What colour for my B20

[simonandjuliet]

For the Appia furgoncino, I must admit, I went back to basics. Although I had Lechler codes, I couldn't find any way of cross referencing them for modern paints/colours. I found the colour I wanted and then copied it using a spectro.

I managed to find bits of the original colours (2 tone) on the dash and underside of the bonnet behind the info plates. Once cleaned and polished they gave a good reading. The colours of the resulting paints are indistinguishable from the originals

So, find someone with the original, unfaded colour and analyse it !

[Parisien]

Now its been sand blasted and etched, makes it a bit more difficult, but I still have the dashboard but not sure if it was body coloured or in black, will know more on Saturday hopefully.

But I know it was a faded version of the same (Amaranto) from stripping it before, so am pretty happy that the colour will end up a very deep, almost chestnutty red.





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[AandSRuggeri]

The chances of recreating the original colour from something found on a car very much depend on what that colour happens to be. Back then reds basically started to oxidize the moment the paint left the supplier - the chances of finding something to take a match from 60 years on are pretty much nil, and maroon is by far the worst of the reds in this respect. Metallic colours are next, with silver being particularily bad, followed by mid to dark greens and then dark blues. Light colours usually hold up quite well, greys especially.

[Parisien]

Yes, understanding all of those points, I'm pretty sure it was Amaranto anyways!

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[chriswgawne]

Stupid question so forgive me. Can't Lechler supply colour samples using their original  codes? They did just this for me last year for my project B20 which seemed to have no original paint on it when purchased. I subsequently found some on the back of an internal door trim.
Chris

[chriswgawne]

Should also have said that Roberto Pozzi who is Secretary of the Registro Aurelio has a lovely Amaranto B20 which was restored a few years ago. Perhaps he could help.
Chris

[Parisien]

I'd just asked the paint guy to go through his own system and see if he could cross reference etc, will chase up your suggestion Chris, thanks.

Yes, I remember  the B20 in amaranto with (Mr Pozzi?) at the wheel too

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[Sebastien]

If you refer to this post:

No, the driver was not Roberto Pozzi, but Gino Valenzano! Roberto Pozzi is a bit younger, as far as I remember...
It is however Roberto's car.

[Parisien]

Thats the car, thats the guy, and thats the colour......game set and match!

Not entirely sure I'd go down the body colour on the wheels and just stick to the off white colour with the outer rim only in the body colour or whats your B12 like Sebastien?


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[Sebastien]

Frank,
My B12 looks like this. And for the dark colors, I am of the opinion that the wheel interior in beige is nice - but only the interior, not the rim.
Some other Aurelia thread has a long argument about this...

[Parisien]

Great, thats the colour scheme I will follow too, thanks Sebastien


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[DavidLaver]

Simon's Appia - 30th April 2014 on page five and into page 6 0 covers the masking and painting of dark blue rims and beige centres:

http://www.lancia.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6943.60
http://www.lancia.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6943.75

[Parisien]

Thank you for those David, it now means I have an excuse to read through all 15 pages of Simons detailed restoration..........again!


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[Parisien]

The recent rally prepared B12 sold in the USA sorta answered my body colour query, wheel colour finish and indeed the body coloured dashboard issue.


http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1955-lancia-aurelia-b12/

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[GG]

Going back a few years into paint colors - a few thoughts:

We were never able to find a Lechler or Max Meyer cross index to current PPG or Glasurit paints.  As you are in Europe, Lechler can (as Chris says) make samples and that should do the trick. In North America, they were only in Canada and not cooperative. As good as they are (among others), sometimes its a bit confusing: there are a lot of greys and beiges. Amaranto should be simpler, and is a truly lovely color. Pozzi's car is striking.

At one point, an Australian Lechler dealer was willing to make up about 20 of the most common Aurelia colors onto 12" squares, the idea being they could be cut and shared between clubs, etc. However funding didn't emerge, and the idea went nowhere.

The problem with original paint color is that it is really hard to know what it exactly is…. . If you can work with Lechler that should work well, but I've never used them. I once met some body guys in Como who knew how to get old Max Meyer paint. WOrking with these kind of guys should yield good results. Sometimes, a good old time paint guy (Italy?) is your best friend in this.  If you find a sample you like, great.

You'd  think its just "find the number, spray the paint", but sometimes not so easy. One way is to find a sample hidden on your car, away from the light, and that gets you close, but with age, its never exactly so… .I have an old paint chip book, and you could never use it to match the original paint colors - too much time has passed.

Tests matter - even once you find the color. On the B20, we found the right paint color, but then did a number of test pieces with very slight tint shifts, and checked the color in the bright light and in shadow, on the flat and over a curve. Seems silly, but surprisingly it  matters. 

Here in the US, most everyone has gone to urethane as their paint system. Its good, and with enough prep work, you can get the depth in the gloss that looks close (but not the same) as lacquer. It is easily blended and matched for repairs, which is nice too. Keep an eye on the gutters, and places where the paint can glom up and get thick.

Hope this helps.