Oh No, another medium olive thread!

[Stocker]

Some of you may recall that my K20 has been in paint prison a long time. It's ready for color but so far we have not found one we're all happy with. The body shop has done several sprayouts so far, close but no cigar. We're trying to match the original 504 Medium Olive (using the glove box door) and had not planned on repainting the interior, so there's that.

I'm hoping someone who has done a respray within the past few years or so can help steer me towards a decent color match. If it's a matter of keep trying until we get a sprayout we like, well, we'll just keep trying. Any advice is appreciated.

I considered posting in the Paint & Body forum but it gets very few eyeballs compared to this one.

Board member Chevyland's truck is the look we're after.

[Boog]

Mike medium green is a nice color. I think worth mentioning is the interior paint is about 50 years old so it may have changed some what over time so even it would not likely match new paint with the same code.

[Stocker]

That's true, Boog. From what I understand (I may be wrong) I don't think new paint with that code is still available. Also (again, I think this is correct), OEM was single stage and we're going with base / clear. So it really is an apples to oranges comparison. Just hoping to get the closest color match possible.

[SkidmoreGarage]

Picking paint is the hardest thing to do. A long time ago I sold custom bicycles. Customers would happily order and pay for a $10k bike in an afternoon. When I'd ask the color, they would take the color chips to the window for an hour, and then say they wanted to think about it and head home. They would then take weeks or months to decide. Usually picking one of three options: what they wanted in the first five minutes of looking at the samples, a standard color, or a last minute choice that they hadn't thought of until they were just about to commit. Almost every time it turned out better than they expected. My only advice is when you use two colors, make sure that you ask someone who knows color theory to make sure that they will go together. The worst custom paint jobs were when people picked logos or panels separately from the main paint. It even holds true for a white panel on a solid body. If you go non original, pick a matching hue of white.

A sample card will never give you the full effect of a car with all of its surfaces. If you want original color, trust the mix. If you want to pick something, Try looking at other OEM paint colors.

If it were me, I'd ignore the interior color. These trucks were painted from the factory in a rather unscientific and haphazard way. What you see may not be original, or may be a Friday afternoon special, or may just be dirty. Funny story. My truck was owned by a smoker. When I went to paint match, the color wasn't quite right. I couldn't tell if the original paint or the repaint was wrong. Turns out it was just nicotine/tar. A good scrub with wax and grease remover made it apparent that they matched exactly.

[Sheepdip]

This is Otis my Avatars color you can always have a pint mixed and try it.

[CG]

I cant keep track of all these med this med that greens (heh), but I remembered this thread, it may be relevant, it might not.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=747077

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by SkidmoreGarage

If it were me, I'd ignore the interior color. These trucks were painted from the factory in a rather unscientific and haphazard way. What you see may not be original

In my case, the interior paint is original. We're trying to match it as closely as possible..... simply because I like that color.
To further complicate matters, the inside of the glove box door is not exactly the same as the outside. Naturally.

Thanks Sheepdip -- I printed that out and will get it to the shop!
Are there more pics of Otis on the board?

Funny thing about that thread, Mark. It's one of dozens that I have looked through, and when I asked the shop owner about Kia paint..... well, let's just say he was not too receptive.
He did say he was going to do a Kia sprayout just for drill.

[Ol Blue K20]

I hope you find a match soon... I've been looking forward to seeing it finished.

[Stocker]

So have I, Dale.... so have I!!

[Dieselwrencher]

Take the glove box door to an automotive paint store and have them use their sun gun on it. They should be able to give the starting formula plus variants for lighter and darker shades.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Take the glove box door to an automotive paint store and have them use their sun gun on it. They should be able to give the starting formula plus variants for lighter and darker shades.

You would think a body shop would think of this. But, then again, maybe not.

