Correct color for '64 912A

[Nick D.]

Long story short, I got paint from another supplier, sprayed it on, and now I have my answer. Door jams are more blue than they should be, my car got painted less blue than it should be, and the correct color is somewhere in the middle…

[Patrick H.]

Re: Correct color for '64 912A

I have a 63 in the shop that has a scratch in the door. It too is Silver Blue.
After trying 3 (maybe 4) different paint companies, we learned that Axalta had by far the best match to the original color. If I were going to paint one, that's what I would use.

Unfortunately none of them could match the paint currently on the car, so the scratch remains. The owner didn't want to repaint half the car which I think is reasonable.

[Nick D.]

Re: Correct color for '64 912A

The difference between the lighter color and the darker color is big. The car photo color references make that easir to see. I believe my '64 got painted with a '66 color.

As for paint matching, I had to repair rust on my '81 Datsun 280ZX 2+2 and the guy matched it exactly perfect. It's coppre brown metallic, maybe easier than blue, but he did it. Seems like the right guy could do it.

Thanks,
Nick

I have a 63 in the shop that has a scratch in the door. It too is Silver Blue.
After trying 3 (maybe 4) different paint companies, we learned that Axalta had by far the best match to the original color. If I were going to paint one, that's what I would use.

Unfortunately none of them could match the paint currently on the car, so the scratch remains. The owner didn't want to repaint half the car which I think is reasonable.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Correct color for '64 912A

Color photos on the internet are not known for accuracy, so I wouldn't go with those.
Without knowing who repainted your car or what happened, you're just guessing as to what's on it.

[Nick D.]

Color photos on the internet are not known for accuracy, so I wouldn't go with those.
Without knowing who repainted your car or what happened, you're just guessing as to what's on it.

[Eric P.]

Re: Correct color for '64 912A

Nick,
These blues can easily get mixed up, and paint can be mixed wrong even in the slightest shades of the correct colors. Along with what Patrick has shared above I have 1964 Silver Blue Coupe too. I would not guess at whether your car is the correct color or not by pictures and I am not qualified to do that or even render an opinion. Look at the difference lighting makes in the pictures you posted both indoors and outdoors in different light and angles. Also, if you see a big difference as there appears to be between the door sill and body in the picture you posted indoors, look at the picture outside, it does not look that different. That brings up another question, is the paint on the door jambs and other areas that were not recently repainted the original Silver Blue, or was the car possibly repainted before? Color name descriptions such as Silver Blue, can be very subjective to how anyone views Silver Blue being more in the Silver or more Blue. I am sure you know your Trim Tag code 912 is for Silver Blue, and Silver Blue is correct for a 1964 if that is your question?

In my opinion (just my opinion) the example you posted of the 1964 Coupe in the light it is in doesn't look like Silver Blue to me either. So to that end, don't judge your paint by pictures.

Your best bet is to take it to a Chapter or Regional meet and have some of the good qualified Judges we have in the NCRS tell you what they think, especially the judges who are the "Paint experts" who may be at a Chapter or Regional meet close to you.

You have very nice looking '64, enjoy owning and driving it!
Eric

[Patrick H.]

Re: Correct color for '64 912A

I may need to post color chip samples from the paint manufacturers, Chevy and perhaps GM heritage center. if the consensus is that’s what I should do I’ll do it but the paint manufacture of photographs of the car and the photographs of my car seem to make it pretty clear to me. My problem is… It’s hard for me to believe that Textron and the body shop made that kind of a mistake, but that’s how it looks to me…

If you Google "Marlin Blue Poly" or "Silver Blue" as per your label, it comes up as a color from several years, as does WA2973.
Note the revision date of April 2016 on the label. That's the last time that PPG revised the color.
The huge risk is assUming that the current mix revision is actually close to the original color. In short, it usually isn't. I think that's where you are at.

[Joseph S.]

Re: Correct color for '64 912A

Nick, You will never get an exact match straight out of the can with a PPG formula. Axalta is pretty good because it is an evolution of the original Dupont product. Without an original sample and someone to color match to that, it's never going to be correct. I have seen up to 50 spray-outs done to try to match 63 and 64 colors.

