Captain_Slow

Doing a search for the paint code for my car. Found a thread with a link to PaintScratch.com. Found it...but out of ALL colors for 1988, Venetian Blue is the only color with "(Difficult Color)" stated next to the color name.

So...what makes Venetian Blue so special?

I have a friend who does $100K restorations (if body panels aren't available, he makes them). In between big jobs he has time to do some smaller jobs. I drove down to have him give me an estimate on stripping and painting my front bumper cover. He looked at the car and said "Beautiful color....and extremely difficult to match. It often comes down to getting the amount of reducer just right via trial and error....these lighter metallic blues are a challenge".

There were other shades of blue on the 1988 palette. Why is Venetian blue singled out?

Stromius

I'd be really interested in what you find. Perhaps you can document the process on the front bumper cover. Mine needs a refresh too.
Thanks!

blackbull

It's a matter of how a color reflects light at all different angles. Lighter colors make differences in shading much more obvious to the naked eye.

Captain_Slow

Tracey is the guy for the job. He's extremely meticulous. He's been working on a 1950's Olds convertible (a single year car) for four years...starting with a car that had rusted in half. It's now better than factory. The paint color is also extremely rare, and he did extensive research to get it right (no complete cars with correct paint exist). To put in perspective - it's like the Smithsonian trying to restore an aircraft perfectly historically accurate.

He also immediately noticed that the urethane material used on the 928 is much higher quality than used on cars today. He's familiar with all the special prep, priming, and paint additives needed (flex agent) and also said something about controlling drying/curing times and time between coats very carefully.

After Frenzy I'll put the car on stands and start several jobs (motor mounts, oil pan gasket, trans gasket and filter, water bridge gaskets, and oil filler neck gasket). First I'll remove the bumper cover and take it to Tracey. Before painting he will give me many samples to lay on the hood of my car and judge which is the best match. I should have the cover back by March.

One day he will repaint the entire car with the same color. He's got a really nice paint booth, huge two post Atlas lift (14-15 feet tall), scissor lift, rotisserie, and all the English wheels, cutters, benders, at least three different types of welders, etc. to make anything...blows my mind what he can make out of a flat piece of sheet metal. All in a four bay garage on his farm. He built the house and the garage himself. On top of all this he has two degrees in psychology and is a special education teacher, and has cattle and assorted other animals on his farm. But if you met him you'd never guess he was so accomplished...he's a modest man of few words.

I'll make a thread when the time comes to update this.

christiandk

Had a pristine 87 Carrera in Venetian. Pretty color, but has a lot of different shades all depending on the light. But every repair on oroginal paint is difficult if you want it to be nice.

That is why Hank Moody doesnt give a **** about his C2.

christiandk

....sorry

michaelathome

Jon,

Take it to Kevin. He will match it but it may cost ya :P

Michael

whiteNSXs

there is nothing special about this particular color. Universally, lighter shades of colors are harder to match.
Steve

Captain_Slow

Trying to paste a direct link to the 1988 color palettes: (it didn't work...must select year and make first)

https://www.paintscratch.com/cgi-bin...t-color-1a.cgi

I agree, all lighter shades, particularly metallics, are harder to match. However, there are two other light blues (marine blue and ocean blue...kinda redundant naming) that weren't identified as difficult. Just wondering so I can pass on some info to my friend before he gets started.

Captain_Slow

Hi Michael... I'm sure Kevin can match it well, but it's the part I want to avoid. My friend is truly one of the best auto restorers/fabricators in the country. He's less than an hour away.

M. Requin

Tracey sounds like an amazing guy. I knew a farmer (!) like him in Central NY who restored my Velo gas tank, including the gold leaf stripe (yes, the Velo tanks had real gold leaf!!). No degree in psych though, that I know of.

BTW, driving down 340 this weekend recognized the shark in your avatar...

Captain_Slow

Hi Martin -
Glad you found the shark at Dinosaur Land! It's actually a true scale Megalodon (essentially a giant Great White) that went extinct about 2 million years ago.

For whatever reason there are a lot of artisan restorers in the northern Valley and Ridge province of Virginia. The most famous is White Post Restorations. http://www.whitepost.com They aren't quite what they used to be, but this is partly because many of the guys have gone on to start their own businesses.

Tracey was mentored by Craig Naff (they attend the same church). Here is a HotRod magazine story about Craig http://www.hotrod.com/thehistoryof/h...t_rod_builder/

Craig is a kind of Zen Master of auto fabrication (no exaggeration...becomes clear if you read the article). Tracey is naturally a reserved guy, so it's not surprising Craig has influenced him. And they both work alone.