Paint name/code for 1979 RS2000?

[OldSkoolRS]

I'm trying to find out the official name/paint code for my 1979 Escort RS2000 which is black as I want to stock up on some paint so I can gradually make good the engine bay, then the various panels.

Perhaps getting very ahead of myself since my car has been off the road since 1997. However once I finish some welding on the strut top area it would be good to put some colour coats over the zinc primer I first applied in 2012(!) when I started the driver's side strut top area.

I'm most of the way through doing the same bit on the passenger side, but want to tidy up some bits I'm not happy with, then get the wings back on. I'll be taking the engine out so I can replace the clutch and generally clean up the whole block and crossmember/inner wings, so I'll be using cellulose paint (as it is finished with now). Easier just to do bits and pieces as I go along and figure if I buy one big 4-5 litre tin then it'll all match even if done piecemeal as I gradually work my way round the outside of the car.

Current state of play:



I plan to start a reader's cars thread once I get onto the job properly, but currently sorting out mine and my son's cars, plus readying my old shed for sale, so realistically will be hoping to start once we return from a holiday in a month's time or so.

[Weso]

The colour code is 'A'
And the colour name is 'black'
That's according to our glasurit system at work
HTH

[OldSkoolRS]

Weso said:

The colour code is 'A'
And the colour name is 'black'
That's according to our glasurit system at work
HTH

Cheers Weso. no fancy name to go with it then it seems. Will see what the paint supplier make of it and if they can supply me with those details. Possibly not too critical if I gradually respray all the panels, though I was hoping to avoid the roof/windows. To be honest most of the car is just very dusty and it's only damage to the front wings from removing them and the nose cone paint has crazed. Even the back wheel arches just have light surface rust on the inner lip.

[Novexx]

Going back a while now, but pretty sure that the tints added were so small (so small there was no point) that straight black could be used without any issue (PPG)

[OldSkoolRS]

Novexx said:

Going back a while now, but pretty sure that the tints added were so small (so small there was no point) that straight black could be used without any issue (PPG)

I have found suppliers of 'straight black' cellulose, so that could be an option, but if I can order something based on the information above then I might as well try that.

My parents had the car resprayed in 1985 when my Mum stopped using it as her daily driver(!). It's possible it was done in 'straight black' then, plus of course it will have faded even though it's been in various garages except during occasional summer use since. No chance of it matching the factory original shade really, but just trying to get something close so it isn't jarringly obvious as I hope to not respray the roof and pillars

I could do a test spray on one of the wings to see how close any new paint is. Maybe that will guide what bits I can just machine polish back up and at what body line I can spray up to and hide the join (eg the pin strip would be good, except I'll have to spray above that on the front wings...).

PS. What does PPG mean?

[Novexx]

PPG (Pennsylvania Plate Glass) is an automotive paint manufacturer amongst other things, like Glasurit/BASF or AkzoNobel.

I couldn't say if everyones straight black is the same as PPG's, only that PPG's is a very (very) close match.

[OldSkoolRS]

Ah thanks for that. I've done plenty of spraying over the years, but I used to just go to a branch of 'Autopaints' (one near Bordon many, many years ago) for my supplies and just gave them my paint code/name. More recently just ordered on line. I had great success with a colour match on my son's Fiesta earlier this year when I painted a new/pattern bumper (currently finishing off the bonnet).

I didn't attempt to blend the front wings, so these are just how they were after I buffed them back when he first got the car and the new bumper.



Maybe not a 100% match, but for an 11 year old first car he can't complain, especially as the accident was his fault.