The Mother of All Color Charts
Very soon we’ll be kicking off an exercise to gather everything that can be known about factory color information and put it all in one place. This will include not only the color photos you can currently see on some of the data web sites, but factory color codes, aftermarket codes, modern cross-references, interior color information, factory paint swatches, notes about period painting practices, the ability to sort by year, model, color family and much more, hopefully in an easier to comprehend display with the ability to add notes about specific colors.
If you think you can contribute to this project, drop me a line and I’ll add you to the small group who is working on this. If you have done research on a particular color or colors, own (and are willing to scan or have scanned) original factory color charts, or whatever may be your interest, we’d love to have your help, no matter which model or time period you may be interested in.
Hello,
I’m the owner of XK120 OTS vin #660747, presently subject to a complete frame off restoration.
My car was one of only twelve sent to Ireland as CKD kit (Completely Knocked Down); the car was sent to Ireland unsprayed.
All official records report Bronze as its original color, both JDHT and first registration book. During its previous life the car was resprayed firstly Red, then White.
When stripped down during the restoration project I’ve started last year, we found underneath evidences of the original Bronze colour, slightly different from the Official Jaguar colour.
We carefully analized those samples, and the result is showed in the pictures loaded on XK Data.
Let me know if I can contribute with others additional information on the matter.
Ciao Stefano.
Comment by Stefano Rota — December 13, 2009 @ 2:35 pm
Roger, I got a good contact in PPG Europe who supplied me the weights of each of the componants of Pearlescent Dark Green. I can try to push to get some of the others if that is useful for anyone?
Let me know and I will sound him out.
Cheers
Neil
Comment by Neil Purves — December 14, 2009 @ 4:03 am
I’d like to recommend a few things, any of which could make this effort even more useful:
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- Define a reference color chart (e.g., MacBeth ColorChecker).
- Provide a reasonable way for users to get a color chart (e.g., purchase, but a fair price).
- When taking a set of pictures or scanning, include the color chart in one of them (in the same lighting).
- Include data fields for the paint vendor and line used and/or the full paint code.
- Standardize the color names in entry fields (or indicate when they’re custom).
- Provide color conversion tools that indicate whether a conversion is exact or not. (Some colors in System A aren’t available in System B.)
- Provide color conversion tools that include the reference chart colors, or at least a set of colors which are provided as accessible samples (such as PPG paint chips/cards).
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XKEData was very helpful in general when I was trying to find the right color, but variations in lighting in the photos made it difficult to tell what was due to the paint and what came from the lighting. Taking a shot of a known color reference at the same time in the same lighting could help users compensate for the lighting effects. The same problem can occur when scanning colors. One scan should include the color chart.
The names of many colors (mainly reds) also vary quite a bit (Maroon, Dark Red, Claret, etc.) and so it’s again hard to use any of them as a true reference. (This may always be a problem.)
If someone is willing to share their paint code (including the paint vendor and type/line), others could have samples painted on real material, locally, and bypass the variability of displayed colors online.
If the conversion tool would convert to standard and locally available paint chips/samples, users could pick those up or order them and see how well they will work on the real car and with the other colors to be used.
Comment by Carl Madson — December 15, 2009 @ 7:34 pm
Let me chime in on two things:
First, NONE of the color codes listed on any site (Most seem to be duplicated) for Opalescent Dark Green cross reference to anything modern, even by the same manufacturer.
Second, the paint shop down here has ORIGINAL COLOR CHIP GUIDES going back at least to my ‘66.
Lester
Comment by Lester — January 28, 2010 @ 2:08 pm