1969 Daytona Yellow Paint Chips

[Rick M.]

Does anybody know anyone in the Southern California area that might be willing (with a deposit) to let me borrow paint chips for 1969? I'm repainting my Daytona Yellow coupe and want to make sure we have the color right.
Thanks, Rick

[Terry M.]

Re: 1969 Daytona Yellow Paint Chips

Rick,
Not to raise the ante on your post, but your most accurate sample will be a part of a 1969, ideally one not exposed to sunlight, originally painted at St Louis. Sometimes an owner of an original example will allow their car to be used for color matching purposes in return for the formula derived from that use. This process will require several test cards to be sprayed with, one hopes, increasingly accurate samples of paint from the paint manufacturer you are using. This process requires patience on the part of your painter, paint supplier and you. If all those qualities can be mustered, this will yield the best results.

Next best will be if someone has already done the above work and is willing to share their formula, but this does require both parties to use the same paint manufacturer, and the same color bases.

Next best would be a paint standard -- a metal card about 4 x 6-inches labeled on the back with the paint manufacturer and code. These were used in the factory as samples to quality check both the incoming paint and the process used to coat the cars. As you might imagine those samples from St Louis are not so easy to find, but samples of the same color from other contemporaneous assembly plants can be a reasonable substitute.

The last choice are the color samples contained in the dealer sales album or color samples used by salesmen of the time. These were usually ink printed on paper and as you might imagine, given this different coating process, are the least accurate representation of the original color.

I hope I haven't thrown a monkey wrench into your plans. Good luck in your search.

[Rick M.]

Re: 1969 Daytona Yellow Paint Chips

Thanks Terry, you have but it's not a big surprise and as always when you talk folks listen.
Thanks,
Rick

[Terry M.]

Re: 1969 Daytona Yellow Paint Chips

Thanks Terry, you have but it's not a big surprise and as always when you talk folks listen.
Thanks,
Rick

I suppose your decision as to what method to follow will depend on the level of accuracy you desire, your ultimate goal for the car, and the availability of the resources mentioned.

[Ralph S.]

Re: 1969 Daytona Yellow Paint Chips

I have pint can of Dupont Lucite Daytona Yellow 5026LH it is a partial can about 1/3 left in can, it is still liquid if you shake it. been sitting on my shelf for 42 years

[Rick M.]

Re: 1969 Daytona Yellow Paint Chips

Ralph,
That is amazing, are you local here in So Cal?

[Ralph S.]

Re: 1969 Daytona Yellow Paint Chips

Boston Mass.

[Bill W.]

Re: 1969 Daytona Yellow Paint Chips

I used Dupont Lacquer and checked it aginst my door jambs . You can also use the interior hard trim .What ever you use get enough , Daytona yellow is a very poor covering color .

[Ralph S.]

Re: 1969 Daytona Yellow Paint Chips

The NCRS should keep a bank of paint formulas for use by members. what could i do with the can of Dupont Lucite to be able to duplicate the color to be used for the future.

[Terry M.]

Re: 1969 Daytona Yellow Paint Chips

Ralph,
Paint mixing bases (the colors blended together to produce the paint to be diluted and sprayed) are changed regularly by the paint manufacturers based on the availability of their raw components. Additionally they are different from manufacturer to manufacturer. Thus any formula that was good 42 years ago is useless today. Further any formula I get in Chicago is not useable in Boston unless you have the same paint manufacturer and the exact same mixing bases available at your paint supplier. The odds of your supplier having the same bases as mine? Both of us have a better chance of winning the lottery. I have a formula from the late 1970s for Mulsanne Blue. It is useless today because both the mixing colors and the mixing bases have changed since then.

One possible use for your old can of paint -- if it is what was called a "factory pack" -- would be to spray a test card and see how that matches a known original paint Corvette. If it is a good match, then the remains of your paint could be used to spot a small area. Maybe some painters could figure out another use for it.

The processes I outlined in my response to Rick yesterday are the best we have available to us. Folks who are skilled at matching colors have an ability to discern small color differences and determine the small amounts of which color is needed to get a better match. This is a skill that is not common, but I do know a few people around here, and within NCRS, who have that skill and the patience to use it. Given the car culture of Southern California, I am sure Rick can find someone out there as well. Best bet: start with the Southern California Chapter of NCRS. That kind of local information is one of the things chapters are good for.

If you want to learn more about paint -- attend the NCRS Judging Retreat:

https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...-few-more-days

I know there will be a section on paint, and judging paint. The best paint judges have an understanding of the process. You will learn a lot about that subject there from people who know a whole lot more about it than I do.

[Ralph S.]

Re: 1969 Daytona Yellow Paint Chips

Wouldn't the color show different if you use different color primers. What color primer should be used.