Paint Color Thorne Brown

R

Russ Koch

Member
Seeing "Model A Color Revisited" went into left field, would like to get back to this color.
Ken Ehrenhofer & myself spent almost 3 months to get a paint match & would like to share MY experience publicly.
1st off we are dealing with PPG DCC Concept. The paint code that everybody has is for Ditzler lacquer & Dupont, which were even further off with 2 existing colors. Mazda & a Ford colors, Which were TOTALLY dark red. These were Duponts matches!!!! . NOW Ditzler lacquer color needs to be converted to DCC? Our first answer from PPG was it had a flattening agent in it? Why? The answer is what I used & hopefully shown.
I was trying to match the original color I found behind the dash on the fuel tank. The color I ended up with has a tad more red in it, so now the $10,000 question is? Does red fade after 80 Yrs. even if protected from the sun? My answer is that I am done after 3 Months of trying to match!
There is no paint code for this color, only a Prophet Formula from PPG.
For example, it was explained to me, Viper Red (a new color) could not be converted to blah,blah because a proper tint was not available, BUT, now they have the correct tint, so now there are 2 color codes for the same color!
And no. Did not have the opportunity to Prophet the original.
So what I am saying is: this is what we have to deal with? You want the color in the club paint & finish guide then lacquer is the answer, and to convert......oh, boy good luck
I just want to reemphasize that my original color that I found while stripping I think is closer than the chips in the paint & finish guide. And when I ran across this color(up until then I thought the car was black) was Marco Tahtaras that responded to this color/question that I posted on the old FordBarn and I thank him for heading me in the right direction, Since then I have met Ken & Ron Ehrenhofer & holycow Ken can run a paint gun and Ron has helped me with welding and the both have have been a HUGE source if info.
So while I'm on the bandwagon & you care about quality call Ehrenhofer restorations@630-697-3906
How's that for changing topic????
OK, I think I'm done with my rant on paint and my meeting 2 brothers that REALLY care about model A's
P.S. those pics were taken in Ken's shop and a pic with Ken

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Auto color library probably would have saved you some time. They have proprietary color formulas for Model A colors.
 
The last pic looks like brown, but the other 2 look maroon. I have a 1930 paint book. Thorn brown is a mix of black and brick red tinit. A good eye could easily make this with modern mixing mat'ls. I'll shoot a few pics of the book and the mix formulae in it. The tints in raw form are in the front. My other book has no formulas for mixing and some of the names are different than what we're used to, but clearly Model A colors in many of the pages. What you have there looks nice. If it's what you wanted, you won.
 
If you are looking to paint your car as close to factory colors as known, get the Mafca paint book. There are paint chips in the book for every color combination. The paint chips are the closest to date of what the original colors looked like. You should be working with matching your color to these chips if you want to be close.

http://mafca.com/cart/index.php?productID=129

If you really want to be original use lacquer paint. I have no experience with the below supplier but they sell lacquer.

http://www.hiberniaautorestorers.com/nitrocellulose-automotive-laquers.html
 
I did a Thorn Brown standard roadster and looking at the pictures ,,the one with Ron is thorn brown.. IT does change colors on you at certain time of day... That's the color. On the cover of The Restorer it looks black...
 
RonC said:
If you are looking to paint your car as close to factory colors as known, get the Mafca paint book. There are paint chips in the book for every color combination. The paint chips are the closest to date of what the original colors looked like. You should be working with matching your color to these chips if you want to be close.

http://mafca.com/cart/index.php?productID=129

If you really want to be original use lacquer paint. I have no experience with the below supplier but they sell lacquer.

http://www.hiberniaautorestorers.com/nitrocellulose-automotive-laquers.html
Click to expand...

I have purchased two copies of the Paaint and finish guide (Great book from MAFCA) and sent them to the girls at the color library in Strongsville Ohio just to try to help us,
Ken
 
theHIGHLANDER said:
The last pic looks like brown, but the other 2 look maroon. I have a 1930 paint book. Thorn brown is a mix of black and brick red tinit. A good eye could easily make this with modern mixing mat'ls. I'll shoot a few pics of the book and the mix formulae in it. The tints in raw form are in the front. My other book has no formulas for mixing and some of the names are different than what we're used to, but clearly Model A colors in many of the pages. What you have there looks nice. If it's what you wanted, you won.
Click to expand...

Every time (different light) you look at this color it changes but it is actually very brown and looks good in sunlight. any time we use Flourescent of photo flash it will look differnt unfortunately. The one tht looks brown is in the sunlight in fronmt of my shop swo it looks good in that light,
Ken
 
In shadow my roadster( Avatar) almost looks black or dark cherry, in the sun it seems to turn a brownish maroon. Thorne brown enamel is a pretty transparent paint and took several coats to cover.
 
mrtexas said:
Auto color library probably would have saved you some time. They have proprietary color formulas for Model A colors.
Click to expand...

I've seen a few colors they've supplied. They seem to have some of the same problems that PPG formulas had in the late 1960's-70's. They may have good results with some colors but you can't count on it being correct.
 
Russ Koch said:
Barry, what brand of paint did you use?
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It was PPG acrylic enamel. Don't know the formula, came from the local auto paint supplier. He has the Model A formulas. I bought a couple of spray cans for underside touchup from APS/Tower Paint in WI and they say "1930 Ford Model A" on them and seem to be a perfect match. Tower Paint tel. # 1-800-779-6520. They carry PPG in lacquer or enamel and also sell in gallons.
 
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