Is Lucite99S =color19,1980? NCRS Judges respond pl

[Mikael F.]

[Patrick H.]

Re: Is Lucite99S =color19,1980? NCRS Judges respon

Mikael,

In response to your first listed question, the "L" means "lower" as in lower lalf of your body. Some GM cars were painted two-tone, and "U" meant the upper half of the body, while "L" meant the lower half. Corvettes were not painted in two-tone until 1981, so the code meant "nothing" until then and only the "L" was used.

I responded to your post below by telling you to go to England because the paint available there is closer in original apecifications (i.e. aromatic compounds adn other additives) than what we have available in the US. If you're going to ship paint anyway, why not ship better paint?

Someone here likely has an older paint book and can tell you the correct DuPont code for black in 1980.

Patrick

[Norris W.]

Re: Is Lucite99S =color19,1980? NCRS Judges respon

Mikael, the S & L on Dupont colors refer to some running change in the formula of the paint and have nothing to do with the paint code on the car. This is a Dupont number. The label on the 99S says not to use on top of 99L. I have no idea what the reason for this is, and the present guys at the local Dupont dealer are basically newbies with little knowledge of laquer. I've always thought the change from 99L to 99S possibly represented the loss of lead in the paint, but that's just a guess. One thing for sure, it doesn't seem to sand and buff the same. Even after sitting for a couple of years it seemed to want to gum the paper when color sanding wet. In all fairness to the paint though, I did put it on top of some older 99L, contrary to label instructions. I don't think you'll see any variation in shade or gloss between the two.

[Donald O.]

Re: Is Lucite99S =color19,1980? NCRS Judges respon

Mikael,

My information for a 1980 Corvette shows that Black - Code 19 is
Ditzler 9300
DuPont 99
R-M A946
All three brands should give you the correct color black.

Hope this helps,
Don

[Mikael F.]

Re: Is Lucite99S =color19,1980? NCRS Judges respon

Patrick,
Thank you for your answers, I will try to locate the paint in England as you suggested. Especially since Norris wrote that the 99s were labeled not to use on top of 99L, which is what I want to do.

Best Regards/Mikael

[Mikael F.]

Re: Is Lucite99S =color19,1980? NCRS Judges respon

Norris,
Thank you for your answers. They were so interesting so I hope that you forgive me for asking a lot of follow up questions. I understand that you have used both 99L and 99S and that 99S at least according to the label should not be used on top of 99L.
- Do you know if there also were differences in chemistry of 99L over the years?
- Will an unopened can of 99L deteriorate over the years, as paint often do, or would it be a good idea to try to find some leftover 99L?
- The store on the way to your lakehouse did they have 99L or 99S? If it is 99L and Tim does not buy all of it I might be interested too.

Finally, Donald posted that there were actually three suppliers of GM black code 19, Ditzler 9300, DuPont 99 or R-M A946. - If it is any of the other two brands on my car will it still be possible to repaint small areas with Lucite? If not, is it any way one can tell which brand that was used on a specific car? Labels? VIN?

Best Regards/Mikael

[Mikael F.]

Re: Is Lucite99S =color19,1980? NCRS Judges respon

Don, Thanks for your information. Do you know if these paints can be interchanged without any problems or which brand GM used to repair / repaint cars in service? Do you know if there is any way you can tell which brand was used on a specific car or if the brands were changed over the time so one can use production date (June 17, 1980 for my car) or VIN number to tell the brand?

Best Regards/Mikael

[Tim Anderson]

Re: Is Lucite99S =color19,1980? NCRS Judges respon

I just put Sherwin Williams Black laquer on the front of my 81. It has 99s on the back half. You can not tell the diff.

As was my understanding LONG ago. The 99s and 99l are different paints achieving the same color. 99l could not be clear coated without it looking milky. The 99s formula changed that fact. Clear can be applied to 99s and it REALLY looks good.

[Norris W.]

Re: Is Lucite99S =color19,1980? NCRS Judges respon

Mikael, I don't know if there were any changes in the L formula over the years. The supply house has the S paint if they still have it. I've never tried the clear over the S paint, but it's worth trying on this car. Sorry I don't know more about it.

[Donald O.]

Re: Is Lucite99S =color19,1980? NCRS Judges respon

Mikael,
I don't know which brand the facory used, but any of the three should give the same results as the three vendors and their numbers came from GM.
As far as repairs in SERVICE, the individual Chevy dealership body/paint shop could use anything the painter or shop owner preferred (read that best price).
Hope this helps.
Don