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Paint Code for Interior of '40 Cabriolet


Ron K.

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My car is undergoing body and paint work to restore it to the original Capri Blue color that she departed the factory with so many years ago. It was delivered with the standard interior, not gold trim, and the dash appears to be the original plum/maroon color (Bernie, the gentleman that helped repaint the car black in 1953, says that he does not believe that they painted the interior at the time). John Murphy tried to ferret out the color code but so far has been unsuccessful, do any of you experts happen to know what the code is? A friend that worked for Harrah's years ago thought that Henry used a maroon colored trim on the interior of his other Ford products during this time period and that it might be the same. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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The standard interior dash color (not used on this car was tan, with chrome) The plumb metallic is best color matched by a mixer

with new computer technology, can match very well. similar to chrysler 1994 plumb metallic

The production card indicates chrome trim??, is it the tan plastic as well..??

very unusual..I think id return to factory specs for long term investment value..leave the custom jobs to the bowties

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Ron...This paint was thoroughly researched by long time LCOC member Lloyd Pearson when he was restoring his 100 point Lincoln Continental Cabriolet in an article he did for LCOC in the summer of 1973. He used the 1966 Buick Riviera Plum paint for his dashboard. The GM code for Riviera Plum is "U" for the short code version or WA3516.

He further notes that Gold Macoid was the finish listed for the dash bezels, trim, window cranks and door handles. Gold Macoid was THE finish unless listed otherwise on the car's production card. Gold Macoid was the standard for the Continentals while chrome was standard for the Zeffers unless noted on the car prodiction record.

I googled "Paint code for 1966 Buick Riviera Plum paint." The third paragraph down on the answer shows this code. Hope this helps

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Guest Jim Zephyr

Thanks for the code John, I am getting ready to paint a dash soon. Ron what is your basis for suggesting standard interior? I have seen photos of your car that don't give any hint of it.

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Thank you for the response and I owe John an apology, I misunderstood his earlier answer. Okay let me step back, as you can tell I am new to the Lincoln Continental and obviously have some misconceptions. Can you guys straighten me out on the interior? I thought that the gold trim was an option and if you did not order it, your Continental came with the maroon interior paint and chrome trim on all of the dash instruments and etc. Jim that is why, when looking at a copy of the build sheet I assumed that it was "standard" because it did not have any mention of the gold trim. The pressure is on to get this resolved because Mike would like to paint the interior later next week. Thanks, I really appreciate your help in getting this resolved. Jim, you have the same Capri Blue that would be correct for my '40 Cabriolet, could you or John confirm the correct paint code one more time so that I am sure to have the correct one. I just ordered the LZOC Authenticity Guide, should have done it two years ago.

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Gentlemen, I just had a nice conversation with Mr. Murphy and he set me straight. He had been telling me all along that I needed gold trim, unless the build sheet specified something else (like his Copper Penny), and I wasn't listening. Thank you Mr. Bwatoe and Jim for your input and trying to keep me on the right track.

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Guest Jim Zephyr

Its nice to have a modern paint code for a more modern car, but still take it all carefully and double check what they are selling you to avoid disapointment. Matching paint is tricky business and requires every clue you can get your eyes and hands on.

So you are back to gold Macoid for your interior trim as almost every 40 Continental had? Mickey Rooney car had chrome with a blue steering wheel...very few exceptions to the gold Macoid with the Zephyr Continentals.

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Yes sir, Mr. Murphy has the patience of Job and explained it all to me. Jim, I am sure that you went through the drill on the paint code for Capri Blue '40 Cabriolet, if you have it available would you give it to me and I will cross check it with the one that I have. Thank you.

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Guest Jim Zephyr

Ron, I have done Beetle Green (L-Z), Vineyard Green (Ford) and Ascot Maroon (Lincoln ) but no experience with Capri Blue. Please share you knowledge with me when you figure it out, as I will be doing it one day.

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My mentor, John Murphy, sent me this. "Found a paint chart from Dupont which shows a 1940 Lincoln Zephyr Capri Blue metallic as DULUX 181-6607 and a paint code for their PYRALUX 236-34131. Don't know the difference...your painter should".

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Dulux is an obsolete Dupont enamel, before Centari acrylic and Imron ...

Capri Blue is a shade different than modern chevelle gto marina blue, has a little grey tint, not as bright but also metallic..

