Does anyone in the club know or have a color matcher that they know is excellent

[collector]

I need to paint my NOS fillers and have tried and tried but the formulas are just not the right colors. My car is the 74 Cranberry and it is just that. On the pink side. The toners in it are only red, magenta, coarse metallic and fine metallic. If you look at the paint it actually looks like it has a pink pearl as well but they didnt have pearl at the time. Anyway, I have sent it to 3 different color matchers and they cant get a match. They all get too red which in turn makes the car look pink or watermelon depending on the match. I dont want to paint an original car that doesnt have a defect in the paint. With 25k miles on a car no one wants to ruin a perfect factory finish. I know we all who have these 70's and 80's Cads all have had to replace the fillers at one point or another. Who has had luck with their painter or color matcher. Im willing to send a part of the car to them so they can get the metallic right and the flop and the hue correct. I dont mind if its slightly off but my god, they look like two sore thumbs sticking out at the end of the car, like an after thought.  Please if anyone knows of someone who is an excellent color matcher please let me know. At this point I dont care what type of paint it is, I just need them to match. I do not want to be blending because unless its lacquer they will have to clear coat the fenders and the trunk and then do the same to the front as well. I just want to shoot them and put them on and they look like they match or atleast aged slightly. Its driving me crazy. I would rather have lacquer but single stage enamel is just fine too. The PPG formula and the PPG paint in acrylic enamel is close but is a little pink which makes the car look like watermellon and the lacquer that everyone uses isnt PPG so it is RED and makes the car look pink. Anyone had any real luck? Please tell me? Thank you

[homeonprunehill]

03-07-09
Collector, sounds as tho the paint matcher is goings by the "numbers only" mIt sounds like a case where the paint matcher has to use his eyes only! Can you mail the old-part out if I can come-up with an address for you? Good Luck,Jim

[collector]

Yes, I sure can. It would be something I would need back. The only thing I can get off the car is the headlamp monitor fender cover. I also have the really large swatch from the dealer album. Id like them back without damage. Is that possible?

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

John,
Might I suggest sending a piece of the fender extensions you are replacing.  If they are original they were painted with the car and the same color should bee what you want.
Greg

[collector]

there are no fender extensions to send them. They were already replaced with repros when I bought the car. The originals were in the trunk and were crumbs, not a piece larger than a shard of glass. I took off the replacements and put on NOS originals but I cant get the color to match. The replacement color was worse than anything I have painted so far, so it has to be a part of the existing car.

[RobW]

They will always be "slightly" off and were when new. The magenta and the fine metallic will give you that "pinkish hue" you're looking for. Another thing to keep in mind is those cars were sprayed with lacquer at the factory. If you're using bc/cc or single stage the color will be way off. Even today's lacquers don't have the same components so expect a difference there as well. I painted many caddies back in the late '70's and seem to remember the fillers always being darker on original cars. Maybe someone with a nice original can verify this?

[Tom Hall 7485]

Even when acrylic lacquer was being used for panel repairs, the Firemist
paints were devilish to match exactly.  It was common for the painters
at the Cadillac dealership where I worked to spray two or three times
to achieve a good match.  Cranberry Firemist is one of the trickiest.
And then there was the Terra Cotta Firemist spray job to repair a car I
damaged....

[collector]

I can get any type of paint needed, I do realize that the formulas are different and metallics and toners have changed. IM looking for the impossible I'm almost sure. I realize that they originally never matched because of the flex agent they put in the paint when new which caused the paint to change its properties and differ from the rest of the car. I know there has to be someone who is good at looking at paint and telling what colors are in the paint. I know there are some really talented people out there that can mix paints and get them almost dead on. If someone knows how to make it up in acrylic lacquer and get the paint close enough Id let them blend the fender and rear quarters but not clear coat and you would never be able to tell. I have a guy who paints in laquer but I need a paint that will work. So the quest is on

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

Firemist paints are tough to match as the previous posters have told you.
However, there is an outfit called Tower Paint that has been supplying paints
for years in spray cans and any size you want.  A few cans should be more than enough
for your urethane fillers.  I redid mine a few years ago and they were dead on -- however
my '73 is not a metallic (Dynasty Red).  All they need is your paint code and info from the
data plate.

Call them -- it's worth a try.  Somebody should be able to make a better match than
what you've described.  The reddish / pinkish shade is not a problem caused by the
metal flake, but the pigments.  Did your previous suppliers do a color scan to "read"
the correct shade?  They would need to see your car to do that, but it's one way to
insure a closer match.  The size of the metal flake will be most evident on spotting in
a panel and looking in the light, sighting down the panel.  A small part as you describe
should not be so obvious if the shade is anywhere near correct.

http://www.towerpaint.com/

Mike

[76eldo]

I restored a 1936 Packard several years ago.  The restoration shop I used mixes their own paint.  I wanted the color to match the chip I had from an old original Dupont chip chart.

Their supplier scanned the chip with a hand help device, and the computerized system they had came up with the closest known currently available paint formula, and tinting instructions to  get the match. 

I would tend to think that the technology is better now, so that's what is needed.

I am familiar with Tower paint, but no spray can job will do.  You need a pro shop to paint these, and custom match the paint.  Expect to settle for a slight shade variance, they were like that when new. 

Brian

[homeonprunehill]

03-08-09
JOHN,I tried to sund u an email i got the address from your your email but it wouldn't go .
their address is ;  2304 N. KILLINGWORTH
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\PORTLAND, OR 97217
THEIR PH. NO. IS     503-285-056

I had the glove compartment door to match up man refered to it as "eye match brown"I* on the other-hqand refered to it as "god awful Brown",It didn't have any Firemiswt in it..      but it suited me just fine  HTH Regards, Jim