paint question

[Howard H.]

71-75 corvette red is called Mille Miglia, GM codes 973, 976 and 76, depending on the year. Was this a corvette only color or was it available on other GM vehicles? I am looking for a pint or so of this in lacquer. No luck so far. It might help me find some if it had another name on another model GM vehicle. I have a ad in the classified under wanted. Any help really appreciated.
Howard Hiller (46797)

[Mark E.]

Re: paint question

I'll be shopping for acrylic lacquer soon too.

I haven't tried TCP Global at autocolorlibrary.com yet, but if you do, let us know what you find. Website says they sell custom mixed lacquer in OEM colors.

[Howard H.]

Re: paint question

Thanks Mark
I am hoping to find some old style lacquer that someone may have left over from a previous repaint. I did talk to a TCP Global rep when I saw they have a place in upstate SC, thinking I could take a sample there that they could match but found out they only do that in California. If I don't have any luck I may have to order some from them and see if it matches mine. Am hoping I don't have to repaint the whole car.
Howard

[Mark E.]

Re: paint question

Paint has a shelf life, so be careful using old stuff.

You might ask a local painter if they could spray 973 red lacquer from TCP Global, and tint it if/as needed to match your existing paint.

Alternatively, depending on what your spotting, you can get good results with a modern base coat paint. For example, my car is acrylic lacquer while its wiper door is base coat/clear coat. It's a near perfect match. The secret is finding a good painter willing to work with you.

[Michael L.]

Re: paint question

Mark another paint related question. I was told by a painter that you really can't "touch up" paint, meaning you can't just paint one area of a car, you have to paint the whole area, even if the paint is fairly new and an exact match is possible. So if you have a repair on say a regular car's fender you can't just paint a small area, you have to paint the whole fender. I always thought it was possible for a good painter to blend in the repair and make it essentially invisible. Is this not the case?

Mike

[Mark E.]

Re: paint question

Let me qualify my answer by saying I've painted and spotted a lot of cars but the last time was 1994. I've only worked with acrylic lacquer and enamel.

Spotting and blending is an art. The idea is to fool the eye. For example if spotting a repair on a fender, a trick is to blend well into the next panel because it's harder for the eye to see a gradual blend than an abrupt change at the panel seam. Plus it fools the customer into looking in the wrong area for the blend :-)

For a challenging color (metallics, pearls, dark colors) spotting a small repair on a fender may require shooting the entire side of the car to fool the eye. Metallics are challenging because not only must the paint be matched properly, but it must be applied in a way for the flakes to settle under the surface just like the existing paint. The wetter the application, the deeper the flakes settle. So a lot more variables to consider (technique, thinner/reducer speed, temperature...).

With that said, it's much easier to spot blend a small area if it's a fresh paint job with a solid color...especially with lacquer.

[David H.]

Re: paint question

71-75 corvette red is called Mille Miglia, GM codes 973, 976 and 76, depending on the year. ...

Howard

If you don't already have this link, website below has various manufacturer codes for Corvette paint.

Might help in your vendor search.

Dave

p.s. as others have noted, spotting faded paint with original color likely problematic.

https://www.corvettepaintcodes.com/

[Howard H.]

Re: paint question

Thanks everyone for your helpful information. Apparently Mille Miglia red is a corvette only color used on 71-75 corvettes. I called TCP Global and ordered a quart and thinner. I wanted to use lacquer because I want to paint it myself. They said 95percent or better match to factory color. This is a driver so hopefully it will be close enough.
Howard