Re: Wood grained dash

Posted by Highlander160 On 2009/10/16 21:16:35

Quote:

I get it. I do it for a living, but this part is wrong. Metallics were indeed avaiable from the late 20s all the way through to the end. Persevation is the key as well as thorough research and sound proffesional help when choosing things like color and materials if you don't have any specs to go by. My thing is more early to mid 30s. There were some recommendations and some pre-determined schemes, There was also a catalog of colors. Included in that catalog were several versions of iridescent or polychromatic colors. Bruce Blue was a dark metallic color. Steel Dust polychromatic and Steel Dust Dark poly were 2 shades of silver, one very bright and one dark. There was a bronze metallic color, a brassy gold, and a deep metallic maroon. The thing that is wrong is having these colors matched with polys that are too brilliant or too large like today's tones and colors. Early metallics are very fine in nature, the poly being almost like powder. Very hard to apply without blotching in today's crop of base/clears and HVLP spray guns. I know it's a Packard forum but I recall a KB Lincoln that was done in charcoal and red "pearlescent" scheme. The pearl effect was done using dried ground fish scale and ground oyster shell. That was done in 33. The 34 Packard LeBaron spt phaeton and speedster were displayed and promoted in silver for the phaeton and metallic green for the speedster. The "Car of the Dome" for the Century of Progress in 33 was a beautiful bronze metallic. There was a medium blue metallic that was popular in the 37 model year, and although fewer shades, offerings in the 6th, 7th and 8th series cars as well.

Seeing these colors in person on original cars is like finding the holy grail sometimes. I'm told most every color used by every OEM supplied by Ditzer (PPG) simce 1930 is archived in their main lab in Ohio. I my visit someday, my supplier said he could arrange it, and the idea is exciting.