Tracking down old paint colors

[Guest imported_virgilmule]

Are any of you aware of where I can find samples of paint colors manufactured by the following companies around 1930 +/-:

Valentine's

Baer Brothers

DuPont

I have ID numbers and color names to go with the Valentine's paints and the DuPont paints(for example - "Andean Jasper Green", #3005079 {Valentine's} and "Prairie Grass," #2444855 {DuPont}) and color names to go with the Baer Brothers paints (for example - "Mongol Gold").

Where do I start my search?

Thanks!

Jim

[Mike Cullen]

http://www.color-ite.com/

These guys are outstanding!

[Friartuck]

Auto color library has scanned paint chip sheets with codes going back to 1930 and even earlier. http://www.autocolorlibrary.com

[Mark Gregory]

Is there a company that provides a service that can scan a advertising picture or photo . Then give you a picture of your car looking brown , green ,etc. or then 2 tone . Then say this was the original paint but it might look better with this more modern paint colour combination . I am referring to a 1931 car . Thanks , Mark

[Friartuck]

Mark, I tried to do this scan and coloring with limited success. The problem I experienced was a photo (say of a side shot) has shadows and shades that really can't be easily duplicated using photoshop or other graphics program. I ordered the colors for my car from the color library website and the was the best $70 I spent of colors that I didn't want. I ended up getting the basic colors I wanted from my local jobber and tinted them down to the final colors (for one quart) using a postal scale set to grams and doing a trial and error (and keeping track of everything I added). The new formula is the original formula of the basic color plus the tinted amount all measured in grams. At least I can give my formula to my paint jobber and get repeated results. My research was that jobber's formulas are in grams, in both numerical values for a stock color as well as the cummulative value.

[Mark Gregory]

Friartuck , Thank you for responding to my questions . I liked your advice on the auto colour library . It was very informative . My wife says she will never sit in the car if I paint it the original yellow . It is so bright it looks like a Checker Cab . She is partial to a dark blue and grey colour . I would like to keep the car close to an original colour . But according to what I have read there was only about 15 basic colours in the 1930's . I would like the colour blue and grey more vibrant . Also how do you match the 2 colours so that they blend together ? Thanks very much , Mark

[Friartuck]

Mark, Colors for the 1920's and 30's tend to be conservative, expecially for sedans or closed cars. Roadsters or Phaetons could have been painted with more vibrant or brighter colors. Of course there are exceptions. There may be 15 basic colors, but many shades of these. A suggestion is to use a graphics program (perhaps even microsoft paint) and make up color swatch sheets for comparison. Have them printed out at Staples using a laser printer on glossy photo color paper. When you get a combo that satisfies you (and the wife), the local auto paint jobber/vendor should be able to scan the sheet to make up the desired color. Unfortunately there is no a way I'm away of to directly transfer computer colors into an actual color or formula. Do not trust/rely on computer monitors for color accuracy. Printing colors sheets at Staples or at Walgreens (photo processing) is far cheaper than buying paint. Once you've ordered your basic color, your final color will likley be a dried brushed samples side-by-side on a bright white surface (like foam core) and viewed in bright sunlight. Don't forget to consider your interior colors as well (grey/taupe/beige, etc). PM/email me if you have any further Q's.

Edit: Just playing around with microsoft paint (which most PC's include), I was able to create the attached.

Edited September 20, 2013 by Friartuck (see edit history)

[WHSEWARD]

Mark,

I had the same issue in finding paint for my 31 Lincoln - I went to auto color library but the paint chips they had were very dark and not representative of the true colors. However, I looked at a number of pictures of 31 Lincolns on the Internet and found a factory color my wife and I both liked - most factory colors of that period had what are called Intermix numbers, and if you have that number you can get a paint supplier to mix it up using the original tints. They will send you a quart sample, which isn't cheap, but it will allow you to have test panels sprayed to see if that is the color you really want. My restorer sprayed about six different samples including the factory color we were interested in, and we would up getting that color and were very happy with the result. By the way, the car's color was fire engine red when I bought it, and it is now a factory Forest Green.

Hope this helps,

[Mark Gregory]

Hello Bill ,Thank you for the information about the colour of your car . Friartuck also gave me information about colours available at the AACA reference library . Which I did not know about till now . Also the auto colour library was very informative regarding colours . Friartuck sent me a photo of his beautiful car . You can see that with just a few changes you can really change a car . I have been trying to determine colours by old magazine advertisements . The car I am interested in was designed by Amos Northup . When I look how he accented the car with belt lines and colour differences and a fine red stripe . You can see he was a master . I came across a photo of a orange 1930 Packard . With a few tricks with the colouring of the car rims and belt lines and accents you can see how those bold colours could work . Here is the link to the photo .Thank you for your help Mark http://www.remarkablecars.com/for-sale/showproduct.php?product=10746

Edited September 23, 2013 by Mark Gregory (see edit history)

[Durant Mike]

I used the Auto color Library to get my original 1928 Durant colors. I think they were great to work with. I emailed them, the provided me a scanned 1928 Paint Chip Chart and when I called mixed the colors and sent them to me. I've also found the same colors by browsing their "first auto color codes" section. There I found most of the colors Durant used for the other years. Although not exact, the color of my Durant, a light green color, was pretty close to what was shown on my computer. Any paint I need that's where I'm getting it from.

[Restorer32]

Bear in mind that even modern tints do not remain 100% consistent over time so even if you use the exact same formula and specify the exact same type paint the color you get today may vary slightly from the same formula mixed even a few years or even months ago.

[John_S_in_Penna]

Here's one thing to consider when choosing paint colors--

it may give your wife a broader historical perspective.

Tastes vary with time, and sometimes run in fads. Recall the

browns, golds, and avocado greens of the late 1960's and eary 1970's.

Later, those same colors may go for a period being absolutely detested before

they become appreciated for representing an era.

When I repainted my gray-and-yellow 1957 Buick in the 1980's,

I thought of changing the colors. But I did not, and soon realized that

those authentic colors are distinctive. I've never seen another one painted in

such a "dawn gray" and "antique ivory" (soft lavender gray and pale yellow) combination!

There's something to be said for repainting your car in the colors

it actually came in from the factory: You're documenting the

tastes and styles of a part of history. If someone doesn't like a

certain shade of yellow, for example, is she looking through 2013 eyes?

That shade of yellow, daring and dashing, may have been the cat's pajamas in 1931!

And a bold yellow may be a stand-out among the hundreds of cars at a major car show!

Of course, the car is yours and the decision is up to you. But this gives another view.

Edited September 23, 2013 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[Matt Harwood]

It's also important to note that there is no "exact" color unless you have some untouched sample from the period. Hunt around the car and look under the upholstery and under snaps and other hardware to find a chunk of original paint that hasn't been exposed to the elements and will give a better representation of what was there originally. A few shades in either direction is not going to raise any eyebrows, as the paint probably varied a bit from day to day and even from supplier to supplier as the manufacturers bought in bulk just to keep the lines moving. There's just no way to say what the exact color is for any given car, but we can get pretty close approximations using original formulas.

In short, don't sweat it if you don't get it exactly right, because nobody knows for sure anyway!

[Mark Gregory]

Thank you everyone . I am going take some time to think about all the excellent information everyone contributed . Thank you , Mark