Paint has come a long long way...I would suggest color / clear coat 2 stage modern paint in a color

close enough to be authentic..Go to a Bmw dealer or such, look at cars on the road..find a modern

replacement..be true to original, ........The trophy crowd paint their cars black, burgundy or dk green.. (they wont know the diff)

41 blue is a little brighter.. Capri is an odd (uncommon) tone..Look for color pics no two are the same...

Edited by Mssr. Bwatoe (see edit history)
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A young guy from Chicago had a real nice 40 cab at Charlotte Lowes field in 2010 and the paint he used was Deltron dbu 16553. A beauty! Capri Blue was the orig on my 40 also and I have thought ever since that if I get a chance to repaint it, this is my target! Paul

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Guest Jim Zephyr

Ok Paul and Ron, I will go to work on paint further, this car is in my garage at present. Look carefully at spare tire versus rest of car in photo you posted and you might detect a much too light version of Capri Blue which is what we don't want to end up with. I have two cans of paint and I will see if the number of the one you are putting forth is the correct darker one.

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Edited by Jim Zephyr (see edit history)
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Being new to Lincolns, I am surprised that this wasn't resolved long ago and it amazes me that high end restorers are using varying shades of what they believe is Capri Blue. I haven't received my Authenticity Guide yet but it must not mention a modern paint code for Capri Blue or this issue would be resolved. Did our paint Guru, Ed Spagnola (?) ever delve into this conundrum? I appreciate your input and like to try to paint my Cabriolet as close the authentic color as possible.

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Guest Jim Zephyr

Ron here is some more intel I offer up in the name of the Capri Blue color quest - The number that was quoted above was what was used on the spare tire (Deltron dbu 16553 ) it is so light, wrong match, bad enough that I will redo. Deltron 15867 as main layer with the pictured formula below appears to be quite good but I will not call it perfect at this time. I have spoke with Ed Spangnolo and he will warn you about the difficulty matching paint. Only so many Capri Blue cars being painted these days and the old numbers are not as helpful as you would think, paint evolves through the years...

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Thank you Jim, are you happy enough with the Deltron 15867 to use it or is more research by us required? Great idea John but if I remember correctly, Reece even painted them black also but I will check the next time that I am in the shop.

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Guest Jim Zephyr

I keep looking at the firewall shot I posted and I ask myself if its an exact match...might be a shade darker than its supposed to be, I am sure it would work pretty well. I will explore this paint against original paint one day, its a time consuming process, but if you have some original that you can take to someone who is good at it, its worth pursuing that way too. Do a large spray-out-card for formula above and one you match off original and try to coax it closer. It is worth all the effort you put into trying to get it right - you have to bracket it and force yourself to pick. I wouldn't trust any formula - different batches, different people etc. Its not as easy as a formula. Hope this gives you some inspiration -

Edited by Jim Zephyr (see edit history)
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Thank you Jim that is good advice, sadly I do not have anything that has the original paint on it unless I am lucky enough to have an original paint bracket. I will use the paint codes that I have been given then the painter and I will make our best guess. Who knows, I might be right.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest Jim Zephyr

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any luck with Capri Blue paint sourcing? found this after removing the skirt last week, I was surprised at the condition of the original paint -

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When Mike was removing the paint from the skirts he found that the one on the right had been painted black but the paint on the inside came off easy and he found the same thing, the original Capri Blue and it is good enough to do a computer match. We will use that result and compare it to what the manufacturers say is today's equivalent to the old lacquer Capri Blue. By the way, I had a nice conversation with Dr Freeh who restored a beautiful '40 Cabriolet and found out that he had purchased his correct paint from Spagnolla (?) years ago, which is no longer available.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just to bring those of you that were advising me up to date, we went to the paint store today and after an hour and a half, we finally got a pretty good match to the inside of the right fender skirt, just like Jim's. I had been told that the 1940 Capri Blue was not metallic and that they did not use metallic paint that early in production however; my untouched fender skirt had Capri Blue metallic paint and I am positive that it was not repainted until the previous owner painted the rest of the car black in 1953 (lucky for me he missed the inside of the skirt, he did paint the inside of the left one). So, I am using a Dupont Nacent base with a clear coat. As John Murphy told me, who is to prove that you have the wrong color. By the way, that tip on the Buick maroon for the dash was right on.

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