The Many Shades of 901 "Silver"

[inline6]

As I am a week away from taking the car to the painter, I find myself looking online at silver 240z's.  Examining the original factory 901 silver on the inside of my tool door, I am having difficulty many of the cars I see online which have been painted "901" silver.  

While lighting can certainly play a role, is it possible that some people take a bit of liberty with silver - and choose something a bit less grey?  

 

For example, my other Z is silver too.  Just - not 901 silver:

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[inline6]

Here is a 240Z that was on Bring a Trailer a while back - it had original paint.  

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1971-datsun-240z-205/

Perhaps the paint on the inside of my tool door is not representative of the actual color.  I will have the paint shop spray some 901 on a paint card so I can see a sample of it before I commit.  

 

[kats]

I saw the BAT 71 240Z, I really love the car’s preserved condition and the silver color. The original 901 silver something looked different  from very shiny silver nowadays. I like it. Here is a sample paint tips of Dupon. I will be happy if I can use the tips for painting my cars back to the original.

Kats

[jfa.series1]

Consider that these cars were painted in a single-stage process 50 years ago. Most paint jobs these days are two-stage with the clear coat making a huge difference in appearance.

[inline6]

1 hour ago, jfa.series1 said:

Consider that these cars were painted in a single-stage process 50 years ago. Most paint jobs these days are two-stage with the clear coat making a huge difference in appearance.

What are your thoughts on the impact of this on silver vs the other original 1971 colors?  Do you think silver is more impacted by base coat clear coat than the solid colors?

[jfa.series1]

22 minutes ago, inline6 said:

What are your thoughts on the impact of this on silver vs the other original 1971 colors?  Do you think silver is more impacted by base coat clear coat than the solid colors?

My opinion is that clear coat will enhance and give more "pop" to any of the OE colors. We would probably have to hear from some folks who have resprayed in single stage to get other viewpoints.

[SpeedRoo]

Also the pigments used in the paint back then are no longer available and the chemical composition of the paint has also changed from solvent to water based. Only way you will get close is to mix paint to match the underside of the tool box lid and use a single stage process without clear coat. Another problem with be matching the size of the metallic used in the original paint.

[240dkw]

I thought that the factory did not use any metallic for all of the unseen parts (inside of cabin, engine bay). So using the toolbox lid to visually colour match would be very hard.

[inline6]

1 hour ago, 240dkw said:

I thought that the factory did not use any metallic for all of the unseen parts (inside of cabin, engine bay). So using the toolbox lid to visually colour match would be very hard.

Metallic is visible on the inside of my lid in the video.

[inline6]

2 hours ago, SpeedRoo said:

Also the pigments used in the paint back then are no longer available and the chemical composition of the paint has also changed from solvent to water based. Only way you will get close is to mix paint to match the underside of the tool box lid and use a single stage process without clear coat. Another problem with be matching the size of the metallic used in the original paint.

We still have solvent based paint available here in the US.  However, I will want to see what Glasurit 901 looks like with clear on it as a baseline.  I like the lighter silver color of my other Z better personally.  It will be interesting to see a sample or samples my painter will provide.  Lots of variables to be sure.

[240dkw]

Maybe it’s different for a 71 , but I just checked my 70 and there is no metallic in the silver under the back carpet. I found this when I was looking to repaint my car.

20090113085045222.pdf

[inline6]

Interesting.  Thanks for sharing that.