paint codes

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canadianviking

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Hi guys and gals,

I am new to the forum. I recently purchased a 1974 Duster on ebay and I have found this site to be most helpful. Answered a lot of questions for me.
Anyway, the fender tag and build sheet on my Duster have the paint code KY4. I found a paint supply company online that has samples of the original paint chip sheets used in 1974 (cannnot remember the name of company, tcp something maybe). The color listed as Y4 on the sheets is not the colour that is on my car. Y4 is listed as Golden Fawn yet my car looks more like Y2 Sunfire Yellow. The paint on the car appears to be original. I pulled the carpet out and interior apart and that is the colour underneath everything. I guess my queston is, could it have been painted Y2 by mistake at the factory.
Look at my avatar to see the paint colour and tell me that is not Sunfire Yellow.
Thanks,
TODD.
 
canadianviking said:
Hi guys and gals,

I am new to the forum. I recently purchased a 1974 Duster on ebay and I have found this site to be most helpful. Answered a lot of questions for me.
Anyway, the fender tag and build sheet on my Duster have the paint code KY4. I found a paint supply company online that has samples of the original paint chip sheets used in 1974 (cannnot remember the name of company, tcp something maybe). The color listed as Y4 on the sheets is not the colour that is on my car. Y4 is listed as Golden Fawn yet my car looks more like Y2 Sunfire Yellow. The paint on the car appears to be original. I pulled the carpet out and interior apart and that is the colour underneath everything. I guess my queston is, could it have been painted Y2 by mistake at the factory.
Look at my avatar to see the paint colour and tell me that is not Sunfire Yellow.
Thanks,
TODD.
Click to expand...

well todd i might be able to help you on this, maybe not, being that my father owns a paint and body shop, we deal with paint codes on a daily basis. these days the colors are always right, never have run across the paint not matchin to the code. we also go by the vin # to unsure a perfect paint match. but on ur car your talkin about back in the 70's i wasn't born then but my father was in his hayday, and i know it was crazy , its a slim possibility, if your lookin at the color on your computer screen thats probably the problem, b/c we look at em on our screen along with the colors to mix and it doesn't look right but it comes out perfect..... just my .2
 
I believe it is very possible that a car could be painted the wrong color by mistake. I say this because I owned a '69 Fury III in the early 90's that the VIN said was supposed to have a 318 in the car and it was a 273. In '69 a 273 was not even available in a Fury. The cars VIN was stamped on the 273 block to confirm that the motor was indeed the original engine. The car is long gone now but I still have the 273 with a 318 VIN code on the block.


Chuck
 
I have the same question. Can anybody tell me what color KY4 is because that is the color of my '75 Dart Swinger and I wanted to repaint it the origional color?
 
Mark KY4 is supposed to be "Golden Fawn" I have a '74 Duster with the same code. The color chips that I have seen, anywhere,do not match the car. Can't be because of fade because it is the same in the trunk. For touch up I went to a place that usaes a scanner to mix the paint. Steve
 
I don't know how Chrysler arrives at the colors and hues. This car clearly looks green, but is A4 Silver. The car had been through many colors before it got to me. I found some undisturbed paint on the underside of the transmission tunnel. It matches the A4 Deltron sprayed on the rest of the car perfectly. See if you can clean up this area for the actual color and hue. Chances are it hasn't seen direct sun since it left the factory.

The computer at my PPG vendor was right!
 
Here is how they did the color codes.

There is a three digit sales code for the particular color. The first digit tells what year the color code is. They increment it every year. If they use the same color two years in a row, the first digit changes, and the last two that designate the color stay the same.

For example, let's say that you have a red vehicle and the paint code is PR4. If that same color is used the next year, it will be RR4 (I think that they skip Q for reasons of confusion with O). The PR4 AND RR4 are the same color, just different model years.


Here's a link to color chips on Mymopar:

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=23
 
See if the dealer literature can help you figure it out.
http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/library.shtml

Try the Plymouth color and interior selection booklet. Look in two places to put together it all together, top & stripe options, and then the two pages for interior under Valiant-Duster.
 
Plymouth paint chips for 1974. At some paint shops, you need to tell them the year of the car and then just the last two digits of the paint code. If you tell them all 3 digits, they cannot seem to pull it up right. The first digit actually denotes the first year a particular color/paint mix was used (after 1968). That is why Eb5 for instance is totally different than GB5. The first was mixed/used first in 1969 while the second was a 1971 paint mix.
 

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krazykuda said:
Here is how they did the color codes.

There is a three digit sales code for the particular color. The first digit tells what year the color code is. They increment it every year. If they use the same color two years in a row, the first digit changes, and the last two that designate the color stay the same.

For example, let's say that you have a red vehicle and the paint code is PR4. If that same color is used the next year, it will be RR4 (I think that they skip Q for reasons of confusion with O). The PR4 AND RR4 are the same color, just different model years.


Here's a link to color chips on Mymopar:

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=23
Click to expand...

That is not really true post 1968. FE5 is the same code from 1969 until the mid 70's. The prefix actually stay the same if the paint mix did not change. Many paint codes were used for multiple years and the prefix stays the same. Only when the paint mix changes does the prefix change to denote the new model year. That is one of the reasons why people get confused about B5 Blue. There are several mixes EB5, GB5, KB5 etc
 
canadianviking said:
Hi guys and gals,

I am new to the forum. I recently purchased a 1974 Duster on ebay and I have found this site to be most helpful. Answered a lot of questions for me.
Anyway, the fender tag and build sheet on my Duster have the paint code KY4. I found a paint supply company online that has samples of the original paint chip sheets used in 1974 (cannnot remember the name of company, tcp something maybe). The color listed as Y4 on the sheets is not the colour that is on my car. Y4 is listed as Golden Fawn yet my car looks more like Y2 Sunfire Yellow. The paint on the car appears to be original. I pulled the carpet out and interior apart and that is the colour underneath everything. I guess my queston is, could it have been painted Y2 by mistake at the factory.
Look at my avatar to see the paint colour and tell me that is not Sunfire Yellow.
Thanks,
TODD.
Click to expand...


Todd,

I'm going to try to answer your questions.

"Mispaints" were commonplace on new vehicles up until the late 80's when barcoding each vehicle became the norm. Often they would get repainted the correct color instead of crushed (which was protocol).

Batch to batch color match consistency was also an issue for a number of reasons. I can write a book on this subject.

Those color chips you see in refinish paint stores are for reference purposes only. They are not to be used for color matching. The major refinish paint suppliers (BASF, DUPONT, & PPG) all work off of "color masters" . The second tier refinish paint suppliers usually follow the leaders.

Never ask someone to judge a color from a digital picture.

Color codes do change slightly year to year depending on the model and color formula.

I suggest you go to a reputable Tier 1 refinish paint supplier and ask them to help you out. (Not the guys selling the paint.) There are a lot of knowledgeable paint tech reps eager to help you out.

I hope I answered your questions.

Good Luck
 
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