Engine colour

[John McEwan]

I have my ‘23 engine out getting rebored and want to paint it while it’s out. I’ve seen a couple of posts where a bloke said they were originally light grey and fade to green after a few years of heat cycling. Would I be better going for grey using modern paint which probably wouldn’t fade off or just go straight to the weird green colour.

[Mattml430]

4 minutes ago, John McEwan said:

I have my ‘23 engine out getting rebored and want to paint it while it’s out. I’ve seen a couple of posts where a bloke said they were originally light grey and fade to green after a few years of heat cycling. Would I be better going for grey using modern paint which probably wouldn’t fade off or just go straight to the weird green colour.

I think they were green John. I have some if you need it. The 6 cylinder was grey. 

[John McEwan]

I was going off this and a couple of other similar posts.

[Mattml430]

22 minutes ago, John McEwan said:

I was going off this and a couple of other similar posts.

I’m not up to speed on the early ones sorry John. But if you do decide to go with the green it’s yours if you need it. 

[John McEwan]

Ok thanks. It will be a couple of weeks till I get back so that gives me plenty of time to worry.

[nearchoclatetown]

Whoever you quoted is correct. Early engines were black and then they were a light green/grey. 

[22touring]

Not to disagree with any of the foregoing because the guys who've already replied to you are entirely correct, but I believe the correct green engine color for a '23 is DuPont DuLux 83503 - 1958 Peugeot green.

Check out this thread:

https://forums.aaca.org/topic/44755-engine-color/

[nearchoclatetown]

Just yesterday I found in my stash a paper from Bob Long the original Romar. It says to use the 1958 Peugeot color of 83503 as 22touring suggests. I think this is what Myers and Romars engine paint is based on. The paper tells which engine parts are green/grey, black, or left unpainted. I have sent a copy to our editor and hopefully it will appear in the DBC magazine. 

[John McEwan]

I like this. Is this close to available colours?

[Machinist_Bill]

pstork

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Posted July 3, 2015

In 1914 the first engines were black.  The color of DB engines after the first months was always described as "gray."  The paint used would develop a green tinge when exposed to heat and oil over many years.  This is seen in certain Packard and Hercules engines, which start off medium gray.

 

Romar is a good company, but has innocently misled hundreds of engine restorers with a little misinformation.

 

Recent Dodge TV adds perpetuate another error showing an early DB car with varnished wooden wheels.  The varnishes available a hundred years ago were not very durable.  Hence the wheels were painted blue, with zinc-plated rims.  If Chrysler Corporation cannot get the facts straight, we should not be hard on fellow restorers who get things wrong

 

Paul Smith

 

Absolutely True unless someone can post documentation that proves otherwise...........

 

Bill

[Mattml430]

This is the colour I have John. 

[John McEwan]

That looks pretty good.How do we do this?

[Mattml430]

On 4/8/2021 at 4:44 PM, John McEwan said:

That looks pretty good.How do we do this?

I sent you a PM John, I thought you were in Melbourne. Not sure if Aus Post let’s us send paint through the post. 

[RAH]

On 4/7/2021 at 4:03 PM, Machinist_Bill said:

pstork

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Posted July 3, 2015

In 1914 the first engines were black.  The color of DB engines after the first months was always described as "gray."  The paint used would develop a green tinge when exposed to heat and oil over many years.  This is seen in certain Packard and Hercules engines, which start off medium gray.

 

Romar is a good company, but has innocently misled hundreds of engine restorers with a little misinformation.

 

Recent Dodge TV adds perpetuate another error showing an early DB car with varnished wooden wheels.  The varnishes available a hundred years ago were not very durable.  Hence the wheels were painted blue, with zinc-plated rims.  If Chrysler Corporation cannot get the facts straight, we should not be hard on fellow restorers who get things wrong

 

Paul Smith

 

Absolutely True unless someone can post documentation that proves otherwise...........

 

Bill

 

[RAH]

Guys, As you can see from Machinist Bill's post from Ditzler Company, the Dodge Brothers original designation for engine color was "Ditzler Motor Grey". Unfortunately it was NOT a 'color fast' formula and had a tendency to vary over time NOT specifically or caused by heating and oxidizing although that may also have an effect. It has been described as a Grey 'porch and deck' enamel with a hint of green. This is relative only to 4-cyl DB engines not the later 6's.

 

[nearchoclatetown]

I just found a paper in my stash from Bob Long on what engine parts should be what color. It will copied in an upcoming DBC magazine. Bob Long was the original Romar. He wrote the description back several decades ago.  

[Minibago]

Hi John,

The colour supplied by Myers has been matched here in Australia to

 

 

 

I am not saying it is “The correct Colour” but it does come close.

 

[John McEwan]

Excellent. Thank you.