I wonder why the tinting #'s are so different than the ones on the cans above???

I skipped dinner and did a spray test. I had forgotten I had a small area of original paint on the side of the cowl under the fender.

I think 68Bigbird's DBC3192H is a closer match than what they mixed up for me.

Their is no clearcoat over it, so that may throw it off a bit as well.

Not sure how this pic will look. I don't have photoshop, so this is the best I can do:



I wonder if PPG will give me credit for a paint they got wrong?

The numbers on my DBC3192H are for one pint. I suspect these numbers are grams of each ingredient, but I didn't ask, so thats a guess. It could be ml or something else. Is your formula for one quart? I'm also puzzled why there are two sets of values next to each ingredient.

The shop I buy paint from has a large sign saying "no return on paints". So it will depend on policy and promises made at your store. I would think they will work with you to improve the match to suit your expectations. The problem will be bringing an example for them to match. It may also be worth a test spray over black primer.

I had a chance today to see PPG base/clear "Torch Red" on a 56 BelAir. Most of the show cars had noticable orange peel. This car had been extensively color sanded and it looked awesome. I'm now leaning towards bc/cc. I need to see how single stage sprays out though.

Your sample Cat seems a lot lighter.

Sample 2

Here is the #2 sample I had done...hard to tell with nothing to compare to but seems closer.

I may just stay with this as it was the computer versin of matador/solar red.???

I have some Dupont Lucite acrylic lacquer number 4948-LH that I could use to make some samples from if anyone would like to see the original lacquer formula color for '68 Chevy Matador Red, Pontiac Solar Red, Buick & Olds Scarlet Red. I have an opened quart and an unopened gallon for future needs.

That is not a bad idea, perhaps you can spray out a card and cut us up some samples. That would be much appreciated, as I need to lay down a base coat on the U/S of the lids and doors etc first. I have a little time.

Jim, I think that would be a huge help to us.

Dave, yeh, I think it is a bit light as well.

The formula I posted was for a quart.

I also sprayed a metal card for testing that I could cut and send to anyone who would want it.

The critical path now is drying time. I mixed enough to shoot an 8 1/2 x 11 folio cover that I will cut up and send. PM me with your addresses. (I love the smell of lacquer thinner in the morning. It smells like restoration.)

When it is dry enough to handle, I will compare it to my car for a color reasonableness check. I think wet sanding, buffing and polish change the appearance but hopefully the color shade will match. The lacquer should be sufficiently dry for Monday's mail although I have noticed full curing takes a month or two. Usually I find that I can wet sand and finish after a day or two.

To the best of my knowledge, this color match should be very close to original. It is the same paint (acrylic lacquer) used by the factory and is mixed to the Dupont 4948-LH number in the charts. When I first repainted, in 1988, I don't recall significant deviations from areas not exposed to years of weather and sun. There are still some recessed/hidden places on my car that have never been repainted. When I replaced a quarter in 2004, I had a new batch of the acrylic lacquer mixed at a different store and it matches the 16 year-old stuff perfectly. I challenge anyone to find which panels were repainted in '04.

The gallon I purchased in 1988 cost $56.25. The gallon that I bought in 2003 as a spare, before they zapped lacquer here, cost $278.

It is dry enough to handle. The color of the “chip” seems to be close to the final look. The reflection of the garage door in the sanded/buffed and Zaino polished car trunk lid makes it a bit different.


The trunk lid underside has the original 38 year-old but faded dull abused paint so it looks a little different. Don't compare the two pictures to each other since the lighting and exposure is the real difference.


Can on the right 1988, on the left 2003.


My webpage has my solar red story: http://www.geocities.com/jims68fb/SolarRed.html If you would like to add your DCC experiences to it when your done or a link to your sites where you discuss it, please let me know.

Great Jim, looks like a reasonable match, I'll PM my address. Yes! once we get this right I will try and summarize the "quest" and the results we end up with.

The color samples were mailed today.

Marvelous, I'm anxious to compare it to the sample I have here.

Just recieved your sample (many thanks by the way) It appears from your photo that the match was close albeit darker. It appears you sprayed the sample over black tho so that would do it. My sample seems lighter . You will notice a darker strip on my sample at the top. That was my first sample in single stage, the lower being the BC/cc.

Now what? Vette torch red??? Argh!

Cat, did you get your sample, how did it match??

Paint

stage

I put on sufficient coats on that the black material should not show through. I kept adding coats until I emptied the sprayer. look at the cut edge of the sample and you will see that about half the thickness if probably paint.

I recieved mine as well today. Many thanks.

