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I realize there’s been previous posts on the correct color for 1970 wheels but a lot of that information is not relevant. Some of it is 15 years old. I can’t bring up the PPG paint codes anywhere and OEM paints seem to be out of business. Does anybody have a solution? Thanks in advance. Happy new year.
how can a 15-year-old thread about a 50-year-old wheel not be relevant? for starters the wheels where dipped primed in an enamel bath. then sprayed argent silver in the front with over spray going wherever. it's going to have runs and segs. now the paint code for the argent silver earlier codes where more silver, whereas 70/71ish codes have more a green tint to them. have you looked in your NCRS judging manual to see what was documented on low mile original cars. any body shop supplies paint store can look up paint codes and formulas to mix paint for you
I’m talking about the paint numbers for PPG and DuPont. I’ve checked with the body shops I do business and my paint supply store. Those PPG numbers seem to be extinct. And as far as OEM paints in California, they don’t seem to exist either. Looking for updated paint codes that are correct for 1970 with the greenish hue to them.
None of the commonly available paint codes are going to match the original color.
In the past, my painter, paint shop and myself have worked to match paint… From wheels to body color. It takes some time, but the result is about perfect.
You may (or may not) know that the original 1969 and 1970 wheels were not actually pure silver per se, but had a distinctive greenish hue to them. If you are trying to correctly replicate wheel color for 1970, you should keep this in mind.
Photo of original 1969 wheel:
Photo of restored 1970 wheel:
I can tell you that, in person, the color is a near perfect match.
Work with you painter and paint shop… Best advice that I can give.
That looks pretty good. I have an original spare that has never seen the light of day so the chances of it being faded is about nil . I just might have them camera that and see what we come up with. I know that it’s not directly argent and it has the greenish tint to it. If I can play with some color I might get there. I would rather use enamel than base clear coat that and that’s getting tough. Thanks for all of your help.
Hey Charlie,
where in CA are you?
Surprised you didn’t run across my thread on this topic.
I had a NOS 69’ rim that I had color matched at an automotive paint place and they got it darn close.
My buddy is a NCRS judge and he thinks it looks great.
I used BC/CC paint. The problem you will have with enamel is the flattening agent being added. They won’t know how much to add and they will end up doing spray outs to try and get a match. Gets expensive quick.
I used a matte clear coat 2k spray can.
The automotive paint place in Oxnard, CA has the formula on file
PM me if interested
If anyone is looking to source 1969 or 1970 Argent silver with the green tint the source is posted below.
If you call, make sure you speak to Luis and tell him you want the “corvette rally wheel argent silver green paint.”
Any issues reach out to me and I’ll call Luis to help out. Last time I bought more paint we couldn’t remember what he saved it as in the computer data base.
The paint is BC/CC.
The clear coat is a satin finish 2K and comes in a can that you activate.
I bought the primer and the base coat and then sprayed the rims with a Harbor Freight purple gun.
Joe Tuna You are the best! It might be a hassle for them to ship it. I’m gonna see what my guy can do here.! Headed to the paint store now thank you very much. What type of C3 do you have?
Joe Tuna You are the best! It might be a hassle for them to ship it. I’m gonna see what my guy can do here.! Headed to the paint store now thank you very much. What type of C3 do you have?
Luis may be able to do spray cans for you.
I have a 68, (2) 69’s, and a 71
When I did my top-flight on a mostly original 70 (20 years ago) I matched the spare wheel paint at a shop that loaded it into spray cans. Unfortunately I don't have any mix details for you. I will say the judges still managed to give me a hard time for not being "green enough", which I of course argued and showed my process of matching to the spare which was on display in its original paint. I had the sample cards to match up each wheel to the spare. I had spent a lot of time on this.
I now have another mostly original 70 with original wheel paint but I doubt I'll be doing that again.
From what I understand, nothing was too specific. I don’t know how a judge could knock it for being not green enough or on the other hand too green . It varied I’ll bet from Day to day . A lot of people forget that these were just production cars when there was probably other things to worry about than the amount of green tint in wheel paint. I’ll post the pic when I’m done.
