![]() ![]() Most engines are painted with single-stage enamels rather than two-stage base/clears, and single-stage enamels are going away because nobody uses them anymore. ![]() ![]() Even with the stateside brands, the mixing bank colors change frequently, and the older the paint the more difficult it is to match. A really good match, but it wasn’t technically Grabber Blue. For example, when scanned by one of my suppliers, 1970 Ford Grabber Blue came up as a 1983 BMW color. This is especially true for companies that were not around back in the sixties (most of the European manufacturers like Spies Hecker and BASF were not in business stateside and their mixes are usually crosses to something else). The computer scanner used by your paint mixer is only giving you the closest match that the computer can make, not the actual original color. Not only did the paint vary, but the number of heat cycles the engine went through can discolor the original paint, and after 50 years the paint will change color through aging. This is not the perfect solution, but it is the best option. The best way to decide the correct color for your engine, assuming it hasn’t been repainted at some point, is to take a sample of the paint to an automotive paint mixer and have them scan the part (e.g., valve cover, air breather) and get the closest match. There is a lot of information on the Internet about “use this” or “that is wrong,” and some of it is valid and some of it is simply passed on from what someone heard. The truth is, the paints varied considerably, and there is no such thing as “correct.” Some very sharp minds have documented the paint colors from different years/plants and engines, and a database is starting to grow about what the shade was at a particular time. Much has been said about the correct/incorrect paint colors in the past. Lead paint is long gone, but you will hopefully prep your engine in much more depth than Ford did. When you see an original engine, the paint is usually gone in big sections-this is usually due to adhesion issues stated above. To combat this, Ford used a very high lead content paint to get it to stick to the engine. That is a lot of engines to paint, and when you are mass-producing engines, residual grease, machining fluids, coolants, and sealers will make their way onto the outside of the engine where the paint would be applied. When Ford was painting these engines, they were making them by the tens of thousands (one million Mustangs by 1966 anyone?). This has caused issues in judging on certain colors being too dark or too light.Īnother interesting note is that you can’t paint your engine with what Ford used. With engine paint, Ford had much less interest in maintaining color than they did on the exterior paint, and the color could vary considerably. ![]() Exterior paint varied all over the place, and cars painted in different months from different batches may not have been the same shade. This didn’t mean there wasn’t variances in the painting process-there were. When Ford was painting the exteriors, they would have a panel spray-out and that batch of paint would have to remain within a certain range as the batch went through application. Apparently Henry Ford was stingy with paint and didn’t want to waste a drop. Hopefully we can help you wade through some of the confusion that is out there and avoid the problems with judging of your car, should the issue arise.įord produced all its paint in Mt. So it is time to update our stance at the magazine as well. Due to the efforts of some really smart people, we know much more about the painting process than we ever knew. The last time we talked about painting your engine was 15 years ago, and plenty has changed since then. In this day and age, a lot of information and missing information is floating around online, and sometimes we need clarification of what is known. Parts available directly from Ford are mostly gone, products that were once available are not, and new products are popping up that are better than what we had before. Like many hobbies, ours is subject to changes as the years go by. ![]()
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