I have found the paint I have is not even close. Your sample is a much darker, richer color. Unfortunately, a friend just dropped off the front fenders and a few other pieces that he cut in for me before I hung them this weekend. Portions will have to be repainted once on the car, but at least their is color on these sections. A thin coat of the correct color should take care of it.

Now I just have to figure out the exact correct color. I think I will go with 68bigbirds bc/cc formula.

Tim

Just for you guys; (and my own double check on color) I took out my old original touch-up paint that I used to use when my '68 was newer and had original factory paint. The Duplicolor DS-GM 132 was real good for original color touchup. I used a few cans of it when my '68 was my driver from '69-82.

I sprayed a bit on the part I saved for myself of the color sample I made for you. It is pretty darn close to the sample.

It also looks a bit lighter. My sample looks too "lipstick" like, . Think I'll sleep on it. Thanks all...Will report after my sleep and discussion with the paint shop, whicjh I too will have spray out bigbirds mix for comparison.

s'funny, my single stage (bigbirds dcc) is darker, not lighter as his appears.

My grandmother's old saying: Man with one watch knows what time it is. Man with two watches never knows.

I may well go with the first watch !

Dave, I didn't mix my DCC with hardener and that might make a difference. I hope we're not seeing variations at PPG vendors or this will become an impossible venture. That DCC was just a quick swab of the paint wiped on the panel w/o hardener.

I have not sprayed out the DCC yet because it's a lot of trouble to set up to deal with the isocyantes. I have lots of bare steel right now and can't set up fans and let humidity inside. The DBC base doesn't have iso, so it was quick to spray that test. The 2K clears and DCC contain isocyanate and proper health protection is crucial.

We need to keep in mind that on the computer screen, we can only make comparisons against an ajacent solar red example. Differences in cameras and monitors will make shade comparision between my photo and someone elses photo invalid.

I picked up a gallon of DBC3192H today, so even if the color isn't right, that's the color it is going to be. (As a note, that number now comes up as Tobasco Red? But it does cross referance to Matador/ Solar)

I am having the fenders and misc. pieces re-cut in and should have them back by this weekend for re-assembly.

I was going to just have it recut after assembly, but I started to do that yesterday and decided I didn't want to get paint on the new J-clips and fasteners.

Thanks for all the help.

I'm astonished that they would have another name for this color code. It has me a bit concerned what I will get when I go to fill my paint order when I eventually reach the point when I am painting. The 1968 GM color names for Ditzler 71634 were:

Chevy-Matador Red
Pontiac - Solar Red
Buick - Scarlet Red
Olds - Scarlet

I looked on autocolorlibrary.com at similar years and GM makes and whatnot and I don't find a Tobasco described anywhere. I'm not sure it matters, especially if it crossed over.

What counts in the end is not the paint name but how it looks when you're finished. Have you opened the can to see what is inside? I hope it looks great. I hope your paint turns out awesome.

A couple years ago, prior to finding acrylic lacquer, I was trying to get a DCC match for mine. After the local paint shop did a terrible job of trying to computer match my solar red, they combed their books found mention of what they called a cross reference to a VW color.

Remembering that, I just did a search and found: 1980 VW color tobasco red. See: http://autocolorlibrary.com/cgi-bin/search/searchpic.pl?1980-volkswagen-pg01.jpg

I agree with 68Bigbird's words: "What counts in the end is not the paint name but how it looks when you're finished." from what it looks like in the color chip, it looks like it will be good.

Jim, funny you mentioned that. The local shop told me the same thing. The Tobasco Red was fram an late 70's VW.

I did a dab test and the color looks very close to the lacquer sample sent to me. Once it has been reduced and properly layed out with clear, I think it will be super close. Just kind of pisses me off that I wasted $70 on a paint that is useless the first time around.

Tim

Thanks for the feedback Cat, if the color is very close to Jims sample I will get a quart made up for spraying in the necessary spots, jambs etc. Post a few shots when you get some done! I will likely be a few weeks before the first goes on.

Catalina, that was $70 well spent. Probably it's the best $70 you've spent on your project. If you had bought the full gallon based on the paint vendor's promise of an identical match and left it with your painter to complete your job, you would have been pretty unhappy when you picked up your car. You save yourself a lot of disappointment with that trial test.

Just ordered the paint using Bigbirds formula. Well at least when we pull up together we'll all match!

I'm going to put it over a white epoxy primer basecoat to brighten it slightly though.

Here we go....

Just got all my stuff today, same thing on the can "VW Tabasco Red".

Did a quick finger swab test and it is still wet but looks pretty close to my sample 2 but a little darker towards Jims sample.

Anyhow away we go. By the way, I paid $267 gal Canadian incl. 25% discount which I wangled. Also picked up the epoxy primer in white to keep the base light. Lots of work to do this weekend with the primer.