Paint help.

[California 72]

Howdy!
Last year, I had absolutely no issues locating my current paint color and wanted to know if any of the guru’s here could help.
The unfortunate part of this situation is, the color belongs to the 1964-66 and 1969-70 years Mustang.

Medium Blue Metallic.

The family of the original owner repainted the car when they stripped all the valuable stuff out and the job, they called it nostalgic, it was less than fair in quality and with the previous owner leaving the car sit unused for multiple years, rust has crept in and I’d like to touch things up without a full repaint.
We’re planning to bring back the Ivy Glo but that’s a couple years away and I’m not going to drive a primer bucket again.
Anyhow, any and all help is always greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Edit: Hate to sound like a broken record with the province on the car but I’m having a difficult time shaking off what was done to it. It’s really a shame what some people put these disappearing classic thru and repeating myself does help gain perspective.

 

[c9zx]

SEM has a system for custom mixing paint and putting it an aerosol spray can. The trick is finding a paint store that has the system. The paint code is 6 on a 1969 Mercury Cougar. Chuck

 

[Don C]

There was also a medium blue metallic on '72 Mustangs, paint code 3D.

 

[Hemikiller]

Go to your local auto paint supply house. Most have a system to load paint into a rattle can like Chuck mentioned. You can also buy the loaded cans online from places like PaintScratch and others.

I'd recommend taking the car or a larger part to the paint store and have them scan it for a color match. There's no guarantee that the color you think it is will match. Call around and see who has both of these capabilities.

 

[Idaho Chris]

There was also a medium blue metallic on '72 Mustangs, paint code 3D.

Medium Blue Metallic paint code 3D was a 1973 color as well. You can see the color on my '73.

 

[Austin Vert]

Hi Cal,

Happy to jump in here with some sound basic advice. Reading your post, i got the impression that the car you own now and the present color it is, will be short lived as you intend to get serious and upgrade the whole paint work with a respray and color change back to Ivy Glow Metallic. I assume that the Ivy Glow was the original factory color used, and you will be doing a strip to bare metal repaint on the whole car.

That said, it would be fair enough to say that whatever touch ups you want to carry out on your car now, would be just a quick, no fuss get out of jail remedy to make the car presentable in street appearance wise. As you said you don't want to drive a primer bucket around again. If you go ahead and carry out the touch ups you want to, what would be your approach? Would you be doing the spray work yourself, or be taking it to a paint shop to have the work done?

If you intend to do the spray work yourself, will you be going down the rattle can path, or using spray guns with tins of auto paint and a compressor? What ever way you choose to go, here are some basic key points to bare in mind regards obtaining a good color match now.

You state you believe the color on the car now is called Medium Blue Metallic, but the reality is you can't be really certain. If you had in your possession now, a paint tin of left over auto color that was used to paint the car, and it was labelled with a color name and code, then that would bring the proper evidence to verify the actual color used by the previous owner. You could then use that as an accurate guide to make up more color of the same. Your paint and panel shop would take care of that.

Lets look at the key points. Auto color identification always comes with a color name and a code. All auto colors are made to a color formula involving several tinter colors added together in varying quantities to reach the final factory color. However, in the auto refinish world, any factory color name and code, is never a guarantee that when that color is made up or reproduced to the stated formula, will be an accurate color match on your car. So if you're buying a rattle can of color or a made up tin of auto color made to a factory name and code, it will not be a spot on color match.

There are three ways to achieve a (CLOSE) color match.

1. Making a color up from scratch by eye (no formula), and finally accurately color matching it by eye with your qualified auto spray painter.
2. Making a color up from a code and formula, then getting your auto spray painter or auto paint supplier to finish off the final accurate match to your car. (best to use the services of a qualified auto spray painter over the paint supplier, as he will deliver the most accurate result. If you are buying the paint using the rattle can approach, most auto paint suppliers, don't have the qualified staff to carry out pro color matching as such).
3. Using a Spectrophotometer, making the color from scratch as per the spectro's recommended formula. Spectro's are around 91% accurate, and the final made up color may have to be finished off by custom eye matching to the car, by a pro spray painter. Going the spectro path, will get you involved with your paint and panel shop mainly. Auto paint suppliers have not gotten involved much with using spectros, as they cost thousands of dollars, and takes considerable time to match the made up paint to your car. They are in the business of selling auto paints, not color matching them.

