Ontario Orange vs. Atomic Orange
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 201
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Orange, Orange and Poly Bronze
Say Dave J,
You got it right on the story about Ontario Orange in 1970. The Big strike of the summer of 1969 by the UAW against GM caused the vette production to not start until Jan of 1970. that is why 1970 is one of the lowest production number years of the vette since the beginning years. It is also why the ontario orange never made it out of the plant that year. When they started the production on the vettes in jan 1970, they had trouble on the paint line with the ontario orange. the few cars that got painted with it were brought back in and it was decided to substitute Poly Bronze #993 for any car that was ordered with ontario orange. My car has an early date code in 1970, and it was painted Ontario Orange and then Poly Bronze. In 1987 I painted it IROC Z (chevy) Red because I really loved the new IROC Z Camaro with the same black roof panels that I painted my car. When I stripped the car, literally by hand with an orbital sander, (my car had subsequently been painted Ontario Orange by the previous owner,) I found poly bronze under the newer Ontario Orange and then the original Ontario Orange under the Poly Bronze just in certain hard to reach places. My car to this day has Poly Bronze and some ontario orange just barely visible under the wiper door and on the wiper transmission posts. By the way, the color of your car is the closest I have ever seen in 25 years to the poly bronze that is on my car under the wiper door.
And dmeesg, your paint might very well be a derivitive of Poly Bronze if not a different years blend.
You got it right on the story about Ontario Orange in 1970. The Big strike of the summer of 1969 by the UAW against GM caused the vette production to not start until Jan of 1970. that is why 1970 is one of the lowest production number years of the vette since the beginning years. It is also why the ontario orange never made it out of the plant that year. When they started the production on the vettes in jan 1970, they had trouble on the paint line with the ontario orange. the few cars that got painted with it were brought back in and it was decided to substitute Poly Bronze #993 for any car that was ordered with ontario orange. My car has an early date code in 1970, and it was painted Ontario Orange and then Poly Bronze. In 1987 I painted it IROC Z (chevy) Red because I really loved the new IROC Z Camaro with the same black roof panels that I painted my car. When I stripped the car, literally by hand with an orbital sander, (my car had subsequently been painted Ontario Orange by the previous owner,) I found poly bronze under the newer Ontario Orange and then the original Ontario Orange under the Poly Bronze just in certain hard to reach places. My car to this day has Poly Bronze and some ontario orange just barely visible under the wiper door and on the wiper transmission posts. By the way, the color of your car is the closest I have ever seen in 25 years to the poly bronze that is on my car under the wiper door.
And dmeesg, your paint might very well be a derivitive of Poly Bronze if not a different years blend.
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Drifting
Joined: Oct 2010
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From: Chester Virginia
Orange paint
The copper colored photo in the replies is stunning too. Funny you should mention orange. My 76 was repainted by PO and it had been a red but it turns out with matching paint that when they painted it they painted it not with the red of 1976 but the 1984 bright red. Which.....
has a tiny hint of orange or yellow which hints at a little orange in the red.
Lance
has a tiny hint of orange or yellow which hints at a little orange in the red.
Lance
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,727
Likes: 39
From: Fremont CA
The new Corvette color Inferno Orange is pretty AWESOME in direct sunlight. I always found Ontario Orange a little dull it was the color on my 72 SS El Camino. The 70 Vette in this thread appears to be painted the classic Monaco Orange or Hugger Orange same as my 69 Z/28 Camaro, one of my alltime favorites
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Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 84
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Update!
Many thanks to all who have replied. 
I have gone back and forth many times and even considered 1977 Corvette Orange, but the Atomic Orange wins! Now..I need to decide which year of Atomic Orange. I've heard that the 08 Color is really nice. If there are any pics out there of any version of Atomic Orange, please post with the details (Year, paint code, brand)! 
Thanks!
I have gone back and forth many times and even considered 1977 Corvette Orange, but the Atomic Orange wins! Now..I need to decide which year of Atomic Orange. I've heard that the 08 Color is really nice. If there are any pics out there of any version of Atomic Orange, please post with the details (Year, paint code, brand)! Thanks!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2010
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From: SUFFIELD CT USA 2023 C8 CORVETTE UN-MODIFIED FINALIST
2023 C8 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Many thanks to all who have replied. I have gone back and forth many times and even considered 1977 Corvette Orange, but the Atomic Orange wins! Now..I need to decide which year of Atomic Orange. I've heard that the 08 Color is really nice. If there are any pics out there of any version of Atomic Orange, please post with the details (Year, paint code, brand)!
Thanks!
I have gone back and forth many times and even considered 1977 Corvette Orange, but the Atomic Orange wins! Now..I need to decide which year of Atomic Orange. I've heard that the 08 Color is really nice. If there are any pics out there of any version of Atomic Orange, please post with the details (Year, paint code, brand)! Thanks!
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Yeah...I'd say I'm being pretty picky. It's just that I want to make sure I get it right the first time. I've noticed that some "versions" of Atomic Orange look different than others. So, I wanted to get the details behind the paint so I could tell if there really was a difference between say, 2007 Atomic Orange & 2008 Atomic Orange or PPG vs Sherwin Williams, etc.
