VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 still color questions

after hrs. of research I still cant find correct current paint codes to replace Duco codes-I'm in the autobody business and have many resources at hand but everyone comes up dry-I visited Bill Parkers site which lists some alternatives for 1931(mine is 30) but is quite old I believe-as Chevy fanatics one of us must have painted our old car with proper colors and how did you do it?-any advice would be appreciated greatly-frustrated in Vermont

Are you looking for a specific paint code for 1930?

--Bill

Good Day lexey
I feel your pain. I too have spent way too much time and effort trying to get current paint codes for my 1932 chev. Ive been on this site and the autocolorlibrary site for many hours looking for the color info. Plus two trips to my local paint shop. Im to the point of just picking a color I like.

The best advice Ive had so far was from the VCCA web site. Look up my posting of a few days ago. The 17 steps below may be of some help. But the color chips shown on this site will not give you a good idea of the color.
This checklist may help with navigating Autocolorlibrary.
1. Go to Autocolorlibrary web site
2. Scroll down
3. Select make eg. chevrolet
4. Scroll down
5. Select year eg. 1931 or 1932
6. Scroll down
7. Click on Chevrolet Color Schedule page that has appeared
8. Scroll down
9. Find 1931 Models Combination 72 Serge Blue IM-934
10. Scroll up
11. Select paint type
12. Type in paint name in the box eg. serge blue
13. Type in Color Chip Formula # eg. im-934
14. Leave third box blank
15. Click 'update paint pricing'
16. Scroll down
17. View results
Bye for now
Mike

Good morning Bill and thanks for responding-excuse me if I get a little long winded but you seem to be the guy for colors-according to Filling Station I have color combination #35-Boulevard Maroon(Harvard Crimson as you suggest-Dupont#8284L,99573 came up as no formula match-Aurora Red did but no chip-to make a long story short I would like to restore this car as original as possible including correct chassis and drivetrain colors-I'm physically disabled and feel this project has given me a new lease on life as I force myself to do something each day-would like to buy local when possible as far as paint goes-I've been to color library but unable to follow directions and seems quite expensive but perhaps you pay for perfection-anyway thanks for any advice and hope I can call on you in future-ps. are engine specs same as listed for 31 and what are main and rod clearances for 30-thanks for your time

The engine specifications are essentially the same for 1930 as 1931.

Currently there are a few options to match original colors.

Best is to find some of the original color still on a part of the car. Even if repainted some of the original paint may still be on the firewall, bottom of the cowl, inside a door, behind a panel or other place not easy to paint over.

Order the smallest amount of the color available from the http://www.tcpglobal.com/autocolorlibrary/ website. Then have the quantity needed mixed from a local source. [Just remember that their matches were determined by PPG from color chips and compared to their "stock" paint formulations.]

Use the paint color matches, determined in the 1970s by Wayne Martin. Most of them are for 1970s foreign vehicles and US trucks [They did not have metallic added like US cars of the 70s]. Wayne also had to match to the closest "stock" colors so you will find the same "modern" formula listed for two different original colors. Likely neither is 100% correct. Unfortunately some of those matches are now obsolete.

Find a car that has been painted with the "original" color and have that color matched. The match to the actual original 1930 color is only as accurate as the person cared to do at the time.

Remember that each batch of paint might vary even from the same supplier and there were several suppliers of paint to the auto companies. Chevrolet used DuPont paint for most of its production but occasionally other suppliers were used when DuPont was not able to supply.

Also remember that color chips are not 100% color stable and tend to darken with age if in low or no light conditions. The tend to lighten when subjected to sunlight. I have 20+ chips of Cream Medium and none are exact matches in varying light conditions. And finally you will find that colors are effected by the light. Incandescent, fluorescent, indirect natural light and sunlight may result in different matches.

Good Day All
I have read and reread chippers note. The quote that keeps sticking in my mind is..

Currently there are a few options to match original colors.

How do the VCCA judges rate paint colors?
I would like to paint my 1932 coupe in serge blue, but since there is no real origional match will any dark blue be rated by the judges as correct??
Bye for now
Mike

They don't. As long as your car is painted an original 1932 color and the color on the car is close to the original color the judges won't know the difference.

What are you saying?? What if the cowl tag shows a paint code for black and you paint the car serge blue?

hoppy

Hoppy,
The last judging instructions I had were to ignore the paint color on the body tag and accept any color combination for the year of the car. It is a continuation of judging policy when the color codes and modern equivalents was not generally available. That is not the case today. There are several sources of paint today. My opinion is the vehicle should have the correct original color combination. Maybe one day the Judging Committee will change the policy so they are actually encouraging restoration or preservation of original Chevrolet features.

I totally agree with the Chipper Dipper. The VCCA has always ignored the important information supplied on the cowl tag during the judging process.

For my 31 coupe the closest that I could find to Harvard Crimsum Maroon was a PPG paint for a 1968 Fiat. If you would like to see the color on my car I could send you some pictures of it. I am not sure wether you want the maroon or the blue for your car. Hope that this might help.

I'm restoring a 1930 Chevy, and here's what I did: I followed Wayne Martin's research and used a 1969 Simca color called Victorian Brown. I bought acrylic enamel for the wheels from Sherwin Williams, and it was a good match to the body which was already painted. Sherwin Williams' number for Victorian Brown is J5-727-G. Have them make up a pint and try it. According to Wayne Martin, the original number for Aurora Red is 246-5036. The match is 56-73 White truck. the Mfg. code is 3002. It is Lansing Red, and is ACME 1434 and DuPont 6713. If you plan to stripe the body, you might want to look into Sign Painters' 1-Shot paint. It is a heavily pigmented lettering enamel, and it is available at quality art supply shops or from Eastwood. Wayne Martin is long gone, but he performed a great service for all of us and his work lives on.

