What is Autumn Yellow?

Mike,

Thanks Sam and Sean,
I'm seeing that autumn yellow is really more orange than yellow.  I'm not sure that's the color I want with normandy blue.  But then, I'm not sure I want sunset red either. 

Sam, I'd really appreciate getting pictures of your color charts when you get them.  With the chart Sean provided, and yours, I'll have something to look at and think about in the next couple of weeks as I get closer to paint time.

Thanks again.

Mike,

Sam, I'd sure appreciate an eyeball matched print of your color chip chart.  I think that 98% is good enough for this restoration project.  I agree with the difficulties of color matching a jpg file from one computer or printer to another.  I printed the color chart above on my work printer and it was so-so.  I printed it on my photo capable 5 color printer at home and it was much better.  But without the original I still don't have any idea how close I am to truth on the color.  The lighting angle and camera also introduce bias into the image. 

Not to add to the existing confusion, but...

In the printing industry (which IS how most of those paint chip pages came into being), printers typically work from ink-color books (usually known as "Pantone" in the industry), and the manufacturer warns against relying on the colors for much more than about 6 months, as I recall. Of course, they can sell a LOT more swatch books that way (at a ridiculous price, of course!), but the fact is that the inks DO change over even a very short period of time. I'm sure that the older swatches have changed quite a bit in the last 60 years.

In the paint industry, I was once told that the ONLY way that the paint manufacturers could repeat color mixes reliably was by a visual match...and they had learned that the most color-accurate human eyes on earth are those of Japanese women! (Don't ask!).These ladies in turn, rely on ceramic tiles of each color for their comparison "standards", since a fired glaze seems to have the longest life span for color consistency.

All of that said, I would think that anyone attempting an "A-Team" restoration would be well-served to do exactly what you folks are trying to do...find an old color swatch, and match it, whether it's "accurate" in fact, or not. Otherwise, maybe what we should all do is to find one of those "spots" of original color on our own Jeeps, cut a small piece of painted metal out, and submit it to some museum! (NOT!!!!)

For my own purposes, I've got several spots of existing Luzon Red that I'll be happy to let anyone look at...if you come visit me in south Georgia!   

Sean, your example is both dramatic and excellent.  I wonder if we could take a lead from Jack's post, and get some Japanese women to bake some ceramic tiles in exactly the right colors for a traveling display that we could ship off to the next guy doing a restoration.   (LOL!!)

Sean,

Edited by GaryArf - 02 May 2007 at 9:54pm

Howard:

...  so I used them and the Ditzer code and had our PPG dealer mix up a quart. That color was not right.

You have discovered what I did with Harvest Tan:

The original Ditzler/PPG color codes are no good anymore!

I didn't look at Autumn Yellow, but the original Harvest Tan code, while still listed in the PPG database, had been "offset" (PPGs terminology) to another code.

"offset" = substituted

The counter people at paint stores will not tell you this, unless you specifically ask.

I suspect that if you were to ask them, you'd find that Autumn Yellow had been offset to another, similar, color.

Sean

Here are some other wheel photos from 23353. You be the judge.