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Pardon if this is a stupid or already asked question, but does the GW Chaos Black spray match Abaddon Black? I'm preparing to paint some vehicles that are predominantly black, and it'd be nice to know if they match beforehand. The primer I usually use doesn't match it, and I don't want to have to paint the entire thing black after priming it unless I have to.

No, it doesn't. Abaddon black is glossier

Chaos Black is supposed to be matched with Abaddon, but as mentioned above it is slightly off.

I would recommend spray basing with a grey or a dark grey and then layering to the black you want. I personal like doing this as it is always easier to match darker tones, and a PAIN to match lighter tones. I also normally stick with a medium cold (blue tones) grey.

In the UK, Halfords car body primer is much more matt and a closer match to chaos black than abbadon black.
Maybe try a few of those from some US brands.
You'll be fine using it for terrain if it's not quite right.

I think that P3 Thamar Black is actually a closer match. But in the end, it really doesn't matter for the vast majority of painters, IMO. By the time you do all your other stuff and varnish the model, it will look close enough.

If it really matters, you'll never get the brushed-on paint to be a perfect match anyhow, because no matter what you do, brushed-on paint just looks different than aerosolized paint, even when the color is 100% identical. For example, if you paint half a square with Citadel Air Abbadon Black with an airbrush, and the other half with Abbadon Air or Abbadon Base with a paint brush, you'll be able to see the difference.

Therefore, f something is going to really matter -- like a true idisplay model -- simply brush on a very light coat of thinned paint with a big, flat brush. It only takes a few minutes to do. But like I said, for the vast majority of models, even with close-up photography... nobody will notice.

Thanks for the feedback all. I'm going to be painting a few Doomscythes, and I want them to be black with the green highlights, so it's important that it's the same color the whole way around. I'd rather not have little spots that don't match after I touch it up, because I know there's no chance I'll be able to get the highlights perfect without needing to go back.

Perhaps I'll try what thegrav suggested, and I'll prime it grey. At least that way I'll know that I got everything when I go over it

@Talys, I am going for as close to display quality as I can muster, so it feels like it makes a difference (at least in my head). On infantry sized models, ordinarily I'd just not worry about it, and let it be "good enough", but I'm trying to push myself to that next level on this. Fantastic Blood Angels in the gallery, by the way. You're a very talented painter