VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Tech Talk Paint colors 1928 Sedan

Paint colors on the early 4-cylinder cars have always been a point of discussion. These comments are limited to a start of 1-1-1925 and cover the sedan only. As a general rule each model (Roadster, Coupe, Coach, Sedan, ect.) had its own paint color and scheme. The objective here is to use the Sedan as an example.

From 1-1-1925 through 1927 all sedans were painted some color of blue (Aquamarine, Algerian, and Marine). CSN, Page 37, September 1927.

1-1-1928 to___ is listed as Faunce Green. CSN, Page 10, January 1928 and with a subheading of: The following completes the specifications printed in September issue, up to and including January 1928. I read this to mean that the Faunce Green first appeared on the 1928 Sedan.

7-1-1928 to ____is listed Paul Revere Green. CSN, Page 44, August 1928 and with a subheading of: The following completes the specifications printed in September, 1927, and January 1928, issues up to and including August 1st, 1928.

I am also in possession of a 4 page document, unfortunately undated and no page numbers which states as follows: This information has been previously published in past issues of the Chevrolet Service News, but in response to requests from service men we are publishing it in complete form. The information in this document covers 1-1-1925 through 1930. I can’t rule out that the original document went even further as there are no page numbers.

Now comes the interesting part. And I quote: It is also important to determine if the paint of the vehicle is correct for that particular year of vehicle. The paint code of the cowl tag does not have to match the paint of the vehicle (though it is encouraged), but the paint does have to be from the selections of Dupont colors for that year. For example: Mulsanne Blue is correct for 1971, Ensign Blue for 1946. This information is extracted from what I am led to believe is the current position of VCCA based on page 46, next to last paragraph, Judging Manual VCCA, revised May 2002.

To see if you have been paying attention, tell me about the entry for Sedan Delivery in 1928. In each of the references listed in the above CSNs it is listed as a body style.

Well,
The Sedan Delivery was neither Green nor Blue but Crockett Brown with Golden Yellow stripes. The top was Black as was the chassis sheet metal. Wood wheels natural and disc wheels Brown. Front door window offsets Brown and rear door offset Black. Need more detail?

Ray ,I only have the one document I mentioned on the other thread and what I have seen on the Autobody.com web site, Autobody.com combines the colors for the 1928 sedan without breaking the dates they were used. I would assume a 1928 sedan built after July 1, 1928 would have had the Paul Revere Green rather than the Faunce Green. Since my car was built early in 1928 it is correct by having the faunce green body. but the wheels and dash should not be faunce green. and the dash should not be black but faunce green and Dunsmuir gray.

...also the copy I have shows Sedan Delivery July 1,1928, to _ _ and shows body-upper = Black, body-lower , hood, discwheels etc.= Crockett Brown,and the body stripe was golden yellow.

I was looking at the page for colors on Autobody.com and there was a blue listed for a sport convertible,I believe that was a blue that was not listed in the information I received from Dick Oldenburg. I was surprised that the only blue listed on that list was a Genesee Blue for the Imperial. I expected to see several blues (blue is my favorite color) for 1928 but it shows that Blue Bell Blue (trucks) didn't show up until 1929.
EDITED.........
The Autobody .com should have been Autocolorlibrary.com and the blue for the S.C. was Trianon Blue

Hey guys,

I am well aware of the colors of the Sedan Delivery, but show me a picture of one and don't show me the picture of the One-Ton Panel Delivery by Hercules 415D or Martin-Perry 320.

Who has one?

Now that you are paint experts on the 1928, can I paint my 1928 Roadster red, without VCCA judging point deductions?

The best I can do is a photo/illustration of a 1930 Sedan Delivery. I can show a light delivery panel body, screen side express, or DeLuxe Country Club Wagon or the light delivery chassis.

Thanks for the anointment but I am not worthy. Depends upon the VCCA Judges on deductions. If they use the commonly available literature and interpret it as the standard then they would make a deduction. If they use the standard that any color available in the model year is OK then Romany Red would be acceptable.

Chip,

Yes, I can have my red Roadster and MrMack can have his blue Sedan. According to the Judging Manual the judges can't deduct for it providing it is the correct shade(?)of the acceptable color.

Much to my suprise James Hatton was kind enough to send us a picture of a 1928 Sedan Delivery. Thanks James. (Sorry about the quality of the picture).

[img]http://home.comcast.net/~chev33radio/28SedanDelivery.bmp[/img]

The guidelines in the judging manual are a little to vague when it comes to a proper color.It only says if the color is correct for the particular year.It should also include model and body style.--Example--Cameo Cream was a 1941 color but available only on a convertible.If I were judging a club coupe that was painted Cameo Cream I would deduct points because the color was not available on a coupe.
Refering to the "Chevrolet Duco Specifications" in 1928 the Convertible Sport Cabriolet was the only body style listed that used red (Romany Red).If I were judging 1928's I would deduct points if a Roadster or any other body stlye was red.The only thing is without my color charts I AND 999 out of 1000 judges, including me, would not know its incorrect.
I guess the moral of the story is that color information would need to be available for all the years so judges could determine if the colors were correct for the year,model, and body style.Then the shade of the color would be indoubt.Often colors were called red-but how light or dark were they??-as an example.So the next thing would be color chips would need to be available.Where would it end?? :confused: :confused: :confused:

Gene, It would be kinda like wipeing your nose on a wagon wheel, how would you know where to stop?
If it is "red" how would it be proved if it was or was not Romany Red? and what shade is Faunce Green, In different light the colors change since color is a function of reflected light waves, and can appear differently by altering the wave's frecquency due to prismatic effect. Sunlight? soft white, white white, infa red, ultra-violet light, etc.,etc. Maybe someone could devise a portable computer corrected scanner to evaluate each paint job? and would a judge with a Dell scanner be a different value than a judge with a HP scanner? see where I am going? (IMHO) don't be too narrow on judging the color of a car, if it is in the color group of a color for that model year OK, also if there isn't any additional metal flake or metallic visable that was not available when the car was originally sold.
How about the cars that are restored to a company color that were originally sold thru fleet sales? like Coke, Brinks, Yellow cab, The U.S. Border Patrol, U.S Navy, Halliburton (proprietory Crimson red with a proprietory Gray top)? Dowell(Orange and Black)? Baker oil tools (Baker Blue)?, Amarada Hess (bright green with bright yellow fender trim)? and various police cars and state police cars?

so maybe we should K.I.S.S.

To do otherwise appears to me to be like opening a 5 gallon bucket of nightcrawlers!

What years & models had the paint code on a tag attached to the car? :confused:

How do other clubs count paint/color w/o opening a "can of worms? :confused: Maybe it isn't that difficult after all??

Keep It Simple Sweety! ( I never liked to call anyone Stupid)

I wish things in this life were 'simple'. :(

When you start making rules for people to follow & obey or suffer some form of punishment (like losing points) you need to have detailed guidelines for the people to follow :cool2:

This thread has drifted off the path. Unlike other threads on the forum this one was intended to stick to the straight and narrow.
This thread is now closed.