Paint

Not sure where to put this topic, so I'll start here. My car is paint code HH, which is for Vanguard Blue Metallic. I want to paint the car some day, but for now I would just like to paint the wheels the proper H code blue because I'm getting new tires. The wheels are red now and a bit on the rusty/tattered side. The wheels were originally blue, but the reason they are red is when Jig told the original dealership to take off the white walls, they were just going to turn the tires around..He wanted no part of that told them to take them off completely. They ended up taking the wheels and tires off of a red car..hence the red wheels. Anyway, I have the original Lucite and Dulux numbers for the paint, but they cannot even pull them because the car is so old. Has anyone here painted one of their cars Vanguard Blue? Any ideas?? The car was repsrayed some time in the late '80's and the color is close, but not exact and faded, So using the car as reference will not help much...Any suggestions??

You can find old paint chip sheets and codes on ebay which has the dupot codes on them. I'm pretty sure a fancy body shop will be able to mix you up some paint

Are you sure the wheels were blue?

I do have to paint codes..I have been told it is too old to look up. Yes the wheels were blue. The HH code means the car body was mono tone (top and body same color). The second H is for the wheel color. Go to the pontiacsafari.com website and it gives the code designations of single ot two tone color combinations. The trim tag on my car is stamped HH. Lucite is/was a Dupont trademark. Dupont discontinued the Lucite brand in 2002 and required all jobbers return their Lucite toners and they were destroyed, thus making the Lucite numbers pretty much worthless. I was told the only way to match the color is to bring them a sample, but since the car has been repainted to slightly different shade, this will only give me a match to what's on the car now. I have not been able to locate any of the original paint on the car except for out of reach areas that taking a sample will be next to impossible. I will keep seraching..hopefully somebody knows something.....

It's not too old to look up. I know shops can make exact matches of your old paint colors using the codes.

I'm sure someone on here knows who can do it.

59 Blue Bomber.....wheel color codes were not found on the trim tags for 1959. The "HH" codes refer to the top and bottom body colors. Vanguard blue, however, was indeed the wheel color for Vanguard blue cars. I went through a similar problem trying to match the Buccaneer blue of the interior paint in my car. I had the Ditzler (PPG) codes for the color, but they don't translate to the modern tints very well. The supplier I used, who specializes in small quantities for old cars, did several hours of research, and used his contacts with PPG to come up with a formula that was a perfect match. Not everyone is willing to do this for a few rattle cans sale. Most paint suppliers will mix colors that they readily have formulas for, or will spectragraph match from a part you provide. Since the color of the car now is close, take them your gas filler door and have it matched for a couple cans. Later, when you have the entire car painted, you'll be able to have the wheels done to an exact match. Somewhere in my files, I have the interior color chips. If the face of your dash is also Vanguard blue, your ashtrays or glovebox door would be a perfect match. I'll see if I can dig that up......John

Thanks Catbird..I know the trim tags don't decipher the wheel color, but the Poniac Master Parts Catalog does. It has the variations of mono and two tone cars and what wheel color was used for each particular color combination. I have also found another lead on a modern paint formula number. It is a PPG # I got from my local PPG supplier, who is willing to mix as small as a quart for me. I already have enough reducers and hardeners in my shop, so mixing and spraying is not a problem. I just want to paint the wheels one time and be done with it. I have already dismounted them and put them in the rotobrator and stripped them of all previous rust, paint and weights. I primed them with PPG gray Epoxy primer and are ready for paint. For those of you who don't know what a rotobrator is, it is a giant blaster that stands about 15 feet tall and holds approx. 800lbs of tiny steel shot. Inside is a rotating leather belt that combined with compressed air it 'shoots' the steel shot at about 200 MPH while the parts tumble with springs and rubber bits. It can be used for just about anything cast or heavy steel items and even aluminum. Each wheel spent about 3 mins. in the blaster and they look like new, ready for priming. The only thing you can't put in it is sheet steel parts (i.e. oil pans or valve covers) because it tends to wad them up. I have put engine blocks in this machine before machining and will take all rust, scale and paint completely off! Ask around at your local machine shops or foundries if they will blast these things for you, it is fast and probably cheaper (and less time consuming) than sand blasting in a cabinet. You will be amazed how well it works.

I had the paint mixed with the original Dulux number..They got it spot on perfect! I took the gas door off and low and behold it has just a spot of the original Vanguard Blue Met. It was the only part small enough to take off! The wheels now have the proper color and fogging over the black semi-gloss base color from Kelsey-Hayes. Now i just need to find some American tires to put on them!