When I did my top-flight on a mostly original 70 (20 years ago) I matched the spare wheel paint at a shop that loaded it into spray cans. Unfortunately I don't have any mix details for you. I will say the judges still managed to give me a hard time for not being "green enough", which I of course argued and showed my process of matching to the spare which was on display in its original paint. I had the sample cards to match up each wheel to the spare. I had spent a lot of time on this.
I now have another mostly original 70 with original wheel paint but I doubt I'll be doing that again.
When I took my NOS rim to Luis to have him match the color, I told him I’d rather have it be more silver than green.
I was worried that it would be too green. Luis erred on the side of it being more silver than green. It looks good, and like Charlie said, these varied batch to batch of paint.
When I did my top-flight on a mostly original 70 (20 years ago) I matched the spare wheel paint at a shop that loaded it into spray cans.
This is what I do (did). I had a 36,000 mile original spare that had never been out of the spare tire carrier in its first ten years and spent the next thirty years under the previous owner’s bed. My painter and paint shop matched it perfectly.
I will say the judges still managed to give me a hard time for not being "green enough", which I of course argued and showed my process of matching to the spare which was on display in its original paint. I had the sample cards to match up each wheel to the spare. I had spent a lot of time on this.
I hear you… Judging can be frustrating at times. Unfortunately paint “color” is one of the more subjective areas in judging, but even then, it appears that you did your due diligence to get the color as close as possible. Even more frustrating considering the time spent in an effort to get things right.
Originally Posted by charliedents
From what I understand, nothing was too specific. I don’t know how a judge could knock it for being not green enough or on the other hand too green . It varied I’ll bet from day to day . A lot of people forget that these were just production cars when there was probably other things to worry about than the amount of green tint in wheel paint. I’ll post the pic when I’m done.
There was a standard formula being used and while there may have been some variation between batches (you’ll find that Corvette wheels were manufactured in batches, not every day), the color was probably a lot closer than you would think. My original 1969 wheel was virtually the same color as my 1970 original wheel… Painted seven months apart.
Originally Posted by Tuna Joe
When I took my NOS rim to Luis to have him match the color, I told him I’d rather have it be more silver than green.
I was worried that it would be too green. Luis erred on the side of it being more silver than green. It looks good, and like Charlie said, these varied batch to batch of paint.
Whatever you did Joe, it looks really good. Looking at the photos, it appears to be about the same color as what I did with my wheels. The simple fact is that the 1969 - 1970 wheels (as well as some early 1971 wheels) were not a pure “silver”, but had a definite greenish hue to the color and if you’re going to lean toward accuracy in a restoration, the paint color should represent this. Kudos to you for providing charliedents a source to recreate an accurate paint color.
This is what I do (did). I had a 36,000 mile original spare that had never been out of the spare tire carrier in its first ten years and spent the next thirty years under the previous owner’s bed. My painter and paint shop matched it perfectly.
I hear you… Judging can be frustrating at times. Unfortunately paint “color” is one of the more subjective areas in judging, but even then, it appears that you did your due diligence to get the color as close as possible. Even more frustrating considering the time spent in an effort to get things right.
There was a standard formula being used and while there may have been some variation between batches (you’ll find that Corvette wheels were manufactured in batches, not every day), the color was probably a lot closer than you would think. My original 1969 wheel was virtually the same color as my 1970 original wheel… Painted seven months apart.
Whatever you did Joe, it looks really good. Looking at the photos, it appears to be about the same color as what I did with my wheels. The simple fact is that the 1969 - 1970 wheels (as well as some early 1971 wheels) were not a pure “silver”, but had a definite greenish hue to the color and if you’re going to lean toward accuracy in a restoration, the paint color should represent this. Kudos to you for providing charliedents a source to recreate an accurate paint color.
Regards,
Stan Falenski
Thanks Stan,
Mine turned out ok, but yours is perfection!
Hope you have a great 2025!
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1970 Corvette wheel color.
