Kampel SeamFil and ColorFlex Color Matching Guides: How to Read Them

Matching SeamFil or ColorFlex to a laminate color? Kampel Enterprises, Inc. (Kampel) publishes two color matching guides that pair laminate colors with its own color numbers: one for SeamFil and one for ColorFlex and ColorFlex II. Below is how to read both guides, with worked examples, and which of the numbers we list.

The two Kampel color matching guides

• SeamFil Colormatching Guide (PDF, 18 pages) - linked from Kampel's SeamFil page as the Color Matching Guide.
• ColorFlex High Pressure Laminate Cross-Reference Index (PDF, 8 pages) - linked from Kampel's ColorFlex and ColorFlex II pages as the ColorFlex Index.

Kampel's product pages describe ColorFlex as a custom colored acrylic latex caulk with silicone and ColorFlex II as a custom colored high-gloss acrylic caulk. We list SeamFil in 1 oz tubes and ColorFlex and ColorFlex II in 4 oz tubes.

Both guides cover the same four laminate brands, each in its own chart with the date printed on it:

The index lists these four brands as its Special Color Reference Charts. Kampel's guides give no matches for other laminate brands, so neither do we. Kampel's SeamFil Facts sheet also states that SeamFil is not recommended for use on solid surface materials.

How to read the SeamFil color matching chart

Each brand's chart opens with the same instructions, apart from the brand name. They tell you to find the laminate color in the left-hand column. The SeamFil color numbers to the right appear under their approximate mixing proportions, and it may be necessary to increase or decrease the proportions to improve the color match. The number 1 in the chart means that essentially 100% of the given color is used. Slight Touch and Speck are for tinting purposes.

• The column heads, left to right: 1, 1/2, 1/2, 1/4, 1/4, 3/4, 1/3, 1/3, 1/3, 2/3, Slight Touch and Speck.
• Formica 920 Almond shows 941 under 1: essentially 100% SeamFil 941.
• Formica 464 Graystone shows 901 under 1/3 and 902 under 2/3, the approximate proportions of the two colors.
• Each brand's chart has solids, patterns and woodgrain sections.
• Some laminate colors have no SeamFil numbers, for example Formica 3711 Slate Noir and 5019 Black Bardiglio. The guide does not say why. The ColorFlex index gives CF8219 Black for 3711 Slate Noir and CF8216 Ebony for 5019 Black Bardiglio; we list CF8219 but not CF8216.

Footnotes printed with the charts include:

• Formica: "** POOR MIX", for example next to 8235 Solar Orange.
• Nevamar: "* COLOR VARIES WITH AREA" and "** POOR MATCH".
• Pionite: "*Color varies within Laminate" and "**Depends on Area".
• Wilsonart: "* Color varies with area of Laminate", for example next to D502 Ocean.

The complete SeamFil color list and the two kits

The Pionite page also prints Kampel's complete list of all standard SeamFil colors: 22 numbers, from 901 White to 946 Spectrum Blue. We list all 22 as 1 oz tubes. On that list an asterisk marks the colors included in the standard SeamFil kit, and a dagger the colors included in the woodgrain SeamFil kit:

• Standard kit, listed as the Kampel SSK kit: 901, 902, 904, 913, 914, 936, 937, 940, 941, 944, 945 and 946.
• Woodgrain kit, listed as the Kampel SWK kit: 901, 913, 914, 918, 931, 933, 935, 936, 937, 940, 942 and 944.

How to read the ColorFlex cross-reference index

• Pages 2 and 3 show the standard colors by number and name, from CF8001 White to CF8219 Black, with a note that printed colors will vary from the actual ColorFlex and ColorFlex II colors.
• Pages 5 to 8 hold one chart per laminate brand. Next to each laminate color, the column headed KEI STANDARD (KEI CF STANDARD on the Pionite chart) gives one ColorFlex number and name.
• The index says its recommendations are close matches, not exact. Each brand chart explains its asterisk as "* WEAK MATCH", for example Formica 098 Fiery Red with CF8174 Hollyberry.
• To order ColorFlex II, the index tells you to change the 8000 series to a 9000 series.

We list 16 ColorFlex colors and five ColorFlex II colors (CF9001 White, CF9004 Pale Blue, CF9008 Almond, CF9146 Blue Iris and CF9193 Pumice), so check the number from the index against our Kampel page.

Go by the laminate number, not the color name

A laminate color name and the ColorFlex name next to it do not have to match. In the Formica chart, 858 Pumice points to CF8012 (printed as Ant. White), while 464 Graystone points to CF8193 Pumice, not to the standard color CF8194 Greystone. The same name can also lead to different numbers: Formica 920 Almond points to CF8008 Almond, Nevamar S2037 Almond to CF8009 Malt. Look up your laminate by its brand and color number.

Worked examples

Six rows from the charts, with the column each SeamFil number is printed under:

• We list every SeamFil number in these rows: 901, 902, 903, 913, 914, 919 and 941.
• The colors for Formica 920 Almond, Formica 464 Graystone and Wilsonart 1573 Frosty White are all marked for the standard kit. For Wilsonart D354 Designer White, 901 and 913 are marked for both kits.
• We list CF8001, CF8008, CF8193 and CF8219, and the ColorFlex II versions CF9001, CF9008 and CF9193. We do not list CF8012, the ColorFlex number for Formica 858 Pumice, or its ColorFlex II version.

Kampel colors from the examples

• SeamFil 1 oz: 901 White, 902 Gray, 914 Black, 941 Almond
• ColorFlex 4 oz: CF8001 White, CF8008 Almond, CF8193 Pumice, CF8219 Black
• All SeamFil, ColorFlex and ColorFlex II colors we list: Kampel; Kampel items also appear in Adhesives, Sealants and Tapes

A separate post in this series explains Kampel item numbers and the kits.

Questions about the Kampel colors we list? Our customer support team is available Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4 PM Central Time, at 1-888-800-7789 or [email protected].