Re: Paint color on my 39

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2014/11/22 10:25:10

Two things conspire to make it generally difficult to get a good match to an original color. First, unfortunately paint chips are not very archival - they tend to darken quite a bit over time even with good storage. I just had occasion to scan some paint chips for the 7th and 8th series Packards and they have all darkened to the point of not being useful. And secondly using the original mix formulas is problematic because many of the tinting colors specified are no longer available. The metallic flake is less of a problem because you can have them custom-ground to a finer particle size.

IMO the two best methods of getting a true match to an OEM are (1) using a paint supplier who has already gone thru the steps to get a match using modern tinting colors and base, and (2) finding an original car in the color you want, and then carefully cleaning a section of the original paint from an area protected from exposure and having it scanned and, if needed, further tinted to match.

Matches to non-metallic paints in current production for modern vehicles is often successful by using the Sikkens color match book, assuming you have something to match to.