918 Orange. I’m confused.

[zKars]

So I went to visit a new customer today to talk about a restoration. Nice little 70, VIN around 2600 or something.

He is having the all too common “body Shop hell” problem, and he’s moving from one to the other right now. The old shop partly painted the fenders and the interior, the underside, engine bay. All 918 orange. I went to see it today with him at the new body shop and have the “talk” with the proprietor. You know the one. Anyway..

Heres my problem. I walked into a bay with the door open, bright sunny day, And there was ANOTHER 918 Orange paint job that did not look right to me. It looks distinctly PEACH hued, not really the vibrant orange I’ve come to expect at all.

here is an engine bay picture that has the best example of what my mind/eyes see. 

Peachy, right?  Bleaccchhhh!

I only have one other real original paint 918 orange on a 1973 in town and that thing is ORANGE. Nothing peachy about it. There is also another one, a 72 for sale on-line locally, with 918. The pictures look exactly Like the 73 I know, and it is ORANGE. Here is a screen grab from kijiji.ca

So this dang 70 makes the third such 918 orange car that I’ve seen In the last 10 years with a fresh paint job that is this lousy peachy color that I say is wrong. One of them was painted in the US, the other two here in Alberta Recently.

Now this car had repair and paint 20+ years ago, and the owner swears its the same color now, as he had the car painted back then, and he’s ok with it, but I’m trying to get this right.

So all you people with 918 orange, would you call it peachy in any way?? Ever see one with the peachy hue and said “that ain’t right”

Opinions?

[Diseazd]

Looks peachy, but florescent light can really play games with orange and red cars. These are the same car under different lighting.

[Zed Head]

14 minutes ago, Diseazd said:

florescent light can really play games 

I have this problem when buying socks.  Not kidding!  Store light and "real" light are not the same.

[texasz]

Yes, the color in the picture you posted does look to be incorrect.  I've looked at a couple of sources and also my own Z (paint is for crap on mine) and 918 is more orange that that picture looks.  Here are the sources I'm talking about...

http://zhome.com/History/ZColorGallary/index.html

https://zcarguide.com/datsun-240z-stock-paint-and-interior-colors-us-and-canada/

[siteunseen]

Here's my original 918 single stage paint after a cut and buff a few years ago. LED lights in my garage. I agree with you, it's just a bit peachy. 

[Zed Head]

Take off one of the cowl access covers and take it to Home Depot's color matching machine.  Today's tech is pretty powerful, you'll get numbers to compare against. 

I've found that the internet doesn't really transfer colors well, besides the quality of the phone or camera taking the picture.  Who knows what color those really are.  

[240260280]

It is an odd colour... looks smokey burnt orange in darker settings but looks more orange in sun. 

A white interior makes it look even more orange "Creamsicle Effect"

 

 

 

Just like the early red looks like a tomato colour in some light and more Ferrari in other light.

[Zed Head]

Since orange is a combination of red and yellow it might be that the red pigment is fading over time.  Red BMW's and other old cars have that problem in a big way.  I've seen red cars that had a cover over them but with parts exposed and the sun will just bleach the red out over the years.  Makes for a patchy look, like it's had body work.

Maybe it's just old paint versus new.

[cgsheen1]

Don't discount different paint suppliers. We use a few different suppliers and they don't all come out "the same". With some suppliers the color will differ within their own paint lines - the lower cost lines especially do not match what you will get with their premium lines - which is understandable (PPG especially). Most red pigments are pretty cheap but yellows can be very expensive. We have a couple of Z's in town that have been resprayed 918 - they look nothing alike. And, to my mind, they look very little like the original alkyd enamel.

[cgsheen1]

40 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

Since orange is a combination of red and yellow it might be that the red pigment is fading over time.  Red BMW's and other old cars have that problem in a big way.  I've seen red cars that had a cover over them but with parts exposed and the sun will just bleach the red out over the years.  Makes for a patchy look, like it's had body work.

Maybe it's just old paint versus new.

Ya, look at 110 - fades to orange when the original color was much more red. It's exaggerated here by the Arizona sun and people here with 110 think they have ORANGE cars. They think they want a part shot the original color until I show them what the original color actually is under a marker light - where they can see how it's changed over the years.

[87mj]

I experienced the same problem when I painted my car 918.  It was painted in several stages.   Underside of the hood and misc small pieces.  Then underneath, interior, engine bay.  When I first saw it, it seemed way too brown.  It actually had a purple cast to it.   The body guy bought it from Napa but I don't remember the actual manufacturer off hand.  The final paint job looked terrible.  Quality, color, everything.  So I had it redone with PPG.  Then it looked "correct" to me.

[Richard McDonel]

Jim,

I'm one of those whose cars you deemed just peachy.  Given that others apparently have the same issue, I'm going to do a little digging.  Earlier this year I was at the body shop who did my painting and watched as the fellow carefully followed the formula he had on hand for Datsun 918.  What he gave me is a perfect match for my peachy car.  I'll be calling them tomorrow and find out which paint company's formula he followed.  

Cheers,