1971-1975 Mille Miglia red experience needed

[Mike E.]

Who has experience with painting mm red in base/clear? Did you use PPG or DuPont? Which was a better color match? What experience can you share? This is out of my breadth of experience, so I'm looking for guidance. Thanks. By the way, I have read through previous mm red posts on the forum.

[Mike E.]

Re: 1971-1975 Mille Miglia red experience needed

I don't have any recent experience but I think because Mille Miglia red is a solid non-polychromatic (non-metallic) color you stand a better chance if hitting the color very close. If you have a sample for your jobber to match it will certainly help.

Mike

[Mike E.]

Re: 1971-1975 Mille Miglia red experience needed

It's a non-metallic, definitely. The car was thoroughly repainted red in the past, and it's tough to know how close they got it during the repaint.

[Alan S.]

Re: 1971-1975 Mille Miglia red experience needed

Hi Mike,
I can only add that when my car was painted about 10 years ago PPG paint was used, but it was acrylic lacquer, not bc/cc.
We left the center of the rear valance unstripped so we'd have some color to test against that had been shielded since new.
I thought that it might take some work by the painter and supplier, but the match was very good the first time.
I don't know how the formula may have been changed since then or if that's any reason to the think the bc/cc formula is as accurate.
Regards,
Alan

[Bill W.]

Re: 1971-1975 Mille Miglia red experience needed

Mike .I have always had good luck with Dupont . They still have formulas for all the old colors using modern paint . What ever brand you use try to use the same brand for the primer , sealer,paint & clear .

[Mark E.]

Re: 1971-1975 Mille Miglia red experience needed

Mike,

Do you intend to paint the car yourself? Or are you just trying to understand what type of paint is the best color match?

If painting yourself, consider lacquer with no clear. Years ago, I painted my '73 MM red coupe in my garage using PPG lacquer (no clear). This option is very forgiving of dirt and mistakes since it drys fast, and if you burn through the paint while color sanding, spotting/blending this non-metallic is straight forward. Just make sure you buy enough paint to have some left over.

If you shoot base coat/ clear coat without a booth, using an accelerator will shorten the tack time to minimize dirt problems. With clear, you'll need to be more careful color sanding and buffing since spotting any burn through is more involved than with a straight lacquer color coat.

Also, the factory did not use clear with the solid colors for these cars (including MM red), so using clear may give you a different looking (deeper) finish. With that said, the biggest factor for a good color match is how diligently your paint supplier mixes the formula.

[Richard K.]

Re: 1971-1975 Mille Miglia red experience needed

Typically, if the car is a convertible, the underside of the convertible top decklid isn't done by the painter when the car is redone. Check under there to see if the paint is original.............. and untouched by the sun! Lacquer will be dull and not buffed to a shine by the factory, an enamel repaint will be glossy.

[Mike E.]

Re: 1971-1975 Mille Miglia red experience needed

Unfortunately, they thoroughly repainted it badly in a somewhat incorrect color.

[Terry M.]

Re: 1971-1975 Mille Miglia red experience needed

Who has experience with painting mm red in base/clear? Did you use PPG or DuPont? Which was a better color match? What experience can you share? This is out of my breadth of experience, so I'm looking for guidance. Thanks. By the way, I have read through previous mm red posts on the forum.

Mike
Have you asked Gary B? I would bet he used Sickens (spelling?).