I've got a 67 that I'll be painting fairly soon (I hope!). I hate the original color (Mountain "seasick" Green), but I'd like to use an authentic color for that year if I can find one that I like. I've seen color charts online, but it's hard to judge from those (not to mention the variation in monitors). If I want to get a good idea of what the colors really look like (especially outdoors), what can I do? Would an auto paint store have chips in those colors (I really doubt it!). Any suggestions?

In particular, I think I might like Plum Mist, but I need to know if it's really a dark purple (good) or more of maroon or burgundy (bad).

Thanks for any help.

JackRabbit

The nice thing about having Mountain Green as the original colour is that you have your choice of any other colour without bias. As for the Plum Mist (or Royal Plum) it looks just like a purple plum.
You're right about the trouble with reproducing colours on your screen. Metallics don't relect accurately when you scan them. If you are having trouble deciding, maybe you just need to go to the Chevellebration and get some ideas there.

Sometimes you get lucky and find a supplier who has the old color chip books. The DuPont supplier here in town has the chips books all the way back to the mid 40s. That's a rarity!

I have been going through the same thing for my 72 SS. I wanted to paint it the original colot golden brown metallic because you don't see many on the road. I went to Napa and they had the paint chips but the book was so old it was hard to tell. I went to National Auto Parts and they had a book with all the old chips in great shape. I decided to go with the Golden Brown only to find out that they didn't make it anymore in basecoat/clearcoat which I really wanted. I ended up with a quart of Burnt Orange Metallic that I am going to spray an old fender with to see if I like it. My advice is find someone local that is known for their paint supplies. They should have the chips you are looking for.


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72 Chevelle SS 454....

FYI, base/clear systems weren't developed until the late 70s and weren't OEM until used on the 84 Corvette in the Chevy line.

A GOOD paint supplier can convert the early lacquer/enamel formulas to basecoat formula.