What paint system to use for 442

This is a copy of a post I made eons ago. Some of it is irrelevent but it's good reading of your considering a repaint.

Hello All,
I have been getting some questions about paint through PMs so I decided to post the answers to some common questions.

One was about code 81 red, and one was why does the same color vary so much from one car to the next?

First, the factory color-coding system uses the code 81.GM also uses the PPG number on the option code label. In the old service manuals or literature you may see the word "Dizzler", but PPG phased out that name long ago. Anyway, different paint manufactures may have different numbers for the same color. PPG list code 81 as W A8774, but Dupont or Sikkens or Sherwin Williams may have a different number for their same GM code 81 red. PPG is the most popular paint manufacturer so the WA numbers will be the ones you see the most. I have been out of hte paint business for several years now, the different manufacturers may have more of a unilateral numbering system by now, I don't know. That would make too much sense though!!


As far as the range of colors being so different from car to car there could be several reasons. Naturally a color can vary somewhat depending on the color mix itself, and/or the conditions under which it was applied, but there are other significant possible reasons too. One is that many of the older colors have not been reformulated into the latest technology paint systems. I could get into quite a lengthy discussion about the differences between lacquer or straight enamel paint systems (thermo plastic) and catalyzed enamel or polyurethane finishes (themo set), but lets just say for a moment we agree that lacquer paint systems are inferior to base clear coat enamels. When our older cars were built in the 60s and 70, lacquer and straight enamel was about all there was. No one wants to put lacquer on thier cars now days because it just plain does not hold up like polyurethanes. So, they have to use the latest technology paint systems. Many (read that most) of the older colors have not been reformulated into the new systems, so a muscle Olds owner is forced to "color map" or take thier best guess at thier color in a newer color that is available is base clear technology.

Whew! For trying to make that short I am out of breath.

So, say one guy makes his best guess at his color in a new system and it is a shade or 2 off in one direction, and the next guy with the same color make his best guess but it turns out to be a shade or 2 off in another direction. Now you have a noticeable color difference from one car to the next.

I had to do this with the Burgundy Mist on my car, and I became aware that cost was also a factor when color mapping or best guessing to get into the new systems. The shade of burgundy that was the closest to my original color turned out to be $100 more per gallon than the second closest color. When you’re doing a body off restoration, you’re talking about as much as $300 or $400 difference in material.

And for yet another reason..... (you have to be bored by now)
There is a thing called "Complete Hiding". When you paint a car, you should use what is called a color check square. It is about a 1" square sticker that has 2 black and 2 white squares on it. You then apply your color coat until you cannot tell the black square from the white square. At that point you have achieved complete hiding, meaning your color coat is now totally opaque.

Think of it this way. One guy paints his car using a gray-green sealer, so his color coat goes directly over that. He did not use a color check square and does not achieve complete hiding. So when he is done his color is not totally opaque, but translucent. You can see his sealer through his color coat, but you can't tell because the color is all uniform. Another guy uses a black primer sealer like DP-90 LF under his color coat. He does not use a color check square either, and his color is also translucent. One guy shows his gray-green primer through his color coat and the other guy shows his black primer sealer through his color coat. You guessed it, you now have 2 very different shades of the same color.

Incidentally, code 81 red is what is known as a “poor hiding” color. We experimented with it, and found it took as much as 6 coats of color to achieve complete hiding!! That color is not cheap, and it takes a lot of it to achieve complete hiding on top of it.

This can cause big problems if you ever have to repair your Oldsmobile’s fragile sheet metal. If you color is not up to complete hiding, think of how difficult it becomes to match the paint!

In the early 90s paint systems started being a big target for pollution, and the manufacturers were forced to pull all of the lead out of the formulas. As a result a lot of colors became poor hiders. And also, gold is the pigment used in the color red, so naturally they use as little of it as possiblem and it's pricy.We know how the price of gold compares to say coal, which is the pigment used in black. That is why black paint is one-third or less the cost of colors like red. Then when you get into colors that have a lot of pearl the price really goes through the roof. I have seen them as high as $500 - $600 a gallon.