Typically most people request a spray out card to compare to an original sample so they are sure what will be applied is as close to the desired color as possible.

[Nick D.]

Nick, You will never get an exact match straight out of the can with a PPG formula. Axalta is pretty good because it is an evolution of the original Dupont product. Without an original sample and someone to color match to that, it's never going to be correct. I have seen up to 50 spray-outs done to try to match 63 and 64 colors.

Typically most people request a spray out card to compare to an original sample so they are sure what will be applied is as close to the desired color as possible.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Correct color for '64 912A

Apparently I’m running up against a brick wall here and like I say, I don’t get it. I live on the island of Maui and there’s only one other C2 here and NCRS Chapter.

I am beyond frustrated. Like I say. All the images of the lighter color here, across-the-board, match each other. And all the pictures of the darker colors, across-the-board in this post match each other. I don’t get it. I guess I should probably quit responding to these replies because everybody’s saying that it’s impossible to tell the difference between the two.

Are you trying to find out if your car is the correct color?
Or what is your frustration?

I don't think that pictures on a computer are going to get any of us to confirm without a doubt that it's the right color.
Unfortunately there aren't any "small" parts on a 1964 like a gas lid that you could send off and see if the experts could confirm the color. The other option is having a spray out done of the paint in the can, and send it to someone like John Ballard for review.

[Don H.]

Re: Correct color for '64 912A

the cowl grills are small enough to send off. But, along with Mr. Drance, I'm confused too.. I can't determine what it is he is looking for.

Mr. Drance, do you want someone viewing the photos you have posted here to tell you which photo best depicts actual 1964 912A Silver Blue?
I don't think that is possible.

[Nick D.]

Re: Correct color for '64 912A

Revised: The color references are also mixed up, not consistent. I need to do more checking........



The first two images are 1964 Silver Blue. That is the BEFORE pic of my car. They seem to match pretty well.


The third and fourth and fifth images are 1966 Trophy Blue. Forget the 4th pic, I can't delete it and its not a good pic of my car. The fifth pic was shot at a siimilar angle to the one in the color reference pic. That's the AFTER pic of my car.

I'm not asking for somene to identify the exact, exact, perfect shade.

Roughly, in a broad general sense, the fifth picture is not 1964 and I don't think the difference is subtle. I think it's a big difference. They aren't even close. But, like I say, what I see doesn't seem to be what others see.

the cowl grills are small enough to send off. But, along with Mr. Drance, I'm confused too.. I can't determine what it is he is looking for.

Mr. Drance, do you want someone viewing the photos you have posted here to tell you which photo best depicts actual 1964 912A Silver Blue?
I don't think that is possible.

[Don H.]

Re: Correct color for '64 912A

Well, now I'm more confused than before.. The first two pictures are of a Convertible and a Coupe. The second two of a Coupe and a Convertible.
All four pictures cannot be of your car.. Can they? In any case, all four are in different conditions, lighting, indoors and out.. These light metallic colors take on all different sorts of hues under different conditions.. Can you agree to that?

Mr. Drance,
I apologize,, the coupe images (I think) you posted are reference images.. The photos of your car are all the 64 convertible. I see four images of that, One indoors, and three outdoors. and all resemble 64 Silver Blue to me.. But again, different conditions, different lighting. Impossible to say with any certainty from images on my MAC screen which ones most closely resemble OEM 912A Silver Blue.

Nick
You know what you car looks like in person, indoors and out, and none of us do. That is influencing your opinion.. No one here is going to give you an opinion (I don't think) because these light metallic colors show significant differences in hue depending on lighting conditions.. We can't tell anything from these photos except that your car is light silver blue.. Might be OEM Silver Blue, or Trophy Blue, or even Carlisle Blue, or some variation of those.

[Nick D.]

Re: Correct color for '64 912A

I hear everyone. Looks like I need to give up. I'm pushing on this issue for reasons shown below. Time to let it go.

