I'm rebuilding my 1952 215 cid I6 engine. I've had the paint to complete the project for quite some time. I thought I was a all set--that is until I opened the can today. My plans for painting engine parts came to an abrupt stop.

I've always thought that the color for my engine block was Lincoln Green, and Bill Hirsch was the best place to get it. That's what I ordered and where I ended up getting it from. My Paint is labeled: Lincoln Green. What I have, however, isn't even close to the color I think it should be.

The valve cover on my engine is painted a different color--much darker than Lincoln Green. I had that color mixed locally, and it seems correct. Here is a picture of my two engine paint colors:




The dark green is the valve cover color. The charcoal gray is supposed to be Lincoln Green from the Hirsch Company.

Does anyone know if the charcoal gray/"army green" like color is really Lincoln Green? Could the paint I ordered from Hirsch be somehow mislabeled? Truckdog (Stu) and 51 PaneMan (Ilya) have engines like mine, re-painted with what I believe are correct stock colors. My "Lincoln Green" seems way off from the color I'm seeing on these seemingly correctly restored engines. Where did I go wrong? Thanks.

 

I bought my paint from Hirsch and it was right. Ilya used either the Detroit Diesel or Krylon, forget which, but they are only slightly different than the Hirsch color. Here is my engine. Stu

 

Thanks for responding Stu and confirming that Lincoln Green is indeed the correct color. My paint from Hirsch is labeled Lincoln Green, but it looks nothing like yours. I got my paint from Hirsch because I liked how your restored engine turned out, and Hirsch paint is advertised to be the best. It is also thought to be the closest match to the factory original. Ilya, I believe, used Alpine from Detroit Diesel.

I believe there is a part number on my paint label. I'll check that out with Hirsch tomorrow and see if my part number matches up with Lincoln Green. I'm hoping it doesn't. Maybe I'll get a free replacement. Thanks again. Your engine is a thing of beauty, Stu! I'm hoping mine looks half as good.

 

Thanks. Have you stirred the gray/green to see if it's just separated? Stu

 

Yes, I thought about that. It is two years old, and at first I thought that settling was maybe the problem. That is not the case, however. Surprisingly, there didn't seem to be any sediments at all at the bottom.

 

I have had good luck with this Duplicolor Ceramic Engine Paint.

Hunter Green looks closest to the valve cover in Stu's picture -



Ford Green -



Detroit Diesel Alpine Green -



* * *

Ford Red -

 

I've found that Ford Red is not the red used to paint the engine in '54. Ford Red has more orange in it. I used Dupli Color Red.

 

Thanks Pete and Abe for suggesting alternatives from Dupli-Color. Actually, I'm using Dupli-Color for the black engine parts I'm painting. My local parts store carries and recommends the brand, but doesn't stock the colors Pete is showing as alternatives to Bill Hirsch's Lincoln Green. Maybe my store can order the color I need if I can't get a replacement from Bill Hirsch.

 

I just checked the link that Pete supplied. The Dupli-Color paints are available on Amazon--Just one click away. Thanks Pete and all the other great people on FTE who are so willing to share their great knowledge and experience!

 

Suggest just ordering from Amazon - see links. If you have a Prime membership you can get it By Monday for no shipping charges.

 

And if you have a favorite charity, go through "Amazon Smile". (smile.amazon.com) They will donate a % to whatever charity you choose, and it costs you nothing. Typically it's just pennies, but they add up.

 

I spoke with the Hirsch people today and was eventually bumped up to a supervisor. The numbers on my label matched up with my original order--My paint is Lincoln Green for sure they say. The supervisor I spoke with was polite but firm--either I am mistaken about how Lincoln Green should really look, or my can just needs to be shaken some more.

In response, I took my can to a paint store and had it "professionally" shaken--there was no change. It's still essentially a very dark "army green" like color that is more gray than green. I called back to tell the Hirsch people that one of their explanations was eliminated. Now the question becomes--What does Lincoln Green really look like? I said I knew--It's on my engine, and Iyla's, and Truckdog's. There are pictures of Lincoln Green on the internet. No matter they said--they won't admit a mistake and send a replacement out until I have seen an actual sample of Lincoln Green that they are sending to me. I know it would be easier at this point to just order something different from Amazon, but now I'm convinced a mistake has occurred, and I want Hirsch to fix it.

 

Having to fight with them over something so easily fixed doesn't make sense. Why fight with a guy like you that has a platform like this onwhich to voice your complaints. Makes me reluctant to do business with them again. Amazon, or one of their vendor partners, would have bent over backwards to make it right. Stu

Edit - when I bought mine I bought rattle cans and a quart for future use. Never opened the quart until just now. It's been sitting in their box unopened a couple years. The can says to "stir" completely, so your professional shaker is way over kill. You can see that my dowel stick found the green pigment on the bottom inch or so of the can. They are screwing with you. Stu

 

I used Detroit diesel green for my lincoln yblock and a dark green powder coat on the valve covers.

 

Anyone use the above pictures Ford green?