[HO455]

Doesn't your body shop or paint supplier have a color matching camera? If not then you need find one that does. The camera will give you a reading that will allow the new paint to be matched to the interior. An experienced operator will be able to interpret how well the camera's analysis of the color tested will match.
That being said no matter how perfect of a match you get within 6 months they will no longer be as perfect. The interior paint has been fading for years and will continue to fade. Your new paint will start changing immediately, but the 2 paints will never fade at the same rate. Getting colors to match is only a temporary condition. Some colors and products will fade or change more than others. Metallic paints are tougher to make match.
Really good painters may be able to spray a color that looks wrong initially but the painter knows that in 6 months when the new color has mostly stabilized the colors will have a better match than when first sprayed. Unfortunately these days paint manufacturers will change their formulas without notice so what worked 6 months ago may not work the same tomorrow.
Are you going to be using a multiple stage paint? Many times the clear coat can be tinted to get the match. But once again it isn't going to stay perfectly matched for long.
As a friendly word of advice all professional bodymen know this and as such only have so much patience for customers looking for perfection. Restoration isn't a cut and dried retail transaction but a relationship that needs to be managed if both parties are to be satisfied at the finish.
Good luck.

[Chevyland]

This truck is long gone
But this is what I remember:
It was single stage paint we used,
I also was going to leave the interior paint original, but once I got in the middle of painting the exterior, I changed my mind, stripped the interior and painted everything, but the inside of the glove box door.
The outside was just going to look to different (good) to not do the whole thing

Good luck with finishing it up

[dfwright]

I started painting mine back in December of 2015, so it's been about five years. The paint shop mixed up a small can of PPG OMNI for me using their standard recipe for 504, and I was amazed at how well it matched. I used my original glove box door for comparison as well.

[NorCalC20LWB]

Stocker, just for comparison this is what the painter said is PPG's version of Medium Olive Green. Looks a little darker and has metal flake in it, plus obviously 2 stage, so shinier. Not meant to be a replica of the original color I don't think, more of a modern version of it.

[special-K]

^^^ That looks more like Dark Olive Poly than medium Olive Poly. A bit lighter than one and much darker than the other.

The problem with getting Medium Olive Poly right is the metallic. I have painted a lot of trucks this color, bought trucks repainted this color, and just seen a lot in this color. So many come out too "silvery", much too light and not green enough. The original color faded, due to so much metallic, into a lighter less green color. I looked and don't have any good pictures of trucks that color

[Lee H]

I went through this when I did my frame off. Long story short, I ended up three colors from two paint stores, first was mixed based on the formula, two grey. Next two supposedly matched from the glove box, one to dark, one almost there, very slight goldish hue after clear was applied, painter thinks it was the metal flake. It cost me a small fortune in non returnable paint.

[DeadheadNM]

This recently sold K5 is reportedly med olive but my eye doesn’t perceive it: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...-blazer-4x4-6/

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

This recently sold K5 is reportedly med olive but my eye doesn’t perceive it: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...-blazer-4x4-6/

I agree, that looks kinda of faded (too silver) with a clear over it .

[special-K]

That Blazer looks like it could be a wrong formula. This color, or similar variations were popular in the late '60s-early '70s. Looks like a color I've seen on some cars.

I remembered this picture I have on the computer in my 'people' folder. I bought it as you see it (paint). Maaco had done work on the bed and obviously didn't get a good mix

[52napco]

there are correct modern formulas for medium olive.. my blazer was done about 4 years ago

[Boog]

Back in the day, Dad and I used mainly "factory pack" paints on the cars we rebuilt and mostly Dupont. Factory pack was supposed to be the exact mix as came from auto makers. I repainted one job 3 times to get the color right on a brand new (200 miles)car. It was dark blue metallic. One brand was too purpleish, one was too silvery and one was perfect. We only used store mixed on occasions where we sprayed an older complete car to save a little. I don't believe we ever got a real good match using a store mixed paint, no matter the brand.

[special-K]

I've had great luck with mixed paints being correct. It's the nature of metallic paint, though, that makes it hard to mix a perfect match. Ask any auto painter about "blending" metallic paint on the same panel

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by 52napco

there are correct modern formulas for medium olive.. my blazer was done about 4 years ago

I know that pictures, including pics on a computer screen, do not always accurately represent what the eye sees in real life. However, the color on your Blazer looks spot-on!
Do you have detailed information on exactly what formula was used?

Great responses to this thread, more than I had expected. Thanks so much guys, all replies are very much appreciated!

I hope to make another trip to the shop before too long. With luck, we can pin it down and get some color on the old girl!

[52napco]

Here's my K20 that I sold to a good friend like an idiot...anyway same guy painted both trucks