Good day All
Is Wayne Martin's research on this web site? How can I access it?
Bye for now
mike

lexey,
I tried to send you some color charts for 1930 Chevrolet colors, but you don't have an email address listed with your Profile. And you don't appear to be a VCCA member, so I couldn't find you that way either.


Note to all other non-members: The Chat Forum is a good way to get information, but a lot of times, the "good stuff" is send to people after they make a connection here on Chat.


The best way to make sure that people can get hold of you is to BECOME A MEMBER!! I have "guaranteed" a number of people that I'd refund their first year's dues if they decided later that they didn't like it. And I've NEVER had to refund anyone yet!!

Waynes research was done long ago and probably many of the paints are no longer being made.Some of the formulas can be converted to modern paint but I believe there are some that can't. Did you get my PM regarding someone that recently painted their car Serge Blue and the Dupont number that I used when painting my 32 Serge Blue 10 years ago? I had a copy of Wayne's research, White Truck {dupont) paint chips, and an original Serge Blue paint chip. I believe its as close to original as possible, but have yet to find an original car to check it against.And if I do I will have to consider the fact that the paint is 78 years old.

Dear Bill=I'm deeply sorry for your wasted efforts-I thought I was registered but I'm electronically challenged and did't do things properly-this explains many things-if you could instruct me I'll do so imedediately -my email is terrytoomey@comcast.net-I will try your color postings at other sources and now interested in blues-Everglades Blue for instance-once again terribly sorry

Hello Chipper,
You mention in this posting "Order the smallest amount of the color available from the http://www.tcpglobal.com/autocolorlibrary/ website. Then have the quantity needed mixed from a local source." My question is how would a local source match the color, by Item Number on the quart container [minimum amount available] or by trying to match the sample paint to their paint chip charts? Here are two examples listed for Acrylic Enamel-Serge Blue IM-934 Chevrolet 1931.
#1 Item No. RSP AE-B-QT, Description AE-ACRYLIC ENAMEL "B" COLOR, RESTORATION SHOP PAINT, $34.95 Quart.
#2 Item No. PPG DAR-H-QT, Description DELSTAR "H" COLOR, ACRYLIC ENAMEL, $90.90 Quart. My suspicion is that these descriptions are not enough to mix the proper color and the only alternative would be to try to match to today's modern chip charts. I'll be visiting a local paint supplier soon and I'll let you know what they say.

Most local paint suppliers have a color matching system that scans a part with the paint to be matched and then based on the values obtained at certain wavelengths suggests a mixing formula. To use that system you would need to paint a small panel with the color, have it scanned, matched and mixed. You then can compare the two colors (one from tcpglobal and other mixed locally).

Dear Sal-I've been informed that I'm not actually a vcca member and trying to remedy that-I think I've figured out maroon color but saw a blue sedan online that I loved but owner doesn't know what color blue it is but says it's factory color-until I become a member my email is terrytoomey@comcast.net if you have any blues and their name-thanks

My local shop was able to mix a 1/2 pt amount of Dupont Centari, but I don't know if that is still available.I matched an original Serge Blue color chip to a White Truck Dupont color chip # 72756. The paint supplier also informed me that the color was used by the San Francisco police dept. If you do a test panel be sure to prep and prime it the same as you would for your car.

lexey (Terry?)
Check your email. I followed up with some stuff for you.

Hello m006840, [In Search Of Serge Blue]
Thanks for the 'White Trucks' blue paint code info. I went to the local paint supplier with the autocolorlibrary paint descriptions that I had posted above and sure enough they did not indicate any color mixing info. The supplier talked about matching wet vs. dry samples and mentioned the camera that Chipper talked about. I don't wish to buy a quart of paint plus shipping to have a sample, so I won't go that way as yet. I'll return to the supplier with your 'White Trucks' Dupont #72756 and 31Chevylover'n SC's PPG BC2925 Midnight Blue. With any luck these should provide a sample or two that I could take and compare to the exposed paint areas on the 31 Coach. I'll keep you advise how that works out.

Harry, Sorry to walk on top of your posting... we have two different discussions going on. (only TWO!)

Here's a photo that Terry wanted me to post for him. It's the color of blue for 1930 that he's interested in.
(It looks a lot like 1931 Boatswain Blue)

Hello Bill,
No problem, sorry to walk on the 1930 color discussion. I had hoped that the 1931 color discussion could help with researching other years colors and provide readers with info to match Serge Blue. It's probably wise to start a new post and not stray into others year specific discussions.

Actually I think you're okay on this one... Even though you both want different colors, they are only one year apart -- and they both "SUFFER" from the same issues.


It's unfortunate that no one has ever taken the colors and mapped them since Wayne's list. I have started something but only have a very few colors identified. Maybe I should go ahead and post it, and let the club members continue to build it instead of me... hummm.....

As I told Terry in an email, it's pretty much impossible to SEE the colors anywhere. Most of the chips have darkened significantly with age. The "old" cross-match tables for paint is about the best that we have right now.

Maybe someone who has matched Serge Blue can post here and tell Harry what you found out.