SparksNArcs Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Hello, I'm in the process of acquiring a partially rebuilt 1930 Series 14 Sedan from a friend. At the moment, the car is in primer, and I was wondering what colors were available/ popular at the time. The Franklin brochure seems to indicate that available colors were whatever they could get at the time of inquiry, which doesn't help much. I was told it was originally a midnight blue, but I would love to see it in a dark green personally. Are there any greens that would be period correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Any dark non-metalic color would be appropriate. Dark green would be great. The following would not: 1. Anything with metallic. 2. Anything bright. 3. Red. 4. Orange. 5. Purple. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 38 minutes ago, alsancle said: Any dark non-metalic color would be appropriate. Dark green would be great. The following would not: 1. Anything with metallic. 2. Anything bright. 3. Red. 4. Orange. 5. Purple. 6. Silver. 7. White. And brown is just shooting yourself in the foot at resale time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 never white? 😀 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Yes, I'm afraid I have to be in the "never paint a pre-war car white" camp. Think of how dramatic that car would look in a dark color. White just washes out the details like that crease running along the hood to meet the belt line trim. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksNArcs Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 Green is my favorite color, and since I'd be spraying it myself I'd avoid brighter colors; that requires talent to pull off. Are there any specific greens/ paint codes that are known to have been used by Franklin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Are you a member of the Franklin club? If not I would join. Also they have a face book page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/251339938628026 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hook Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 You like green Franklins? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Braverman Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 18 hours ago, alsancle said: never white? 😀 Nope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Braverman Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 A sedan looks best when painted in dark colors. My 1930 is two-tone green. Personally I think it's too bright, but my SO loved the colors so much I kinda had to buy it. The car was repainted in the 60s or 70s. These might be the original colors, I don't know. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 41 minutes ago, Steve Braverman said: Nope Normally I would agree. I hate white on prewar cars. But the Delage was painted white from new and really needed to stay that way. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hook Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 I tend to agree with not wanting white, but it has it's place even with Franklins. Some people like it. Franklin's could be painted any color the buyer wished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Braverman Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 1 hour ago, hook said: I tend to agree with not wanting white, but it has it's place even with Franklins. Some people like it. Franklin's could be painted any color the buyer wished. This statement has been overused as an excuse to paint cars ridiculous colors. BTW, that 130 coupe is gray, not white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksNArcs Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 Thanks for all the visual ideas! Steve, your Sedan is what I'm aiming for, probably a little darker, though. I have indeed joined the Franklin club, been sifting through all of the data available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Here is SJN 564 with a off white paint job when new...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 17 minutes ago, edinmass said: Here is SJN 564 with an off white paint job when new...... Off white? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 You need to have some color chips of the era, ACME chips are larger about 2 1/2 inches by 4 1/2 inches. Acme had the name of the car and year on the back the color was used by and the mixing formula - now obsolete. I have about 400+ of these all different - no I can not lend out sorry. Even scanning the chips on a artist preferred copier does not totally render exactly the same color as on the chip - my scanner is what the School of Visual Arts in NY City uses. If you are painting the car what kind of paint are you using ? modern base coat clear coat, lacquer, acrylic lacquer, enamel, acrylic enamel? Give us some clue please. If you are using lacquer then go to an automotive paint supplier that sells paints to auto body shops and can order or mix a color for you. European car colors of the early 1970s like Jaguar , Mercedes Benz etc can have color chips of non metallic colors that are almost a exact match to period color. The color may have to be imported - I would suggest a stock color readily available not having to be mixed. It may have to be imported - Belco is a British lacquer that I used in 1972 to paint a Franklin I had - exact match on the two blue shades on the car originally. Most all cars had black painted fenders, very rare when new to have two shades of a color on the car - one on the fenders and belt moldings and one on the body. that is mostly a post war collector choice. I have studied color for decades, taught art for 35+ years and collected period material on pre WWII era cars since 1964 and have based my collection of period material on that. DO NOT look at color samples under fluorescent lights! use natural light only, fluorescent lights will wash the color out you are looking at and you will not see a true color. It is worth paying for a quart of a color you like then painting a masonite panel with it that you have primed and sanded to get a better view of exactly what you will then be spending hundreds of $ on to buy gallons of. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksNArcs Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 1 hour ago, Walt G said: You need to have some color chips of the era, ACME chips are larger about 2 1/2 inches by 4 1/2 inches. Acme had the name of the car and year on the back the color was used by and the mixing formula - now obsolete. I have about 400+ of these all different - no I can not lend out sorry. Even scanning the chips on a artist preferred copier does not totally render exactly the same color as on the chip - my scanner is what the School of Visual Arts in NY City uses. If you are painting the car what kind of paint are you using ? modern base coat clear coat, lacquer, acrylic lacquer, enamel, acrylic enamel? Give us some clue please. If you are using lacquer then go to an automotive paint supplier that sells paints to auto body shops and can order or mix a color for you. European car colors of the early 1970s like Jaguar , Mercedes Benz etc can have color chips of non metallic colors that are almost a exact match to period color. The color may have to be imported - I would suggest a stock color readily available not having to be mixed. It may have to be imported - Belco is a British lacquer that I used in 1972 to paint a Franklin I had - exact match on the two blue shades on the car originally. Most all cars had black painted fenders, very rare when new to have two shades of a color on the car - one on the fenders and belt moldings and one on the body. that is mostly a post war collector choice. I have studied color for decades, taught art for 35+ years and collected period material on pre WWII era cars since 1964 and have based my collection of period material on that. DO NOT look at color samples under fluorescent lights! use natural light only, fluorescent lights will wash the color out you are looking at and you will not see a true color. It is worth paying for a quart of a color you like then painting a masonite panel with it that you have primed and sanded to get a better view of exactly what you will then be spending hundreds of $ on to buy gallons of. Hi Walt, I would probably wind up using a single-stage PPG urethane product.; my Dad used it on his 51' Chevy pickup. It's going to be several months before I even get the car, paying for it over time. I definitely would try out any color I consider, my Dad did the same when trying to get a good match for the blue he wanted on scraps of steel sheet. I'd keep the factory black fenders, no dual-tone green; I like the contrast better with the black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Braverman Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 16 hours ago, SparksNArcs said: Thanks for all the visual ideas! Steve, your Sedan is what I'm aiming for, probably a little darker, though. I have indeed joined the Franklin club, been sifting through all of the data available. I've only had this car a little over a year, and so I haven't had a change to take it apart much body wise, but I think it's probably always been two-tone green. The 1930 sales catalog shows the 147 sedan in two-tone green. These may be accurate colors, I really don't know. It appears different under different lighting. It's growing on me. What part of the country are you in? Will we get to meet you at the Franklin Trek in July in NY? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hook Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 23 hours ago, Steve Braverman said: This statement has been overused as an excuse to paint cars ridiculous colors. BTW, that 130 coupe is gray, not white. That color grey is considered "off white" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Braverman Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 7 minutes ago, hook said: That color grey is considered "off white" Yes, and pink is considered "off red." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparksNArcs Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 6 hours ago, Steve Braverman said: I've only had this car a little over a year, and so I haven't had a change to take it apart much body wise, but I think it's probably always been two-tone green. The 1930 sales catalog shows the 147 sedan in two-tone green. These may be accurate colors, I really don't know. It appears different under different lighting. It's growing on me. What part of the country are you in? Will we get to meet you at the Franklin Trek in July in NY? Unfortunately I'm in Washington, so that drive is a bit far! I'd definitely try to make the meet in Prosser, though. Once I have the car, getting it driving is priority #1. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hook Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 (edited) Franklin and other high priced cars offered many standard and custom colors as per the customer's desires. Remember, back then cars were ordered and not bought off the lot. Very seldom was a car in stock other than maybe a showroom model. So colors were ordered and not pot luck. Also when the order stated fenders not painted, that meant they were black. Edited January 27 by hook spelling (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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