This is a crazy question, but I've never painted anything so.....

Does the primer determine the shade of the final color? I mean if you used a black primer would the color appear to be darker than if you used a gray or red primer? Just something I thought I heard once, but wasn't sure if it was true. Please don't think I'm stoooopid. graemlins/clonk.gif

From the few things I have painted I can only say ...sometimes. It really depends on the paint. If you have a nice opaque pigment, not much will show through. If the paint is somewhat translucent, it can effect the final color.

There are some great master painters (...yes I said PAINTERS) on here that could probably supply more info.

On my cars I tint the primer to get it as close as I can to the base coat color.. On my 68, I painted the original green, I tinted the primer green. On my 71, I tinted the primer blue. You should put 3 coats of color on so I don't know how much difference the primer color makes, but it's easy enough to tint so why not do it..I used Sherwin- Williams...Bill

My 70 is old, faded Fathom Blue. I've seen a couple of fresh Fathom Blue 70's in shows and on here, and there seems to be some that are a bit darker than others. I kind of like the darker ones.

Does anyone know if the factory had a specified color of primer for a specified final coat? Or was a universal primer used on the assembly line for all colors of cars? Did this vary from factory to factory? Thanks!

Hey 70. The other fathom blue colors you've seen off the net could be directly related to the cameras, shade and whatever else. The other cars might not necessarily have the right shade, although I'm sure most do. As far as primers changing the colors. Yes they can have an effect on the final color, but it is dependant on the paint, and how many coats were put on. If your really concerned you can just tint it like mentioned earlier, or just use a light shade as in gray. I use it the most and don't even bother with tinting because it cost more. With the proper amount of base color it'll turn out just fine. Some folks will tint a primer not just to help get it right on the money but it can also help you require less color coats to achieve the proper color, meaning you can save some money by not using as much base color.
Hope I've helped
RandyB...

I seal cars before painting,a medium grey.Most companies use a grey sealer and I believe so do the paint companies.This helps with color match,especially on light colors.The sealer will show through on light to medium colors.
The colors from different plants could also be different colors. Mike

Found that the dp series white if used as a sealer will make colors brighter.