This Sunday I became the proud new owner of a 1956 Chevy 210 4 door. The Chevy appears to have the original two tone paint. The top half is Crocus Yellow and the lower half is Laurel Green. The car is covered in tiny rust blisters, than when sanded with 1000 grit disappear leaving small chips. I want to repair/replace some body panels. What kind of paint was used for Chevy in 1956? What is the easiest method of repainting for a weekend/garage guy with good equipment but limited experience? I know this is a lot to ask for but I would really appreciate some pointing in the right direction. _WD
I found this online. Anyone know if this is factual? 1924 - Spray painting was introduced and the only available material was nitrocellulose lacquer. 1929 - Alkyd enamel was introduced. It was tougher than lacquer and needed no compounding. Most manufacturers used either lacquer or enamel from this point on, depending upon availability and factory conditions. 1940 - Chrysler and Ford changed over to enamels exclusively. Metal flakes in paints were introduced by the aluminum industry. 1956 - Acrylic lacquer was popularized due to its better sheen and durability. GM went exclusively to the material. 1960s - Paints utilized chromates, lead and other heavy metal chemicals that produced durable finishes. Ford called its enamels "porcelinized" paints. 1970 - The first aftermarket polyurethane enamel, Imron, was introduced by DuPont. It utilized a two-part chemical system that was extremely durable. DuPont experimented with waterborne solvents during this period. 1978 - High solids acrylic enamel becomes the paint choice of most manufacturers. These have the advantage of requiring fewer coats. 1980 - Base/clear coats are experimented with on Lincoln Versailles 1982 - Base/clear becomes industry standard. 1987 - Water-borne primers introduced. These paints are not actually dissolved in water, but use water as the medium to help transfer the paint from the can onto the car. They took a long time to perfect at the factory level, during which many durability problems were encountered. 1989 - Water-borne base coats introduced. 1990 - Clean Air Act sets strict limits on VOC's emitted during paint applications. 1997 - Anti-chip primers become industry standard. So, (1956 - Acrylic lacquer was popularized due to its better sheen and durability. GM went exclusively to the material.) I am guessing if the paint is original than it was Acrylic lacquer
It looks like you're going to need to strip the car completely to get rid of the rust, so it doesn't really matter what kind of paint is on it now.
True, but i'd rather not repaint the inside firewall, door jams, and inside the trunk, if i can help it
Post up some over all pix of the car. For the time being, you may scrub and buff out the finish for a real patina deal. Meanwhile you gather data and tech to do the paint job. You may be surprised how good it will look 'till the refinish.
Then don't repaint them. The original paint was acrylic lacquer, but the new paint will be something else, and if you follow the instructions you can made them play together just fine.
Enamel will go over the original finish if you just want to do the jambs. As said, best to repair/media blast the rust and cover with epoxy primer.
Well, it will be if you WANT something different. A lot of restorers still use acrylic lacquer. Personally, I love the stuff. It IS hard to get, but there are still quite a few suppliers. The disadvantage to it is that it is a lot more brittle than modern paints and it does chip easier. On the positive side, it is very easy to use and repair. Plus, it's virtually impossible to duplicate the original look of acrylic lacquer with other types of paint. By the way, that's a great looking start for a project. It looks very complete.
FWIW... the Crocus Yellow & Laurel Green combo was a factory offering, but not in the configuration shown on your 210. There were two different two-tone layout schemes offered in '56 for a 210. If you look at your cowl tag, the paint code will probably have a suffix of 'A' (single color); 'B' two tone where the roof is one color and the rest a 2nd color; or 'C' which is the 'speedline' two tone where the roof & lower body is one color and mid body (hood, fender & door tops, and trunk) a second color. I'm left wondering if your car had a repaint at somepoint, or yours had the roof only two-tone ('B') and maybe the dealer or later owner shot the upper rear quarters & trunk lid the crocus yellow. Looks like a complete car, have fun with her!
Someone did tell me that they thought that the exterior paint was rare and then told me that the interior was also a rare option
WHen you paint it... Paint it like a 210 should be, I hate it when people try to make it look like a Bel Air by not painting from the paint divider to the front end.. Gewd luck
I am building this car just as a drive around town, go to the drive-in, go out to eat...family fun car, hence the 4 door approach. I want to keep it just about how you see it, stock..original but clean up the damage that has been done. The paint will be 100% 210.
The 564 trim code decodes to the black & white vinyl interior which was fairly common to the 210's. The 792B paint code decodes as Crocus Yellow & Laurel Green. There were actually two codes for CY & LG in '56 because the first LG was replaced with a different formula later in the year. Your Paint code is the later one for the CY & LG combo. The 'B' denotes that the car would have come from the factory with roof one color and the rest of the car the 2nd color. Like I mentioned earlier, I think either a later owner, or perhaps the dealer (maybe at buyer's request) shot the trunklid and upper quarters with the Crocus Yellow. I believe the car originally had just the roof in CY, and the rest of the car was LG. This is the page I used to decode the 792: http://www.tcpglobal.com/aclchip.aspx?image=1956-chevrolet-pg03.jpg Sidenote: I have a '56 2dr Belair HT (currently) in primer which is coded for the earlier CY & LG - 717. Scott/Gotta56forme
Go find a local paint supplier to body shops, walk in throw down and profess your ignorance of all things paint. Tell them what you got, take it with you if you can. They know what will hang in your area, and direct you to what you need. Looks like it needs a good soda blast. I agree with the use of a good epoxy primer. Its more expensive, but covers 2x the area and will last quiet a while. Draw back is you have to shoot what you mix.
Thanks, Gotta56forme My seats are grey and a cream color with specks of silver in it. The dash is black and the bottom of the door panels. The headliners is cig smoke color and there is no carpet but a huge rubber mat, that looks original..
The 150's & 210's came with the rubber floor liner... with one exception: One of the 2dr 210 models was a specific model called a Del Ray which had a carpetted floor similar to the Bel Air's
I have to agree with GOTTA56FORME. If you look at the inside of the rear door jamb there would be a 1/4 inch overlap of the color on the inside edge, if it came from the factory
Paint it how you want....I have a front and rear bumper, better than yours cheap if ya want them, I bought new ones for mine.....
I just changed out the front bumper with a craigslist one. It is a good bumper, well a lot better than the one that I had. Thank you fro the offer though
Red and Black is by far traditionally a great choice, but this ugly color combo is starting to grow on me..
I Have "paint and Body Repair Manuals " prior to 1924, which shows Brush Painting w/ Laquer, then Sanding, Brush Painting second Coat On, Sanding, So on !!!!! And The "Shops", were damn DARK ! Smoke'em, If You Got'em.........
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