Colour match confusion...

[MartinFC]

I lost the headlight washer cover (the front of the nozzle snapped off when using it) and the replacement came in primer. So I bought a can of what the Internet says is the correct match for BMW Le Mans Blue (381), but it's way off, much darker. What am I missing here? It looks like I'd be better off just going to Halfords and matching it by eye. Or is it possible that the can I got was mixed wrongly (it's got the same code on the base).

Any input appreciated...

[V8covin]

381 is Le Mans Blue.
You'd be better off going to a trade paint factors,most of them do aerosols and they'll have colour chips and/or a spectrometer to get a better match.
Obviously you'll have to spray clear over it