Model B Grill Color

custom oak

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Does anyone have any suggestions on where to find what Sea Gull Gray looks like? Restoration manual lists sea gull gray as the proper color but I can't find a chip anywhere.

Thanks
Tim
 
Addressed previously. The. Resulting answer was:
Being the guy that started this post, I am reporting my results since i just painted the grille bars/teeth today. The correct color of sea gull grey is not available. However Dave Rehor has stated before that the model A color french grey is close (enough?). The PPG paint guide and color chip book published some years ago for 1928 to about 1936 does have a color chip for french grey. I borrowed a copy of this paint chart from a friend. They are around, just check with your local old Ford friends. ( This chart also has a chip for Tacoma Cream for use on wheels also). The french grey chip is lighter than Rustoleum Smoke grey and darker than regular grey primer. The hooker is that this color is not just a shade of grey made from black and white. It actually has a yellow warm tint to it. Therefore I gave up and went to my local friendly Dupont auto paint dealer. We scanned it with the computer and the color is nowhere close to any color in the database. I was hoping it could be cross referenced to be close to some midern car color which could be obtained in touch up spray can form that anybody could obtain. However since that was not an option, I had him match the color to french grey and put it in a spray can. For $25 you get an exact match to french grey in a real automotive paint in a spray can (no cataylst) that will last a long time. The color is a beautiful grey, looks much better than just a cold looking grey made from black and white. So, the final recommendation I have is to look and ask around to borrow a copy of the old PPG Repaint Manual (still available from vendors for $30) and go straight down to your auto paint store and have them match the color french grey and make you a spray can. When you see the results, you will be very happy. You will also be a hero to some other local 32 guy that has just taken the 43 bars out of his shell to straighten and paint.
Just my opinion
Floyd
 
Over the years there have been numberus '32 Ford experts that have studied the '32 Ford. They can tell you everything about them, except the correct paint code for the Grill insert.
I would be very interested to know the CORRECT code. One that can be used with todays paints. Say Dupont Centari enamel.
 
If you go to paintref.com and check FORD 1948 Sea Gull Grey comes up as FORD 14149, PPG 30418, Dupont 246-54942. Hope this helps!
 
The problem remains as the Ford code for the 1947-48 color is 14149, whereas the Ford code for the 1932 color is either M-952, M-1283, M-1288 depending on the type of paint (pyroxylin lacquer, enamel, or baking enamel). Is 14149 a reformulated M-1283, etc.? That's not known (yet or perhaps never will be). In any event, judging from the photos on www.paintref.com, 14149 sure looks a lot like the '32 grill color, but we all know the problem of photos and colors.

Here are a couple of photos of grills (Ford's '32 spelling) color matched from a NOS grill.
 

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Went back to paintref and the M-952 is a rose color and the other 2 aren't listed. Where did you obtain the info??
 
From a Ford Archives 1932 letter to the Company's branches and dealers listing all of the 'M' numbers of available paints and other supplies used in 1932 and in the years immediately prior to 1932.
 
Dave, maybe a better question is how is the color judged for concourse? How would a judge determine if the color is "correct".
 
Can someone please tell me what color would be used for a Model B pickup.

Thanks in advance!
 
The early commercial vehicle/truck color offerings for '32 models were, black, blue rock green, mountain brown, golden orange, and vermilion red. In September, 1932 all of the passenger car colors were added as single color alternatives to these five unique colors, with two-toning (of the hood and cab mouldings) available at extra cost. Large fleets could furnish their own colors subject to Ford engineering approval of the paint.

There are color chips of all the standard '32 colors in the V-8 Club's "The 1932 Ford Book", Appendix 3, but what I have in this computer is incomplete.
 
Jim,

Hopefully said judge has good color perception (not everyone does) and experience to know if a color is within reasonable limits. That applies to all of the colors except black, not just grill paint colors.
 
Thanks David! I should have been more specific with my question. I was wondering if 1932 commecial pickups used the gull gray for the grill as well as the passenger cars. My grill and shell are one piece, I believe this to be correct, please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks in advance!
 
Drew,

Got it; prior to mid-July, 1932, all of the grill portion of the commercial/truck one-piece radiator/grille assemblies were painted black regardless of the color of the cab, hood, and radiator shell. After mid-July, the paint treatment of the one-piece commercial/truck radiator shell/grill depended on the color of the hood and cab. If the cab, hood, and radiator shell were in either the golden orange or vermilion red color, the grill continued to be painted black. If the cab, hood, and radiator shell were blue rock green or mountain brown, there was no separate paint treatment of the grill. (Obviously the grill was painted black when the cab, hood, and radiator shell were painted black.) So the answer is no, sea gull gray was not used on one-piece commercial/truck radiator shell/grill assemblies.
 
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David, again thank you!!! My pickup is from May 1932 and the original color was blue rock green, as you can see by my avatar someone changed it to red. Still undecided what color I'm going with when finished.
 
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