It's important to know that in all three cases above, your car will have to be present to get the best accurate match, and also will have to be carried out in direct sunlight, being a fine sunny day. Several spray test cards will have to be sprayed out and used to end up with the best possible match. Also, all metallics with have to be back blended into surrounding panels for accurate results. Trying to spray out panel to panel brings bad results color matching wise.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a fast, cheap, no fuss way of getting out of jail with your touch ups, then taking the approach of near enough is good enough with your color matching may well suit you, as accurate color matching can be fairly time consuming and expensive if done properly.


To finish up, i will quote an example of color matching my original factory painted Gold Glow Metallic for my '73 vert respray. I started out with a factory color code, and made up the color on my spray shop scales as per the recommended formula. It came off the scales not being a good match. That then meant that i had to eye match it for a finished accurate result. Gold Glow is a very, very hard color to match in any regard, and i ended up spending around five hours of trial and error spraying card spray outs, getting it as close as i possibly could with a good looking three way flip. Accurate color matching is a learned skill and an art, involving many years of practice, and can't be done properly by watching a few U Tube videos. We are thought to work with around 30 plus different colored tinters.

Hope that all helps,

Greg. (Pro auto Painter)

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[California 72]

Apologies for the lack of replies to everyone. In my defense, moving areound the car like I've been doing is not something that happens quickly or without immense effort and unimaginable pain so, by the time I clean up and get inside, the couch is looking like the best place to spend my time sleeping until I go to bed. lol

Anyhow, I've still got to locate a source here and it looks to be the only place will require travel, literally over the river and through the woods about 60 miles to the SSE. Good excuse to stop at my favorite Chinese place located near Ft. Lee VA.

Anyhow, have a body question since this is the fender I'm cleaning today. The pic here, is that fender edge intended to be open or closed?


Just a side note ahead of things, I'll post some pics that will show the car is 100% original given the body stamps and finding the two inspection stickers on the inner fender wells. I cleaned one without thinking and was mostly done with the second when it hit me.

Edit: I also forgot to ask ya'll what bare metal/rust inhibitor primer works best. I'm trying to remove as much surface rust as possible but not being able to get behind some of the braces and mounting structures of the car are next to impossible. Looking at getting a free blast sand blaster but that will not get everything everywhere. In caveat, the car will never see inclement weather but humidity in Coastal Virginia can wreak as much havoc as weather. Really on the fence about taking the car back to Ivy Glo instead of touching up the Med. Blue Metallic but I'd like to finish this in the remainder of my lifetime. Understanding that I'm 1/3rd of the way there and all but I'd like to get back to driving for enjoyment instead of restoring. Quite the quandary!

 

[James Bond]

Took a look at my fenders and it looks very similar to to what you have in your picture.

 

[California 72]

Took a look at my fenders and it looks very similar to to what you have in your picture.

Thanks! The thing that caught my eye was that the spotwelds were all cracked and gave the impression that the edge had been manipulated to correct any panel fitment issues during the previous two ownerships.
In follow up to the repeated question asked earlier about paint, some posters gave great advice on good alternatives but after some searching and research about use, I'm running into either the paint color is impossible to find (cold galvanizing zinc in black) or adhering problems of the rust converter with bare metal and covering with paint afterward.
Looked at portable sandblasters and the problem I'm running into is CFM. Most need 8-10 CFM and my compressor is at 4.2 @40psi or 3.6 @ 90 psi. Just not enough to cut it and buying a new compressor, at this late stage in my life, in other words the last car project, the grand plus for a suitable option isn't worth it. Space is also a premium in the garage so that also played in the cost issues with a more compact version.
Thanks again!