)