So what color IS "Argent Silver" really??

[Timothy B.]

I have a guy who is about to paint my 67 Rally wheels with quality paints according to point codes I have dug up in the forums for Argent Silver. Thing is, I don't know if I could tell if he gets the right color or not. So, what shade of silver is it anyway? Does it have metallics in it? Is it supposed to be glossy, matte, or flat? Should it be clear coated for durability? How would you describe the tint or shade of genuine Argent Silver??

Also, should the inside of the wheels simply be semi-gloss black??

Thanks!

[John H.]

Re: So what color IS "Argent Silver" really??

The original argent silver wheel paint was enamel, sprayed over the semi-gloss black dip primer and baked. The back side of the wheel should be semi-gloss black; only the face of the wheel was sprayed, with a little overspray getting through the slots.

[Mike B.]

Re: So what color IS "Argent Silver" really??

I believe that "Argent Silver" is a "warm", non metallic silver that was and still is used on many rims. In fact, my other car - a 2000 7 series BMW uses Argent Silver on the rims. I don't know if the "Vettes" use gloss, semi-gloss etc, but perhaps this will give you some baseline on the expected color outcome.

[Gary S.]

Not to confuse the issue, but

didn't we have that discussion on this board a while ago? IIRC, I thought I remember reading that Argent Silver was various colors depending on the year. Again, relying on old brain cells, I thought some of the early C-3's were supposed to have a bit of green hue in the Argent Silver while later ones were more silver without any hint of green. Does anyone else remember this since I am certainly not an expert here?

Have you searched the archives for this?

Gary

[Kevin M.]

Re: Not to confuse the issue, but

I remember the green slight tint statement also.

Kevin

[Jack H.]

Yep!!!

Argent is a generic term that simply means a 'pewter' hue. Plus, over time, the exact composition of 'argent silver' used on Corvette rally wheels varied... Prior threads are numerous and in the archieves!

For '67-70, it's belived factory original argent silver had a distinct green undertone and there's a 'correct' formula for blending this version of the paint. From '71 up, the 'same' argent silver is believe to have lacked the green undertone; hence the confusion factor....

Many think argent silver = a fixed constant when it's believed to be a moving target based on when built....

[Paul O.]

Re: Yep!!!

My 71 build 1914 has the green cast to it. So some 1971 wheels have the the green cast to what s/n is unknown. Owned since 1974. Paul 18046

[Timothy B.]

What is the paint code?

So I wonder what the paint code would be for the correct 67 Argetn Silver????

[Stephen W.]

Re: What is the paint code?

If you have a body shop supply store thats been in town for some time you might get lucky. In those dusty paint chip books there will be a page for trim colors. You may have to look a little because they are seldom requested but the paint company has a formula. Another approach is to get the phone for the company and call there tech center for the formula.
As a former paint rep for RM paints I would get formulas all the time.

[John Daly]

Re: What is the paint code?

Steve,
Back in October 2001 on this board Lars Grimsrud gave a formula for argent silver and some other colors. I printed it out for reference. I beleive it was for PPG paint. It read:
Argent Silver DAR #8568
Mixing formula for 1 qt.
DMR 433 416 units
DMR 435 420 units
DXR 495 30 units
DMR 499 160 units

[Wayne W.]

Re: What is the paint code?

DAR 8568 is correct. As Jack said Argent Silver is a generic color name. If you look in the GM color information , several argent silvers have been used.

[Stephen W.]

Re: What is the paint code?

Sure looks like a PPG formula. Their formula was by weight and RM at the time was a volume measurement. The wheel color codes were usually in the pages with the interior colors. If you have a good PPG rep thats all the help you need. He has access to all the numbers.