Below is a photo taken of my '39 LaSalle the day it was shipped. It came from the mothership black and has been repainted. I looked up the colors in the master parts book and the only greys listed are English grey and silver French grey.
I looked at the GM (DUCO) paint chips at a local paint store and on line. Can't find a match. A scanned image transmitted digitally and vies in a monitor doesn't really show the actual color.
THe silver top looks like a '41 color. Any help will be appreciated.
THanks,
tony
Maybe Marblehead and the Silver French Gray ??
https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?model=Cadillac&year=1939&con=yo&page=1&rows=50&size=large
Car looks great !!
Mike
Quote from: tcom2027 on February 13, 2025, 04:41:32 PMBelow is a photo taken of my '39 LaSalle the day it was shipped. It came from the mothership black and has been repainted. I looked up the colors in the master parts book and the only greys listed are English grey and silver French grey.
I looked at the GM (DUCO) paint chips at a local paint store and on line. Can't find a match. A scanned image transmitted digitally and vies in a monitor doesn't really show the actual color.
THe silver top looks like a '41 color. Any help will be appreciated.
THanks,
tony
Tony,
Trying to match the paint tones on the car now with the original ones would be extremely hard as you noted the original paint color chips and even the mixture formula may be a no go with current formulas.
You can try the old DuPont historical color library and search other years for a close match. ??? ???
https://historicalcolorlibrary.axaltacs.com/hcl/servlet/com.dpc.hcl.search.HclSearchServlet?browsePath=Domestic+Cars%2FGM%2FCadillaclasalle+1935-1955&Operation=102&carRegion=3&carType=GM
Good luck..!
Thank you Mike. I believe you are correct about the Silver French grey. The lower body color could be Harbor grey, or submarine grey. I've looked at paint chips and couldn't find a close match up to '48.
I'm not going to show the car. Of several LaSalles I was looking to buy the colors on this one sold me, regardless of the authenticity of the colors.
What year was marblehead gray available?
tony
Don't worry about matching the colors. For $25, you could have your Cadillac or LaSalle painted any previous color or whatever. (I believe white needed extra work and would have cost more.) The car is beautiful, and just enjoy it.
Vintage literature vendors at swap meets often sell old period paint charts for a given year and marque. These have a sample of each color offered that year. I don't know if these would be any different from the vintage colors offered in the modern paint store you already consulted.
I have one of these vintage paint charts from the 1940's ? for my 1940 Lasalle. My car was painted a nonstandard color when new and I tried to document what it was. This comes up on this forum often. The fact is it is impossible to accurately reproduce original colors unless there is an unfaded original paint spot on the car to match to. The old formulas do not translate to modern materials.
A previous owner of your car probably made a good faith effort to match a 1939 factory grey color. An approximation is the best we can do in the 21st century. I like the grey color on your car.
Here is the color chip chart that I have. I know it's hard to really see colors properly unless you are holding it in your hand. The dragoon blue is a perfect match for my car.
IMG_0809.jpg
Gravesite.jpg
There is one on eBay currently
https://www.ebay.com/itm/306092317358?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=NQJwCPAgQ5m&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=_29vQ5B8SAu&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Quote from: tcom2027 on February 13, 2025, 05:47:48 PMThank you Mike. I believe you are correct about the Silver French grey. The lower body color could be Harbor grey, or submarine grey. I've looked at paint chips and couldn't find a close match up to '48.
I'm not going to show the car. Of several LaSalles I was looking to buy the colors on this one sold me, regardless of the authenticity of the colors.
What year was marblehead gray available?
tony
Tony click on my link to the Paintref website....It shows Marblehead was a 1939 Cadillac color...
https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?model=Cadillac&year=1939&con=yo&page=1&rows=50&size=large
I wonder how these paint chip charts will show up on the new Blackout screens?
Mike
Good afternoon and thanks to all who have responded offering help.
I went on the site Mike and J.Gomez suggested and believe I found the colors. French Silver Grey and Marblehead Grey. In todays world matching paint color is very easy using scanning technology. Scan the paint you want duplicated, wait and a formula pops out that matches the desired paint exactly. The more sophisticated technology can match the fade.
Incidentally, the colors on that site are the best I've seen. Good source. I know that Cadillac and other luxury car brands would paint a clients' car any color within reason, but haven't seen white listed as a stock color. My parts book only goes to '42 and white isn't listed as an avaiable color til then.. DUCO and RM made white paint which was used on trucks and Ambulances.
Years ago I saw a B&W photo which a local restauranter had of him standing next to a '37 sixty five series.It was black with silver fenders. He told me it had been done when the car was new. No idea if it was SO or dealer applied.
I'm late forties fan of film noir. Most of the cars shown are dark colored. Few have whitewall tires. In the movie "Mildred Pierce" there is a '41 Buick convertible. It is one of the few light colored cars I remember seeing. I believe it is Toquet Beige. Incidentally Buick shared several colors with Cadillac in '41, French silver grey. Luddington green and a couple of others.
Incidentally great photo of a great looking sedan.
tony
Just as a side note. I used to own a 1941 Buick Century 4 dr. painted Sienna Rust. (Reddish orange.) There is a station wagon late in the movie, The McConnell Story, in that shade.
I'm going to give that paint chart to a young lady about four years old in our church who is named, "Sienna." Maybe, some years down the road, she might form an interest and perhaps look for a similar Buick to drive.
(Get them started young, you know...)