tcolt

I searched this site and came up with code 26 for the viking blue color on my 1972 Vista Cruiser. 26 was not a number two paint shops in L.A. could do anything definitive with, so I found the following GM and other paint codes for various GM colors. http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcod...20Blue&rows=50

Did GM give the same color different names across their brand names? My paint store found a 1972 GM paint with the code WA4069, but it was called bright blue. They also found several others with the 26 code, but they even had different GM or WA paint codes (The books and computers in the paint stores don't call them WA, but GM4069, etc.)

Does anyone have a recommendation for getting the most reliable paint code for Omni, House of Kolor or Matrix base/ clear coat paints? Any recommendations or preferences between these three?

I also might consider Nordic Blue, code 24. Is there anywhere I can see color chips online or pictures of cars that were painted in these two colors? I'm leaning towards my original Viking Blue color or something close because my door jambs are still pretty good and should match ok...

svnt442

Try using A2482

svnt442

OK I found this for 1972 Chevy in two paint lines. The RM Inmont as listed above and PPG.

svnt442

http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/paintdetail.cgi?ppg=2213

chopolds

The different manufacturers just used different names for the same color. And of course, they had different part numbers for them as well. Still the same color (as long as they mix them correctly)
HOK just sells custom paint, not any factory type colors. Great stuff, but not OEM.

farmer52

Great site...thanks!

tcolt

Yes, great site and great information. Thank you! I shouldn't have even started searching on my own...

I hope you don't mind I have a few more questions because I'm a little obsessive :- )

Would you agree that the RM paint chip for the Oldsmobile Viking Blue looks noticeably lighter than the RM Chevrolet Mulsanne Blue chip and also the PPG Mulsanne Blue Poly? Also, as compared to the chip on the paint ref site...

How much base coat do you guys think I need to paint the complete Vista Cruiser (is 1 gallon enough, without jambs? As often as paint systems change, I also like to keep a quart extra for the future)

Any big preferences between PPG (Omni?), RM and Matrix besides price? This car will have to live outside in the California sun, so longevity is more important to me than an awesome gloss, etc....

Did the suffixes "iridium" and "poly" stand for metallic paints?

tcolt

Just to add even more charts...

http://www.autocolorlibrary.com/aclc...obile-pg01.jpg

chopolds

Correct, again, different manufacturers, different names for metallic paint. You CANNOT go by color charts alone! Esp. old ones. They fade, they change tint, some are even printed with inks, instead of using the actual paint. Then whatever took the scan or picture can shift the color. Your monitor is not a true reader of color, either.
And now, with the shift to BC/CC paints, and urethane single stage, it also depends on the accuracy of the manufacture's equipment to scan and reformulate the color, as well as the availability of the proper tints to duplicate them. Often pigments run out, or are unavailable, and new ones used, so they may not match, even from the original mixes.

Texas442

This is an old picture showing both colors next to each other. I suggest staying with code 26 on yours. Our vista is 24, but the flattop is 26 see link in my signature.

chopolds

As for amount of paint needed, it depends. Base/clear, or single stage? Doing all the jambs and edges? For a big station wagon, I'd play it safe and use 1 1/2 gallons of color (basecoat) for the whole car, plus jams, edges, etc. No jams and such, you might get away with 1 gallon, if you use a primer or sealer close in shade to the color (by that I mean not much darker, or lighter, not a matching color primer) Single stage paint, you might need a bit more, but either way you'll probably have some left over, which is good, in case of touch up or accident.
For clear over the base, if you're a good painter, and don't need to sand and buff, a gallon, using an HVLP gun, should be enough.
As for brand, painters prefer what they usually use. All the major manufacturers make a good product, it's personal preference. BUT if you decide to go with the "value line" products (Omni vs. PPG), you may need more, as the color is usually more transparent, so you need more coats. And personally I believe the clears are not as good quality, either. I always use the mid or higher grade products. The hours involved in doing this work, and doing it on valuable older cars, makes it worth the extra $$$.

tcolt

Thanks. Since I'm not doing the jambs, I'll probably get 5 quarts. Either Matrix or RM. I can get Nasan clear for $120 or a medium grade Matrix clear for $130 and high end clear for $130. I don't really know where the difference is. I don't mind paying more, but I don't like paying more for a possibly worse product. There are just so many choices out there.. Nasan, Matrix, RM, PPG, Dupont. Deltron, Chromabase, Fulthane... Argghh!


Texas. Is the dark blue looking Custom Cruiser the same light Blue car in your Gallery? Mine looks more like that one and more like your Vista with 24. Of course it's quite faded now which I also like (lighter Blue metallic). Why do you say stick with the 26? Because of the jambs?

tcolt

I'm as confused as ever about how I could get the "correct" colors from the GM color formulas. I've decided to try to get some fresh paint spray outs of three shades of metallic blue color, since I want to do a two-tone paint scheme on my Vista Cruiser, one of them being my original Viking blue. Depending on which paint chart you look at, they are known as:

1972 Ascot or Nordic blue metallic (poly, irid.), code 24.
1970 Astro Blue metallic, code 25
1972 Viking Blue or Mulsanne Blue and maybe Bright Blue Metallic, code 26

The big problem is that most paint shops don't have paint chip that old and if they do they are all over the place, either from age or because they were never the same to begin with. If you look at the 4 paint chip charts in the thread above you will see that none of the code 26 blues are like the other. Sometimes they are more like a code 24, than another code 26...

