Hey all, been a while since I have been on here. Since last posting I have left my day job of 32 1/2 year. Had to go out on disability due to a on going heart condition so hoping to get back on this truck project soon!

Anyway my youngest daughter has went to work at the local Sherwin Williams automotive paint supplier for our region. She is just part time right now while she finishes up her final year of college. Anyway with the employee discount I thought it would be a good time to maybe purchase some paint. I'm seriously considering Aquatone Blue as my dads first car was a 55 ford Fairlane, yes you guessed it Aquatone Blue and white.(sorry Abe lol)

I sent some info with my daughter Friday to work and the young man there mixed me a sample but I'm thinking it is a bit dark. This store has a new manager who knows nothing about automotive paint only managing and she started the same day as my daughter and only one guy there (late 20's) knows how to mix the paints and unfortunately doesn't understand much about old vehicles. Should he be able to tell anything if I give him the codes below. If not how can I help him to cross the info to match this color?

 

Hate to hear you had to stop working especially due to health issues.

I'm pretty sure light blues fade with time. Could it be you're remembering your Dad's car a few years in? You can give the paint mixer your stuff but he probably had the formula already.

I'm no painter but I had a good friend that was. He showed me a maroon car that was about 10 years old that had darkened so much that if the original color was applied it would have taken a complete paint job to even come close. Of course with his MAGIC and blending you couldn't see where he'd repainted the car from the rest.

 

Thanks BJ. I may not have explained it very well in the original post, but no he doesn't have anything as far as codes this far back. None of their books or paper work go back that far my daughter said. Didn't know if anyone might have the correct color code for aquatone blue in the Sherwin Williams line or not. I wasn't sure what the Code C and then the SW 7521 meant if that would help him or not.

 

You could provide your paint store with the SW 7521 number and see what he turns up. It can't hurt. Chances are though, it won't help much. The problem is over the last 20-40 years, paint technology has changed drastically, and the products used back when our trucks were in regular service and would see a body shop if damaged are no longer made. Many of the old formulas were not converted to the new paints unless it was a very popular color, for example, Wimbledon White. So even if they were to turn up a formula, the toners to mix the color are no longer available.

There are still some companies that specialize in antique and low volume paints, lacquers and enamels, and one of those may be able to mix a pint of the correct color that you could spray out on a test panel, then take that to the store for them to scan and create a formula in the new tech paints. These companies used to advertise in places like Hemmings Motor News. It could be worth a look.

 

Hey, That's a great suggestion Merc. I'll do a little online searching and see what that turns up. I also have a PM into TomCT55 one of our members who I found and old thread and he did a rebuild and painted his 55 truck the aquatone blue. Hoping he can shed some light on where he got his paint and what that code was. Thanks again!!

Greg

 

I had this issue on my 33 Hot Rod I completed this year. I wanted to paint it 68 Ford LimeGold. I provided all the paint codes, but nothing cross referenced. Finally the guy behind the counter who was very knowledgeable and helpful remembered he had a binder of paint chips for classic colors and we found what appeared to be the correct limeGold color or at least a very close match but the name on the paint chip was different.

On a whim he entered the name of the color on the chip into his system and the formula came up but more interesting is it crossed as an exact match to 68 Ford LimeGold which was in parenthesis next to the other color name.

Our other option was he noted he could have created the color 99% close to the original based off a high resolution picture and tweak from there if needed.

He did note while the mix will be LimeGold and has the same formula as the old paint code, paint bases and metallic have changed over time so if he mixes it purely by formula it will be slightly lighter than the original which as you can see in the attached pic he was right but I actually like it better. He could have added darker tones to get it to match even closer but I'm glad I didn't go that route.

If you find the right paint supply house with the right folks they can work magic on the old colors. The problem is this is a dying art.

My 33 is actually a hair darker in person but still slightly different than the original 68 LimeGold.

Jim

 

I worked with a man years ago who was born and raised in Louisiana. His wife had saved all the recipes that a local magazine had printed...this was a prized possession for her and she guarded it with her life. I had an interest in Louisiana cuisine so I convinced her to lend me the collection in return for me making copies for her and binding it into a book format. I thought that I had scored big time until I began to read the articles/recipes...the ingredients were plentiful in Louisiana but where I lived they were impossible to find. The moral of the story...you can have "codes" and "mix recipes" but if you don't have the correct ingredients the end result will likely be something other than what was expected.
I worked with the owner of Tri City Paints some time ago in collecting old paint chip cards. He was compiling a library and has since placed it online. TCP has been able to match many colors that I have needed and keeps the new code and mix recipe on file for me. Like F100fun has done...sometimes you have to create your best situation with you local suppliers.