The 1960 - 1966 Chevrolet & GMC Pickups Factory Correct Restoration Thread

[kieth]

Instead of having to mix your own paint I have found that Autocolor Library has the original Ditzler paint codes for all the 64, 65, 66 trucks. PPG bought Ditzler out and in their OMNI series of regular enamal paint they have the formulas for the original colors. On the Interior paints it is mixed with a lot of reducer in it to flatten the color, i.e if you would normally add reducer 1:1 for Medium Fawn Metalic a exterior color, the interior color medium fawn metalic has so much reducer in it that you only add 1/8th or 1/16th the reducer when you get ready to shoot it .
All of the exterior colors are available in OMNI single stage and also in Base Coat Clear Coat.

www.autocolorlibrary.com Kieth

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by kieth

Instead of having to mix your own paint I have found that Autocolor Library has the original Ditzler paint codes for all the 64, 65, 66 trucks. PPG bought Ditzler out and in their OMNI series of regular enamal paint they have the formulas for the original colors. On the Interior paints it is mixed with a lot of reducer in it to flatten the color, i.e if you would normally add reducer 1:1 for Medium Fawn Metalic a exterior color, the interior color medium fawn metalic has so much reducer in it that you only add 1/8th or 1/16th the reducer when you get ready to shoot it .
All of the exterior colors are available in OMNI single stage and also in Base Coat Clear Coat.

www.autocolorlibrary.com Kieth

I've known about Autocolor Library for awhile, but they didn't have the engine colors. We have a local paint shop that is great at matching colors in almost any paint line without having a code to go by as long as you have a sample. I couldn't imagine spraying over-reduced Omni; that stuff is already weak to begin with. If you ever have the chance to watch them mix Omni, notice the ratio of pigment/toners to clear binders they use, its doesn't have anywhere near the pigments in it that higher quality paint does- thus it takes more coats to cover than a better paint. I used Spies Hecker basecoat so that the metalic would be more visible and could adjust the amount of hardener/reducer to achieve the sheen I was going for. Metalic single stage urethane or enamel doesn't have the same look as the original lacquer paint did back when these trucks were new. I've tried single stage metalic urethane with flattener added and the flattener really screwed with the metallic; made it cloudy looking. I hadn't been painting long when I restored the '65 and using basecoat without the clear was best way I knew how to replicate the original lacquer look. I would like to try slighly overthinned urethane clear with flattener added to see how that looks over fawn basecoat.

[kieth]

Well I do not know about problems with OMNI, my dash looks great, the metalic does show but it is not as shiny as the base coat clear coat we used on the grill shell.....and we used OMNI base coat clear coat on the outside of my gmc......it looks pretty good. So just trying to help others out. Kieth

[theastronaut]

I'm not saying Omni is a bad paint; just that in certain applications there are better paints. I've used plenty of single stage solid color Omni on wheels and small parts that has sprayed out and held up just fine. As little toners/pigments Omni has, spraying it over-reduced to flatten the gloss would take alot of coats to get good color coverage. The Spies Hecker and PPG DBC base coats I've used cover pretty well with the first coat, and the second coat covers completly.

[Revoh]

I don't know that I can add too much.

This is the original bed in my '63. The floor used to all be black, but obviously, the black has all faded away.


The headlight bezels on a '63 with a painted grill should have a black ring around the inside. No one ever seems to put that back, though. There's black paint behind the grill, too.


I don't know what you can get off of this, but it's pretty original in here. Someone added an aftermarket windshield washer bottle along the way. There are actually some faint chalk marks on the firewall, but you can't see them in this picture.


These are the original wheels with the original paint on my '63. They used these hubcaps from '61-'63. Usually, they were painted white like the grill. They don't make them aftermarket, so guys'll often put the '64-up type caps on the older models.


I guess that's not all that helpful, but those are a couple of the bigger things that don't seem to get put back on a lot of the restored trucks. I like theastronaut's thing about the interior color, too. Seems like interior panels and headliners are often painted body color on restored trucks, but I do usually think the stock fawn beige look goes a long way in making it look correct.

[oem4me]

Originally Posted by Revoh

The headlight bezels on a '63 with a painted grill should have a black ring around the inside. No one ever seems to put that back, though.