Another problem is that if I just have them mix up the paints according to the color formula, my paint supplier says that these paint formulas were made up decades ago and they have long since been superseded by new paint system which use completely different toners and which have no new paint formulas for their current lines of paint. This all sounds right, so my question is. Is there no such thing as an "accurate" paint formula? Is this why I search cars all over thee internet and every paint code shows me pictures of several shades of Blue that all claim they are high quality paint jobs, done in Mulsanne blue? If "close enough" is all I can get, I can live with that, but if it's all more or less a guessing game, then it seems I would be better off looking at current paint formulas and see which one are closest to all these 1972 GM colors. Then, at least I would have a color formula that I can use to accurately reproduce the paint if I new any in the future? I'd love to hear as many thoughts as can chime in on this.

Thanks, Tom

Here are two quick mock-ups I did in Photoshop (i don't really know how to use it...)

Koda

I've got a Chevy with original Ascot Blue paint in most places, garaged all its life, if you need a reference pic.

tcolt

Thanks. If you could post a couple of pictures in different light, it would definitely help me. I'm guessing you've never needed to color match your paint for any reason which is great :-)

Tom

Fun71

FYI, when I painted my car the new paint perfectly matched the factory original paint in the jambs. This was after going through a similar process as you with finding a paint code from a different make since the store didn't have a formula for the Olds code and having it mixed using the "current" formula.

Human

I like the two-tone idea. The top one with more contrast looks better to my eyes, The darker blue on the lower part of the body really makes the lighter blue on the Superstock wheels pop. I've never seen a Vista Cruiser done this way but it's pretty cool, definitely better looking than woodgrain.

Koda

Ok, I apologize for the Chevrolet.









The front fenders and hood have been repainted, as has the right door. Right rear quarter has been blended. Decklid, roof, left quarter, and left door are original paint. The fenders match the rest of the car 99%. This is Ascot blue on a 72 Monte Carlo.

Koda

Here's a sentimental bit of fun I had with one of my granddad's first photos of the car.

1969w3155

Have the body shop or the local automotive paint store use a spectrometer on an area of original paint on your car that has not been exposed to the sun and elements, maybe an underhood area or around the the tailgate on the inside under the carpet or panel (I can't remember which they have).

tcolt

I could ask them to use a spectrometer for the Viking blue on my car, but I still need to figure out two other colors I am considering for the upper part of the car. Mostly the Astro Blue, code 25 now that I have a good idea of the Ascot Blue, code 24.

Koda. Those are fantastic photos. Great shot of your grandpa's car. I wish I had some of my grandfather's cars. I think, I really like the color and it seems very close to the paint shown on the upper half of my pictures? Would you call it is a very light metallic blue? I wonder if it's much lighter than the 25 Astro Blue? The only thing I'm nervous about is that your first picture has a distinct green touch. The others don't. Is that the trees or does it sometimes have a green shimmer? That wouldn't go well with my Viking Blue 26 lower.

Tom

1969w3155

And just to muddle things a little more, 1970 Astro Blue, and 1968 Sapphire Blue in that lighter shade of blue. Nassau blue in '69 was similar .

Koda

That's the trees. The car seems to vary from blue to silver, but never green. Here's a few more I found, and even one has an Olds in it.

1970cs

If it helps, here is mine in the sun and clouds 70 code 25 Astro.





Pat

damaged442

Not only did GM call the same color different names across the different brands, they even did it with the same brand.


You can see from the charts above that Matador Red is Code 75 for 1972. In 1973, they called it Omega Red and it was offered as a special order paint code on the Cutlass. Still Code 75 though...


So, nothing like a little more confusion, right?

1969w3155

Though I don't know the name in that Chebby used in 1984 for a red that my buddy had on a 1984 Z/28, it was the same code as Matador red used in '70.

1969w3155

Pat, I recognize your car from Homecoming, probably have it in my pics somewhere. Nice car.

tcolt

Beautiful car and color, Pat. Does it look similar to Koda's 24 Ascot Blue or slightly darker?... Of course, as you say, it could be because of the clouds. Darn, this is difficult :-)...

1970cs

Thanks fellers! Yes, it's similar to that Ascot or Nordic, just different name for light blue metallic. I will be honest, I prefer a little darker blue like the affore mentioned Viking blue.

But with every car out there, certain colors match the car better than others!

IMHO and in no certain order for Cutlass: Black, Red, Blue, Copper/Bronze and White.

Again, pure opinion a contrasting color, vinyl roof or painted roof and accent stripes. Again, no damn W-30 stripe on a non W car.

Pat

tcolt

Human

Thanks for the support. I hadn't noticed that the wheels going back to the lighter color would be a really nice idea.

Unfortunately, the two blues, that have less contrast to each other turned out very fake looking, but I think still like the combo because it's a little more subtle than the big contrast. maybe something between those two would be just right, but until I have accurate paint chips of the the actual colors of Viking Blue and Astro Blue, I won't really be able to do an accurate mock-up...

1970cs

Again, brain storming here. I wish had a photo shop of some sort to play with colors.

Here is the thought, the top picture is Astro top color and what appears midnight blue on the bottom. How's about midnight on the roof and pillars, astro hood, tailgate and sides to the belt line/molding and then back to midnight on the lower.

Or trade out the midnight blue for white.

Here is the picture I was looking for when referencing about contrasting colors.
Not a fan of either color except for on the B and C cars. But IMO this combo works very well.



Pat