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1928 Durant Color Chart

FYI
1928 Durant Paint Colors Pictures, Images and Photos

Dennis

Where Are You From? Jacksonville, Florida

Do You own a car built by Durant? 1931 Devaux Sports Sedan

Re: 1928 Durant Color Chart

I'd like to read comments about this. It appears that only certain color combinations went with particular body styles and model numbers.

Was the choice that limited? I know my M4 colors are incorrect. You'd think they could have offered colors similar to the Model A Ford choices. Probably great majority were all black, or dark blue with black fenders.

Does anyone know if it was common to use colors on fenders, or where they always black? Maybe it depended on the model?

It seems that the dealers could stock replacement fenders very economically if they were all black.

Would the color choices have changed a lot for 1929?

Do You own a car built by Durant? yes, M4 and remains of 6-75

Re: 1928 Durant Color Chart

Cdmn,
I ran into the same thing on the 1925/26 Locomobile Junior-8's. Seems only certain (dark) color combinations (one, maybe two)on each model! Also all JR-8/8-70 models had Black fenders for all body styles! {Note: Lots of "over-restored" cars out there. See my comments on Blackwall tires; Bright "Flashy"colors and Whitewalls were Very Uncommon even on the high-end cars..Tought times!)

The top-end Locos (Model 48) were "Custom Made" to order so you could order pretty much any colors or trim that you wished. But they only sold 200 or so a year, and most buyers were conservative in their taste and wanted to "fit-in" not stand out!

From the late 20's on moldings and wheels were painted an additional color or two on the average production cars (i.e. Chevy & Ford)deluxe models. Body color painted fenders did not really show up untill about 1932. Also this was still an extra cost "option" on most, even then.

I believe 1933 and 34 is when the (Avg. car)industry started to paint the "whole" car one color with molding and trim(and wheels)sometimes painted additional (one or two) colors. But usually one color for all. The low-priced standard models still used black fenders though, with body color fenders as an option. But Black body, Black fenders with an accent stripe color & wheels (or Black!)was very common. History is not as we wish it to be sometimes.

These were tought times and the car makers worked at holding the price down on these Average & Standard models. And the public was not really in a "gay or happy" mood either then from the late 20's to the late 30's. All very conserartive (Dull!) by our tastes today.

Hope this helps you.
Lance C.

Where Are You From? Niceville Florida

Do You own a car built by Durant? "New" 28 Locomobile 8-70, 25 Loco JR-8 Brougham, 26 Loco JR-8 Sedan, and JR-8 Roadster project, 30 Durant 610 Deluxe Sedan

Re: 1928 Durant Color Chart

From my research it seems that to simplify the manufacturing process a standard set of colors was offered. For extra money you could have it painted any color you wanted, but the company discouraged this. If you look in the Tech or Special Interest section on the left of this page, you'll see a memo put out from the Leaside, Ontario plant covering the painting of cars. I know the chart is correct because my 28 4 door sedan was originally painted one of the colors on the chart, the dark green color.

Where Are You From? Oviedo, Florida

Do You own a car built by Durant? 1928 Durant Model 65 4 dr

Re: 1928 Durant Color Chart

My understanding of (black fenders, splash pans, etc) was that these parts were baked on enamel, whereas the body was laquer. The manufacturer could not put the bodies through the ovens to bake the paint because of the wood in the bodies. That is why they used a quick drying laquer as opposed to a slower drying enamel that baked well to a hard finish.
Gord

Where Are You From? Guelph, Ontario

Do You own a car built by Durant? 1932 Frontenac

Re: 1928 Durant Color Chart

ON CHART PROVIDED BY DENNIS MURPHY
MY CAR WAS "NEWPORT BLUE"
i CANNOT READ THE MIX RATIOS OZ
HOW CAN I BEST GET THIS PAINT OR DUPLICATE>THE ABOVE CAR IN THE PHOTO ABOVE SEEMS TO BE THAT COLOR(THE OPEN ROOF WITH CANOE ON THE ROOF RACK).THE cHART IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO PRINT VERY WELL.
IS THE 1928 PAINT SUPPLIER STILL AROUND?

Where Are You From? OTTAWA ONTARIO

Do You own a car built by Durant? 1928 DURANT SEDAN M2 S/N 5115 LOOKS LIKE

Re: 1928 Durant Color Chart

Gord ... you are correct about the enamel!
A few years ago I was doing research about the history of the paints on our cars as Don Shilling ask me to talked a little about it at the Texarkana meet. They mentioned that the fenders and shields were black enamel while the bodies were sprayed with lacquer for quicker drying.
Do you know that the nitrocelous lacquer's was first invented in 1921? Half of the nitrocellulose was treated with nitric and sulfuric acid in the exact same way as dynamite!
It wasn't as explosive, but it was very flameable.
Jim G.

Where Are You From? Ohio

Re: 1928 Durant Color Chart

David
Although you still can get lacquer paint at some places, it's been mostly phased out because of enviromental reasons. Autocolorlibrary on the internet out of California has a great library of colors and will often have the color of our old cars. They will also custom mix the color you want. If you go to their web site you can look through old color charts. I found my Ambatto Green for my 1928 4 dr sedan there and will order from them. I think it's important to paint the cars the color they were back then. Some restored cars today sport paint schemes that don't represent the way the car was made originally. It's a real disservice to future generations not to show the car as it was, historically speaking.

Where Are You From? Oviedo, Florida

Do You own a car built by Durant? 1928 Durant Model 65 4 door

 

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