You are absolutely right on that detail being missed nearly every time. I grabbed a factory promo shot from another thread that clearly shows the black trimmed headlight bezel on a painted grill. Interestingly, it is hard to tell if the aluminum grilled trucks had that detail. Hmm, maybe not. ?

[Revoh]

Originally Posted by oem4me

Interestingly, it is hard to tell if the aluminum grilled trucks had that detail. Hmm, maybe not. ?

No, I'm pretty sure they didn't do that on the aluminum grill.

[1963c-10]

Originally Posted by oem4me

You are absolutely right on that detail being missed nearly every time. I grabbed a factory promo shot from another thread that clearly shows the black trimmed headlight bezel on a painted grill. Interestingly, it is hard to tell if the aluminum grilled trucks had that detail. Hmm, maybe not. ?

I believe the 1963 aluminum grill bezels did not come from the factory with the black trim. Here is an NOS aluminum trim ring I have still in the factory packaging. Part # 3822813

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by Revoh

There's black paint behind the grill, too.

I love that truck! Here's some shots of a repainted grill shell and fenders with the correct pattern. I've been told that the black shouldn't be gloss though.

[65chevysub]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

I love that truck! Here's some shots of a repainted grill shell and fenders with the correct pattern. I've been told that the black shouldn't be gloss though.

Is that the factory light Blue? Code 507? My 65 Suburban was that color and is going back to it. I also think the gloss black looks great. Easier to clean than flat

[padresag]

Originally Posted by kieth

Instead of having to mix your own paint I have found that Autocolor Library has the original Ditzler paint codes for all the 64, 65, 66 trucks. PPG bought Ditzler out and in their OMNI series of regular enamal paint they have the formulas for the original colors. On the Interior paints it is mixed with a lot of reducer in it to flatten the color, i.e if you would normally add reducer 1:1 for Medium Fawn Metalic a exterior color, the interior color medium fawn metalic has so much reducer in it that you only add 1/8th or 1/16th the reducer when you get ready to shoot it .
All of the exterior colors are available in OMNI single stage and also in Base Coat Clear Coat.

www.autocolorlibrary.com Kieth

dashes shouldn't be to shiny as to cut down on glare from oncoming lights and the sun. it shines up into the windsheild
ron

[theastronaut]

Correct pattern for 1966 Deluxe seat covers, this is an original cover.



Correct pattern for 1965-1966 Deluxe seat covers (the tan vinyl is not the correct color, should be silvery-gold, but the cloth is correct).




Not the best pic but here's how the factory masked off the white stripe on the cab corners for models with side trim.




The radiator shrouds had metal staples to hold the seals in place.





Seat tracks should be silver zinc/cadium plated, seat frame is low gloss black (not flat), the hinge bolt is a silver plated finish, back rest adjustment screw should be silver plated. Not sure what the seat track to floor bolts were so I painted them a contrasting black. Silver colored plating was probably correct on those.



Underside of the hood was painted black from the factory. I used low gloss but I don't think they had that much sheen originally. Satin would be more correct.






Fleetside models had filler panels under the bumpers. Not sure of the correct finish of the bolts so I used polished stainless. These may have been painted body color?







Original grease pencil marking on the steering column plate, interior side.

[65chevysub]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

Correct pattern for 1966 Deluxe seat covers, this is an original cover.



Correct pattern for 1965-1966 Deluxe seat covers (the tan vinyl is not the correct color, should be silvery-gold, but the cloth is correct).




Not the best pic but here's how the factory masked off the white stripe on the cab corners for models with side trim.




The radiator shrouds had metal staples to hold the seals in place.





Seat tracks should be silver zinc/cadium plated, seat frame is low gloss black (not flat), the hinge bolt is a silver plated finish, back rest adjustment screw should be silver plated. Not sure what the seat track to floor bolts were so I painted them a contrasting black. Silver colored plating was probably correct on those.



Underside of the hood was painted black from the factory. I used low gloss but I don't think they had that much sheen originally. Satin would be more correct.






Fleetside models had filler panels under the bumpers. Not sure of the correct finish of the bolts so I used polished stainless. These may have been painted body color?







Original grease pencil marking on the steering column plate, interior side.

I had the underside of my hood done in gloss black bedliner. It's the leftovers from spray jobs, called Slurry. A friend of mine here used to have a bedliner business and he did my hood, and the gas tank on an old 65 Chevy II I used to have.