VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 !931 Engine Paint Colors

I agree with Chevgene!

I have a can of the correct Dark Blue-Gray engine paint from the Filling Station and a catalyst is not required. The paint can be used as is out of the can if it is going to be brushed or it can be reduced with thinner if it is going to be sprayed. Also, the paint is not obsolete and it is still available from the Filling Station. I do know that the original paint formula for the Dark Blue-Gray has been obsolete for decades however.

Steve from TFS here. I know I am a little late to the party but....Our engine paint is NOT obsolete! In stock and available today. As JYD says, it does not require thinning to use it. This is a formula that we have used for about 35 years. The original color matching was done by Dick Bertolucci, good friend and longtime VCCA member, who at one time had close to 50 old Chevys in his stable. Additionally, Dick owned one of the largest body shops in Sacramento and started his career doing custom hot rods with the likes of George Barris. Dick was an expert painter and he personally matched the color to original, low mileage Chevy engines in his collection. If you doubt Dick's qualifications, check out this article about him from 2012: https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2012/10/19/bertoluccis-still-shines-car-restoration.html

An important point that should be mentioned here is that our paint is NOT a high heat paint and is not suitable for exhaust manifolds. Personally, I use either POR15 or Hirsch high heat Manifold Grey on my manifolds. This gives a cast iron look to the manifold and will prevent rust.

Quick note for Canadian cars. My 1929 original car with no other paint on the engine had dark green paint ala 1928 and earlier. I suspect Oshawa was using up old stock of paint before switching to the newer colour. Actually the whole original paint scheme on my 29 Sedan is what is listed for 1928 in all the paint documentation that I have seen.

Steve from TFS and JYD are exactly correct…I have used both the rattle can and the pint can and the paint needs nothing to be used and matches the original paint left on our original engine very very well…..

Mac

The paint Cevrolet used was NOT high heat also. In my youth and first job I burnt the exhaust manifold paint off of many new 1950 Chevrolets.

When I posted above I said I'd take the criticism for doing it. The fact that the Filling Station can still sell this paint does not mean that this paint "system" is not obsolete. The Filling Station has found a jobber who can still sell paint in that formulation. Just don't come to Shreveport, Louisiana, and expect to find that PPG brand available. It would be kind of like going to your local Axalta dealer (they bought the DuPont auto refinishing business) and trying to buy "Centari" (a DuPont brand of single-stage acrylic enamel). It is obsolete and has not been sold for years.

I'm sorry I stepped on some toes. This seems to be a hot-button issue. In any case, the technical data sheet for that "system" does specify a catalyst and a reducer. I guess the paint can be used without either, but it won't cure as fast and won't be as hard.

Tom

The original formula from PPG and other suppliers has been obsolete for decades. The Filling Station had their paint color matched in a modern paint from samples of the original color. The modern paint that they sell does not need thinning unless it is going to be used in a spray gun and no catalyst is required. If you had a sample of a new old stock original engine part, or an original color chip for the Dark Blue-Gray, you could also have that color duplicated in a modern paint at your local automotive paint store. The can that I have says nothing about a catalyst. I use a spray gun so I reduce the paint a little so that it will spray easier in my gun, but the paint is ready to go right out of the can if you are going to brush it on. The engine paint is single stage and it dries fast and hard. The thinner that I use to reduce the paint is available at my local automotive paint supplier, and I use the Filling Station's engine paint quite often. The same paint is also available in spray cans and the spray cans don't have a catalyst.

I don't understand the concern because the paint that the Filling Station sells is the correct Dark Blue-Gray for your engine and it sprays or brushes on the engine parts nicely. You don't need a catalyst and if you want to thin the paint to make it easier for spraying you can buy the thinner at your local automotive paint store.

OK, here we go.

I do not care about color when I am posting about a paint "system". What I received from the Filling Station was a PPG labeled can for a "system" that was not currently availalable from the local PPG jobber in Shreveport, Louisiana. Nor were the reducer or catalyst.

What part of this do you not understand?

I have been painting my own cars since 1984. What is printed on a paint can label is not the whole story. You MUST have the technical data sheet from the paint manufacturer to know how to mix it and how to apply it

I say again, I don't want to step on toes, but this is in my comfort zone.

Tom

Like you I have been spray painting a long time..........since 1979 so I totally understand everything you are saying. I have a large notebook of PPG tech. sheets so I know what you are referring to regarding paint systems and etc. I have been using the Filling Station's engine paint since the late 1980's. I don't know the formula that the Filling Station is using, however, the engine paint (quart can) that I am currently using does not have to be mixed with a catalyst and it is ready to go right out of the can unless you want to thin it a little more for spraying, which I do because I spray their product. Both of my local automotive paint suppliers carry the thinner in stock and one of the stores is PPG.

Steve from TFS again.....I have a friend that is a factory rep for PPG Industries. I contacted him this morning and asked him about this question. Here is what he said: Delstar DAR (our engine paint) is in fact still available in many areas but PPG is phasing it out over 4-5 years as the water borne paint changeover is implemented. However, he says that our paint can be used AS IS out of the can for AIR DRY situations. If one wishes to use a catalyst, the PPG Light Industrial Coatings Division has a product ALK-200 which has a compatible catalyst to use with DAR. ALK-200 is available throughout the country along with the catalyst.

When a catalyst is used, it changes the paint from acrylic enamel to acrylic urethane, which is in fact, harder than enamel. However, it is not necessary, just an option. On an engine, which does not have exposure to sun and washing like an exterior automotive finish, it is a personal preference if you use a catalyst or not.

I hope this is a satisfactory explanation for everyone.

There you go! Thanks Steve for the explanation and the update. Many of us have used your engine paint for years and, as we have tried to explain in the posts above, it is not a requirement that a catalyst be used since the paint is ready to use right out of the can as you and the PPG factory rep. have confirmed. And, as you know, the thinner (if needed for spraying) is available locally as well.

Thank you Steve for the lucid explanation. I am certainly satisfied with the explanation and grateful that the discussion remained civil.

Tom

Tom - We are all here for the same reason - doing the best job possible to keep our old Chevys on the road! Best regards, Steve

Just so everyone knows, I ordered a quart from the FS last week and they are currently out of stock. I didn’t ask if they had the pints or spray cans. Was told 2-3weeks out. My motor isn’t back from the machine shop yet anyway!