Paint colors

[cwmcobra]

Not the body, the rest of the car 

My painter, Dick, is an experienced restorer and he keeps asking me about paint colors.  I've done some searching here, but haven't found the requested info.

Is there information available on the correct colors for frame, core support and suspension/steering components, firewall and inner fenders, inside of trunk, underside of body, steel part of heater box (and fiberglas parts?  Dick recommends blasting the fiberglas, then coating with satin clear.).  Also, on the underside of the body, are the edges masked with a clear border between underside and body sides?  Or, as Dick says they did with Pontiacs, is there body overspray on the edges of the underside?

Dick is 76 years old and his attention to detail is amazing.  Whenever I ask a question, his usual response is "well, that depends on how persnickety you want to get".   He is very pernickety with his restorations!

Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

Chuck

 

[schlepcar]

I asked a lot of the same questions and there are previous posts if you search for certain areas. The one that I was concerned with is the masking of edges. On my original paint there was overspray on the floor pan areas,but none on the frame. This was a Flint built car,and I am assuming it was sprayed the exterior color with no taping of edges. Mine has overspray now on the bottoms,but the frame is all semi-gloss black. I believe it is the way it came new....I do not know if different factories had different process on the body color. I did not get crazy on the black parts.Most of them were painted satin or semi-gloss with mixing rust oleum with lacquer thinner. I think the epoxy prime stage that you are doing is just as important as the topcoat on blasted parts. It looks like you have most of the dirty work done...I think someone posted a paint chart for certain parts..I cannot find it,but somebody will remember where it is,looks good Chuck,keep updating,Dan

[Mark Ascher]

Hi Chuck,

You will get a number of answers to these questions! Some will depend on what you want and objectives.
The isn't any info on "correct" colors that I know of out there other than observing and documenting originals. Some plants also did things slightly different.

Frame and core support: black, somewhere in the semi gloss range
Suspension/steering: guessing most steering components bare steel or grey. Control arms black. Steering arms/spindles black (they were on my Fremont car) springs black, shocks medium gray (Shock Gray)
Firewall/inner fenders: see frame & core support. Some plants masked the black at the top of the firewall, some did not.
Inside of trunk is trunk spatter, typically grey but I've seen several different color flecks in the gray.
Underside of body: black
Steel part of heater box: not black, actually a very dark metallic gray
I don't think Fisher Body masked the edges from underside to painted panels. Some overspray is a guess.
Underhood is also black.
You'll want to vary the gloss a bit in some of the large underhood parts, they are not all consistent.

There's a start!

Mark

[cwmcobra]

Thanks guys.  Mark, your list is a great starting point.  I'll review with Dick and we'll have a go at it.  I'm sure he'll have many more questions as we get deeper into the project, so stay tuned!   

 

Chuck

[dsags]

What Mark said. He has studied finishes for many years.

For the frame, underside of the body, inner fenders and firewall the best I have found is GM Black Reconditioning paint. It has about 60% gloss. Not sure if GM sells it but The Parts Place sells it by the gallon. It is used straight with no dilution. About three gallons are needed.

Dan

[WkillGS]

The firewall on my 65 and 66's is flat, flat black. The heater box cover (engine side) is fairly glossy, maybe 80-90%, same as air cleaner and engine pulleys.
60% gloss is about right for underhood sheetmetal. I add a little more gloss to suspension parts.
Frame was originally coated with a black tar-like coating, not paint. Quanta products sells it if you REALLY want it original.
Suspension and steering parts varied. They were usually bare metal parts that got a quick shot of black paint after the frame and chassis was assembled.

Interior was a dark red oxide primer. Inside of doors too. Floor got a LOT of overspray of body color.
Trunk has a mix of black primer and red primer. Overcoated with the splatter trunk paint. Zolatone is a good trunk paint. It's durable, not like the water based spray can stuff.

[Mark Ascher]

After reading Walts post there is a correction. The heater box cover on the engine compartment side is a glossy black. I found that the heater box on a non-air car on the inside is a dark metallic gray.

Mark

[WkillGS]

What do you guys feel is correct for the firewall.... flat or semigloss?
My cars were built in Baltimore or Fremont. All dead flat black.

[cwmcobra]

Thanks for the tip on the GM Reconditioning paint, Dan.  I was told it was no longer available.

I see there are rattle cans of GM trunk spatter paint.  And also a quart of it from The Parts Place, but not the GM formula, apparently.  I'll look into Zolatone as well.

Dick, my painter, has done a lot of Pontiacs and he paints his firewalls and engine bays with low luster black lacquer.  Sounds similar to what you're suggesting, Walt.

And for the metal on the heater or A/C boxes, he says Pontiac GTO's used a dark gray glossy paint.  He didn't mention metallic, but it could be.  I'll take a close look at my heater box and see what it looks like.

Chuck

[Loren At 65GS]

The rattle cans of trunk paint work , but will allow moisture to get through. I don't know if it can be sprayed over with a clear.

 Zolatone can be and is recommended to be sealed with a clear sealer. One of my aviation jobs , we used it and had a representative help us on the first job. They had a color that looked to be a good match for our Buicks.

  Loren

[Mark Ascher]

Loren,

The trunk paint is cleared over in my car. Sort of a matte/semi matte clear.

Mark

[Loren At 65GS]

That's good to know. What did you use?

I need to redo the trunk floor in Champagne Mist. I didn't seal it 25 years ago and now it has some stains in the color.  Seems these cars are never done. LOL

  Loren

[freddie.zee65]

The Black reconditioning paint is available thru Melrose T-Tops in Cortland Illinois.

F.Z.

[Brian]

A tip on painting the trunk--before you spray the gray/white splatter paint on, spray the inside of the trunk with some gray paint.  I used rust-oleum gray in spray cans.  Let it dry a few days, then apply the splatter paint, then once that dries, apply the clear.  By spraying it gray first, it takes a lot less splatter paint to cover it, and the rust-oleum prevents any rust stains if the inside of the trunk gets wet. 

[cwmcobra]

Hi Chuck,

You will get a number of answers to these questions! Some will depend on what you want and objectives.
The isn't any info on "correct" colors that I know of out there other than observing and documenting originals. Some plants also did things slightly different.

Frame and core support: black, somewhere in the semi gloss range
Suspension/steering: guessing most steering components bare steel or grey. Control arms black. Steering arms/spindles black (they were on my Fremont car) springs black, shocks medium gray (Shock Gray)
Firewall/inner fenders: see frame & core support. Some plants masked the black at the top of the firewall, some did not.
Inside of trunk is trunk spatter, typically grey but I've seen several different color flecks in the gray.
Underside of body: black
Steel part of heater box: not black, actually a very dark metallic gray
I don't think Fisher Body masked the edges from underside to painted panels. Some overspray is a guess.
Underhood is also black.
You'll want to vary the gloss a bit in some of the large underhood parts, they are not all consistent.

There's a start!

Mark

A more specific question on suspension and steering components.  What about sway bars, front and rear?  Bare metal color?  Including the fasteners for the rear sway bar to the lower control arms?  If so, will paint with steel colored paint to protect the bare metal.  I assume the same goes for all of the steering components: tie rods and adjusting sleeves, center link, pitman arm, etc?

Thanks,

Chuck