1940 Ford Color Help (Technical)

phartman

phartman

Senior Member
Could anybody tell me which of these colors is the lighter and which one is the darker? I am looking at '40 Ford Cotswold Gray Poly and Gull Gray. I can't tell from the Auto Library website how dark these two colors might be, relative to each other.

I am looking to paint my '40 Tudor Sedan, and am looking for a gunmetal color. Folkestone Gray seems too light, but maybe the Cotswold or Gull might do.

Thanks for your help here.

Pete
Richmond, VA
 
In case it matters to you, of the colors you listed, only Folkstone Gray is a 40 Ford color. The others might be Mercury.
 
deuce_roadster said:
In case it matters to you, of the colors you listed, only Folkstone Gray is a 40 Ford color. The others might be Mercury.
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Now I'm really confused. I am looking on-line at the paint codes on TCP Auto Paint Library website. Listing is for 1940 Fords. Cotswold Gray Poly and Gull Gray are both listed for 1940.

I considered the Folkestone, but it is lighter than what I want.

Suggestions? The color doesn't necessarily have to be a 1940 Tudor Sedan color. Could be earlier/later or perhaps a truck/commercial color, but I'd like it to be similar to the Cotswold or Gull gray.
 
If you don't need the color to be an authentic 40 Ford color your choices of grays are almost limitless, choose what you like best. There are lots of other non metallic gray colors that were used in 1940 if you just want to use something of the period. Look at other makes like Hudson or Nash etc on the site you are using. I think the poly (metallic) colors used by Ford Motor Company usually were on Mercurys until later.
 
deuce_roadster said:
If you don't need the color to be an authentic 40 Ford color your choices of grays are almost limitless, choose what you like best. There are lots of other non metallic gray colors that were used in 1940 if you just want to use something of the period. Look at other makes like Hudson or Nash etc on the site you are using. I think the poly (metallic) colors used by Ford Motor Company usually were on Mercurys until later.
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Is there a pre-war non-metalic gray that is darker than the Gull gray?

And I think of gunmetal as having a slight blue cast to it.

I'd like to keep it a Ford color. Any other choices you could recommend other than the Gull gray? It could be a car or truck color.
 
deuce_roadster said:
If you don't need the color to be an authentic 40 Ford color your choices of grays are almost limitless, choose what you like best. There are lots of other non metallic gray colors that were used in 1940 if you just want to use something of the period. Look at other makes like Hudson or Nash etc on the site you are using. I think the poly (metallic) colors used by Ford Motor Company usually were on Mercurys until later.
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Bingo! To reiterate: If you don't care if the color is authentic to a '40 Ford, paint it whatever you like.

One must be careful when researching colors as many websites are full of inaccuracies. In addition to that, many of their so called "correct formulas" are anything but...
 
I hear this statement quite a bit, "It's your car, paint it whatever color you like." But when researching vintage colors, it can be confusing. Very few cars on the road still have their original colors, with most being faded or repainted incorrectly long ago.

Then there is the way paint is applied today, mostly color + clearcoat. My experience and eye tell me that this modern method consistently makes the color look too bright and the finish too glossy, too "wet" looking. Finally, the vast majority of cars on the road today are metalic colors. Metalic paint goes way back, but the very fine metalflake I'm told is virtually impossible to find these days. Please correct me if I'm wrong here.

Online libraries are good to a point, but everybody's computer has color variation to a point that it's difficult to discern undershades and the nuances of a color choice.

So I want non-metalic, a '40s or '50s gloss, single stage.

How should I go about my research? How helpful will my local paint supply house be as a resource?
 
As a long time painter, I would say find the color grey you like and if it's metallic,have it mixed in a non metallic base. Don't limit yourself to a specific year. There were lots of greys made up through the 50's that were real close to the older colors. Breeze through all the greys and find one you like that is real close to the original color. There probably isn't 1 out of 100 people that could tell if thats the original color or not. You will be the only one that knows. Some paint shops are good reference shops, some aren't...just depends.
 
You could go to an automotive paint store and look at their fleet color or spectromaster book( I think that's the name)within them you will find the whole spectrum of colors complete with formulas.
 
Willit Stop said:
You could go to an automotive paint store and look at their fleet color or spectromaster book( I think that's the name)within them you will find the whole spectrum of colors complete with formulas.
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I have a sample that is actually an engine paint color. I'm going to the PPG auto
paint supply store tomorrow and see if they have something close in a stock color.

Colonial Williamsburg is just down the road from me here in Richmond. For many years- starting in the '60s- the Martin Senour Paint company offered their line of "authentic" Williamsburg colors. The line was interior and exterior paints that were to replicate the lead-based milk paints and whitewashes that were popular in this area in the 18th and 19th centuries.

With the advent of computer simulations to duplicate aging and fading, come to find out that the colors they offered weren't really all that accurate. As I recall sometime in the '80s, the paints were reformulated to be brighter, more vibrant, just downright gaudier, if you will. It came as a real shock to the blueblood old lady historical societies who had the early settlers all wrong as far as it pertained to their original color preferences.

My guess is that much of the same is going on in auto circles today. As fewer and fewer of the vintage cars with original paint are showing up, we are adjusting paints to what looks right to our modern eye rather than what the colors actually are. Combine that with the disappearance of laquer and the introduction of water-based, we could end up with colors and hues that remind us of the original colors, ie they evoke the original shades, but don't precisely duplicate them.
 
Whn you mentioned "Gull Gray" I took notice, as that is the color that we used on my 1954 Buick Riviera 2dr. Hard Top. It is an original Buick 1954 color and looks real good on the Buick, with accenting black top. So if you like Gull Gray, this is a possibility. However, I always prefer to paint a car an original color - not necessarily the color that was on the car when delivered, but at least a color that was available when car was new. I have always liked dark gray, as it seems to make the car look "classy".

Fritz
 

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FRITZ47 said:
Whn you mentioned "Gull Gray" I took notice, as that is the color that we used on my 1954 Buick Riviera 2dr. Hard Top. It is an original Buick 1954 color and looks real good on the Buick, with accenting black top. So if you like Gull Gray, this is a possibility. However, I always prefer to paint a car an original color - not necessarily the color that was on the car when delivered, but at least a color that was available when car was new. I have always liked dark gray, as it seems to make the car look "classy".

Fritz
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Wow! What a great color. Fritz, can't thank you enough. Just terrific.

Is there a Ford counterpart?
 
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