Would the real OEW shade please stand up

[57_BN4]

A couple of weeks ago I went to get some OEW/Ivory paint made up to paint the hardtop and the guy mixed it from the WT.3 code which he had on computer file. Paint is Valspar which is same company as HOK and De Beers.

The test spray turned out quite a muddy yellow, pretty much what this pic shows (pic is copied from this thread).

Is this really the correct Healey colour Ivory/OEW? I've always thought it should be more like the car below. Obviously the paint sample is in a darker setting etc but the test spray I got is not that different to it.

Anyone got any ideas? I have read through pages of discussion on the topic but haven't yet found a good explanation other than this is the correct colour.

 

[vette]

Re: Would the real OWE shade please stand up

I have found that the paint codes that many of the suppliers have for many of the vintage British cars are not what you would expect. The colour Healey Blue has also given me similar results. When I asked my supplier to mix the blue for me according to their listed code it came out too grey for my liking. Ultimately what I have done for many other cars that I have painted is too pick a current OEM colour, usually by just noticing it drive by, that is very close to what I want. Or if no OEM is close, then have your supplier mix and tint or adjust the colour till it is what you want. Then have him print you a copy of the mixed formula to keep for all time. My experience with OEW is that your sample is too dark and too green, an the car pictured is too bright of a white. Cheers

 

[wheelguy]

Re: Would the real OWE shade please stand up

There are two Old English Whites. One is the greenish/yellow on Healeys and the other is a brighter one used on Jaguars. The pic of the car above may have been in the Jaguar old english white. Painters call the brighter one NEW old english white. Wheelguy Allen Hendrix

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Re: Would the real OWE shade please stand up

We're painting our 100M--original OEW/Black--in a modern Ford color: 'Wimbledon White' from PPG. It's a 'soft' white, not the bright Jaguar color like Allen describes (I call that 'refrigerator white'). In sunlight it looks very 'white,' while in the shade it looks like a very light 'cream' color. At first, I was a little disappointed Dad picked that color, but when he calls a shot I try not to argue (usually). Now that we've shot a couple coats it's starting to grow on me. Other 100Ms I've seen seem to be painted the Jag color. When we bought the car, it had been painted in a light cream color, which we think is a Mercedes color. The Wimbledon White is between the cream color and the Jag/refrigerator white.

He also has a '65 Mustang painted in Wimbledon White. Put that car next to a white, late model Malibu of my nephew's and you can see the difference. Compared to the Wimbledon White, the 'refrigerator' white looks sterile.

 

[1965AH3000]

Re: Would the real OWE shade please stand up

I bought "crossfire" OEW at NAPA and it was a perfect match to the original
color that was on the car.

 

[Healey_Z]

Re: Would the real OWE shade please stand up

Wimbledon white is a great color for '60s cars. Not too bright, vintage feel. Here is my previous project before the Healey in Wimbledon white.

 

[57_BN4]

Re: Would the real OWE shade please stand up

Thanks everyone for the replies. I do like the Wimbledon White so that should be an easy option to get mixed.

The second part of the colour saga is going to be the infamous Healey Blue and its extended family of hues as that is the predominant colour for my car. Everything was acid-dipped by the PO so no paint left except for a few scraps of overspray on the door hinge plates. I'd love to get hold of a copy of Don Pikovnik's book about Healey colours, does anyone know of a copy for sale? Some interesting text from the book on Don's site from a few years back via the Internet Archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080808112945/https://www.coloramic.com/articles/ahcgtext.htm

Cheers,
Andy.

 

[Ed_K]

For what it is worth,

My car ( 65 BJ8 ) was originally painted just like your sample.
Back in 1970 when my dad bought the car, he did not like the color at all and repainted the car.
He thought the factory white paint may have already faded and turned yellow.

Ed

 

[Ed_K]

A few months ago, I replaced the stock fuel pump bracket with one that I custom made so I could install a double ended SU fuel pump. When the factory bracket was off, I got a good look at the original old English white paint. My memory from 1970 was verified.
It looks like they mixed a little yellow tint in with the white paint to create the shade of OEW that you see in your sample.

 

[tahoe healey]

If you are trying to match the top, a paint shop may be able to use their computer matching system on the inside of the boot lid or other part you could bring into their shop.

 

[richch]

Funny how we try to rely on either a poor memory or even worse, personal taste while trying to get the "right" colour shade. Original Old English White early on was quite yellowish compared to the stark white of the sample page. Your card illustration was likely right, and your Wimbledon White is certainly much too white.
The original look should be a warm soft ivory shade.
Heaye Blue was mentioned a few notes ago. The writer thought his sample was too grey. Well that's what it was, not so blue as one might expect. So be careful when trying to make up your choice.
The original paint pigments and ingredients are long gone so the best we can do is to try to match a (hopefully) accurate sample.

 

[57_BN4]

Hi Rich,

Wimbledon White gets a lot of favourable comments on the team.net archive search and seems to be a fairly common replacement for WT3. I wonder if part of the problem is that computers don't reproduce white shades very well so they either look refrigerator white or yellow depending on the lighting conditions rather than the actual colour.

Some team.net comments:
https://www.team.net/archive/spridgets/2008-07/msg00467.html
https://www.team.net/archive/healeys/2005-01/msg00506.html
https://www.team.net/archive/mgs/1997-10/msg00323.html
https://www.team.net/mharc/archives/html/healeys/2005-01/msg00506.html

Andy.

 

[57_BN4]

Got some sprayouts done this week and here are the results. On the left is Wimbledon White, centre Healey Blue mixed to BU2 code from De Beers computer program, right is WT3 OEW mixed to De Beers code. Background is two sheets thickness of white printer paper.

Brightness increased

The BU2 it is surprisingly close to the original factory paint on the bulkhead blanking plates

So I have gone with the blue as mixed to the BU2 code and the Wimbledon White as I think the OEW will make the hardtop look a bit funny.

The final layout will be chassis painted in Valspar industrial hybrid epoxy/urethane single stage 2K tinted to match the factory dark brown primer, followed by Valspar 2K BU2 only in the places it was originally painted- ie only the bits you can see with the panels installed. panels will get Valspar HS35 primer-surfacer followed by basecoat BU2/Wimbledon White and an overall clearcoat.

In the mean time it is back to more welding and grinding...

Andy.

 

[drambuie]

You may want to look into harley davidson color birch white.... I used it to paint my vintage 1971 superglide. It was used for the police motorcycles as well. I think birch white is still being used to this day on Harley Davidson police motorcycles. Stop by your local Harley dealer and give it a look! I think they even sell the paint in cans there! It is the closest thing you will find i think. And could be a exact match for old english white! Give it a look, and if you agree with me, Buy a small can of birch white and have your local auto body paint supply copy it for you.