paint fender skirts

[capt den]

i just bought fender skirts for my 54 windsor. they are fiberglass. i want to paint them to match the car. the original paint is Duco and is canary yellow.do any paint stores match the original color to the Duco codes, or do i just bring the Duco color chart to a home depot and have it matched up as close as they can? i realize the original paint on the car is faded,but so is the paint code chart i have. close will be good enough. i think the paint should be enamel, but not sure the best way to paint them. maybe keep it simple and just get a spray can that looks close and be done with it. my paint knowledge is almost none. anyway, thanks for any advice.   capt den 

[Los_Control]

I know that Napa auto parts use to do custom color matching of paint, can mix it up and give it to you in a can or a spray can. .... I'm sure many paint stores can do this.

 

The trick is to bring something inside to them to match. I can remove the gas door on my 1991 chebby ... clean & polish it, then bring it into the store for them to match the color.

 

Do you have anything you can easily remove to do this ..... maybe a glove box door, gas flap???

 

[capt den]

i looked for something to remove but found nothing small like the gas flap. i will look again.    capt den

[Tom Skinner]

How about the Cowl Vent?

[capt den]

did not look at the cowl vent. not sure how easy that comes off. will look tomorrow. 

[Sniper]

40 minutes ago, capt den said:

did not look at the cowl vent. not sure how easy that comes off. will look tomorrow. 

 

That really depends how rusty the 4 screws holding it to the mechanism are.  If you loo through the grille you will see them.  Loosen them up, no need to remove them, and slide the cowl vent up to let the screw heads pass through the openings for them.  Had to do that to loosen up the mechanism, rust welded adn later to put in a new gasket, which you might want on hand if you need a new one.  I mean you are going to be doing all the work needed to replace it anyway.

[Dan Hiebert]

I would steer clear of Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. to get matching paint for your car.  While they may be able to pull it off, their area of expertise is not automotive paints.  A lot of auto parts houses do paint.  Up here, NAPA and Advanced Auto do, but O'Reilly's does not.  All you gotta do is ask.   If you have paint codes, they can cross reference and match with the brands they have on hand, but doing that, as you note, can't account for fading.  Most have those whiz-bang scanners that would account for wear and tear on the original color, but as previously noted, they need a sample in the store, hence the small part.  Has to do with the scanner itself, it uses a specific light source.  Anyway, I know NAPA will mix their paint and put it in a rattle-can for you.  If you don't have painting equipment, that may be a good option for smaller parts, since the rattle cans will have the reducer (and hardener if requested) already mixed, and actually have a decent spray pattern.  Only "issue" I have with that method is the paint only has a one-month or so shelf life.   

Edited October 11, 2022 by Dan Hiebert
typo

[allbizz49]

Any good auto paint jobber can match your existing paint. Just drive down to an AUTO paint store, not Home Depot unless you want latex. Have them match the quarter panels, not the cowl vent. Your skirts butt up to the quarters, not vent. You'd be surprised by the color difference between top and side panels after some time. Good luck.