Ugly Copra Drab

Terry NJ

Terry NJ

Well-known member
To kinda get my wife on board with this project, I let her choose the color! Her choice? The Drabs! Chichle and Copra. I would have go0ne with the greens! This is a Town Sedan and there wasn't much choice. So we were of the idea that "The Drabs" were basically a dark and light brown. However, I went with PPG and the Chichle isn't too bad, but the Copra is downright ugly! It's almost black! Greenish Black! I'm not happy with it. Does anyone know if this is correct? I have read where the Later Copra is more green and darker than it used to be. Can this be helped?
Terry
 
Why go to all the trouble of restoring a Model A and then choose a paint color you do not like ?
Keep in mind that down the road, a well restored car painted with "unpopular" colors can limit the restorations sale price. But......to each his (or her) own.
 
LOL, Good One! However, all the colors Ford chose in the thirties were ugly. I don't like any of them, except Washington blue, maybe Brewster green, and probably one or two more colors that weren't used on town sedans. So it isn't like I gave something I liked a whole lot for this attempt at matrimonial bliss. But I was hoping for a little better than this.
Terry

Jerry in Shasta said:
I think the operative word is DRAB, you know, kind of like OLIVE DRAB.
JB
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I agree with mikeinnj, however consider that women are often better at chosing colors than men, and you said you want her on board (a great key to happiness). In my opinion, chicle and copra are just elegant on a Model A town sedan with cream, not straw, wheels. Have a good look at some A's painted that combination. There are three possibilities with the copra: 1) The chip looks black on a white paper background, so cut out a rectangle slightly smaller than the chip in a sheet of black paper and view the chip through that rectangular window. 2) Paint stores frequently don't get the color right. 3) If the paint has settled in the can, the white pigment has settled to the bottom and may take a few minutes of thorough stirring to get it stirred in. Cover a small card with the stirred color then examine it in sunlight and shade.
 
Terry take the paint chip for whatever color u want to use from the paint & restoration guidelines book and get it scanned at ::::
http://www.flanneryautomotive.com
they have the latest digital scanning equipment

if you want to buy any paint from them pm me as i have an wholesale account there.... and of course any quality product is not cheap
just trying to be helpful
 
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I also do not like some of the colors, the drabs being among them. But my biggest dislike is the 50 shades of brown for the interiors. I think this dislike comes from the AMC Matador we owned when I was a kid. I disliked this car more than any other car I can remember. My parents bought it after the 440 in the Dodge Cornet through a rod. What a downgrade. Rod
 
Which part of this color are you thinking is "Black -Greenish Black". I think you are looking at the wrong color as Copra is not almost Black nor is it Greenish.

Below is Doug Clayton's Fordor that has the original paint on it. It honestly does not look Green to me, ...plus compare the Black Fenders to the Copra and see how much difference there is.
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PPG's Copra Drab is NOT the correct color - a gray instead of a brown. I have posted several messages about this - just search for Copra+Drab. DuPont ChromaPremier single stage paint is the correct color.
Rusty Nelson
 
Hi Terry,

FWIW:

Maybe prior to giving up on your love one's wishes for Model A Town Sedan colors, from different Model A's many have seen in the past, it appears that both of these two (2) colors, (Chicle & Copra), are not always the same exact colors because of manufacturer's differences of interpretation of Ford's formulae for his original colors.

Formulae for Ditzler, PPG, Dupont, etc. etc. have always varied in the past. Lots also depends on the individual doing the mixing -- almost impossible to mix two "separate" batches of paint to look alike when exposed to sunlight.

For example, some Chicles & Copras are more blackish, some more greenish, some more brownish; while some appear to look like a color formulated for funeral home curtains hanging behind a Model A owner's casket who did "not" like whitewall tires; however, others appeared more lively, like a lively (2) tone short skirt on a young Tootsie doing the Charleston in a smoke filled night club.

Just Google "copra & chicle paint colors" & one can "see" different paint hues of these paint colors; plus, many former detailed Ford Barn discussions on how these (2) colors can vary.

Maybe just try staying away from the funeral curtain color formulas.
 
I really like Marco's website with the color combinations that he shows on the roadster body. Not your car but I think on my computer that his color for the chicle drap looks just like some of the cars that I have seen that I really liked. I do think this is one of the most varied colors I have ever seen on a Model A. Just at Mike's Affordable meet in 2014, there were 6 cars of this color and I only thought two of them were close (or at least were what I liked). Give Marco's site a look.
 
Have you checked the colors in the paint and finish guide available from the national clubs? These should be most accurate chips, have them matched at a reputable body shop or paint store, get a small sample of each and try them on something else first to get an idea of what they really look like. Photos of other cars can also be deceiving. There may be a little cost involved, but at least you'll know what you'll be getting.
 
Terry the 'greenish black' sounds like it might be Brewster Green. Not a bad color saw a Roadster last year at an antique car show painted that and it looked sharp.

Not a big fan of the Chicles and Copras either. Used to be a car in a brownish hue had one of the lowest resale values back in the 60's-70's. Greens were next.

Of course there's always OD Green, Olive Drab (or as we used to say 'Over Dirt'):)
 
"Not a big fan of the Chicles and Copras either..........."

Terry, I love those colors and always saw them as "greenish" but certainly not blackish......
your wife has good taste- follow her lead.
 
Mitch, I got the paint from RW Mallon on 611 in Warminster. I know Flannery in Telford. Mallon's I knew much better as I had bought other stuff from them and they have always been helpful.
I just checked the sample of the can contents on the top of the can and it didn't get any better over night. It's a dark charcoal grey with a slight greenish cast to it. Not at all like like the color in Brent's picture This is supposed to be PPG Shop Line JE, However, It's says Dk Greyfern??? and there is a reference top FORD IN AMERICA (Where else would they be?). And there is a "revision" date of 12/9/2005. This stuff was mixed yesterday AM. This is not copra drab! At least as I know it. What's next? Where can I get a definitive sample of Copra Drab?
Terry



Mitch//pa said:
Terry take the paint chip for whatever color u want to use from the paint & restoration guidelines book and get it scanned at ::::
http://www.flanneryautomotive.com
they have the latest digital scanning equipment

if you want to buy any paint from them pm me as i have an wholesale account there.... and of course any quality product is not cheap
just trying to be helpful
Click to expand...
 
Terry said:
Mitch, I got the paint from RW Mallon on 611 in Warminster. I know Flannery in Telford. Mallon's I knew much better as I had bought other stuff from them and they have always been helpful.
I just checked the sample of the can contents on the top of the can and it didn't get any better over night. It's a dark charcoal grey with a slight greenish cast to it. Not at all like like the color in Brent's picture This is supposed to be PPG Shop Line JE, However, It's says Dk Greyfern??? and there is a reference top FORD IN AMERICA (Where else would they be?). And there is a "revision" date of 12/9/2005. This stuff was mixed yesterday AM. This is not copra drab! At least as I know it. What's next? Where can I get a definitive sample of Copra Drab?
Terry
Click to expand...

as i mentioned take the chip from the guide and scan it
 
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