I completely understand that colors appear different due to many varieables. Even on my mac, when I view my photos of the door jams, here, the colors are more accurate to real life than they appear when I download them to my hard drive. Clearly, one is very much more blue than the other.

Yes, the photo of my car in front of the body shop posted earlier may look "silver" on some computers. it could be described as "Silver Blue" as I see it on my computer, and is accurate to real life, as it is now, with the color change. That's the new color. It also pretty much matches the color sample shown for '66 (happened to be a coupe). Pretty darn close. I have a '64. Not a '66. Neither one of them would have changed the color.

The photo on the grass is the original color of the car, as I bought it. It pretty much matches the color sample color reference posted above (happened to be a coupe) for '64.


I found photos of a supposed '66 "Top Flight" survivor, (One image) posted in this response. https://vintagecorvettes.com/auto/19...300hp-just-in/

Also attached, are photos of a supposed '64 Mecum Auction car. (Two images) Link below. Sorry the link isn't working. It does when I copy and paste it.

https://www.mecum.com/lots/CA0816-244353/1964-chevrolet-corvette-coupe/

It's not about who is right and who is wrong. It's about respecting the two men before me and believe me, they were no slouches. I knew that, that's why I came up with the money and flew from Maui to Houston on a days notice to go snap it up before it went to auction. I knew of the car. A guy doesn't just fly across the ocean and come up with that much money, that fast, easily, during Covid. And go 4000 miles to get a car then put it on a ship to another island from there for paint and repair.

I've wanted a C2 for 30 years. I never found the right one, until this one. Yes I want the car to be correct. It's more than that. After this, I let it go. No more commotion.

The only thing I can think of is have a paint mfg. mix samples of the correct color for Corvette, Pontiac and Olsmobile, which are the same. I can't do it on Maui. It's easy worth $500 to me is someone else can do it, paid in advance. Volunteers welcome.

Aloha and thanks for giving your professional opinions.

Well, now I'm more confused than before.. The first two pictures are of a Convertible and a Coupe. The second two of a Coupe and a Convertible.
All four pictures cannot be of your car.. Can they? In any case, all four are in different conditions, lighting, indoors and out.. These light metallic colors take on all different sorts of hues under different conditions.. Can you agree to that?

Mr. Drance,
I apologize,, the coupe images (I think) you posted are reference images.. The photos of your car are all the 64 convertible. I see four images of that, One indoors, and three outdoors. and all resemble 64 Silver Blue to me.. But again, different conditions, different lighting. Impossible to say with any certainty from images on my MAC screen which ones most closely resemble OEM 912A Silver Blue.

Nick
You know what you car looks like in person, indoors and out, and none of us do. That is influencing your opinion.. No one here is going to give you an opinion (I don't think) because these light metallic colors show significant differences in hue depending on lighting conditions.. We can't tell anything from these photos except that your car is light silver blue.. Might be OEM Silver Blue, or Trophy Blue, or even Carlisle Blue, or some variation of those.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Correct color for '64 912A

The only thing I can think of is have a paint mfg. mix samples of the correct color for Corvette, Pontiac and Olsmobile, which are the same. I can't do it on Maui. It's easy worth $500 to me is someone else can do it, paid in advance. Volunteers welcome.

Aloha and thanks for giving your professional opinions.

There is the difficulty - thinking that there are "exact matches" that are both easily obtained and easily acceptable. Having had 20-30 sprays of this same color last summer, some of which were believed by their manufacturers to be "exact," it just doesn't happen. TINY changes in the mix can result in notable differences in shading.

As I previously noted, the Axalta mix appeared to be the correct color; it just didn't match what was on the car. I'd happily send you the sprayout card if it still exists. My body shop guy may have tossed it out.

Find an auto body shop - even a collision shop - on the island that uses Axalta paints. There will be at least one.
They can mix the current code, and I think it will be close. Have them do a sprayout and compare it to your door jambs and the rest of your car. This will be FAR easier than coordinating with someone on the mainland.

From what your pictures "seem" to show, the jambs of your car don't match the exterior surfaces. Is that correct?
And I do not think that your 64 is Trophy Blue.