Topic: backside of fenders & valances red oxide primer

[cobrajetchris]

I am getting to the paint stage on my restoration of my DEARBORN 10/68 built MACH1. I am looking for some suggestions on a brand of primer or sealer that closely resembles the original that was used on the bolt on panels, mainly the fenders and valances. My undercarriage (unibody) was painted with slop color blue metallic. The fenders were red oxide on the back but mainly rust covered so unable to get a good reading from them.

[J_Speegle]

The back sides of the body panels always appear to me as a flatter version of the red oxide - much closer to straight out of the can than the custom mixes we often have to make for the floors.

Don't have a specific recommendation - just make sure that you use a primer sealer so that rust does not develop as a result of using a straight primer

[drummingrocks]

I'm partial to red oxide colored epoxy, but I've noticed that when painted, it comes out looking way too orange.  I even went to a local paint distributor and had them check the various brands of red oxide primers, but they all were pretty close to a very bright, almost pumpkin-like orange.  It looked nothing like what was on my car.  I understand that no two cars were alike, especially regarding the shade of primer used on them.

With that being said, however--and again, take this with a grain of salt--I went though all of PPG's color swatches and picked a color that mimicked what was on my car originally.  I ended up using a epoxy primer base, then went back and covered it with a 2001 Nissan basecoat/underhood color called, of all things, "Rust."  Again, it may look nothing like what came on your car, but it's a very close match for the red oxide that used to be so popular back in the 1960s.  It's a very reddish, muddy brown looking color, and it has none of the brightness or halloween look that the epoxy primers sold nowadays have.

[PerkinsRestoration]

 You could also mix a little DP 90LF with the DP74LF to make the Red Oxide more Brown like the original color.

[J_Speegle]

........... I understand that no two cars were alike, especially regarding the shade of primer used on them...

Well at least there were hundreds of cars with the same tone and tint of primer as any of our cars - those that were painted around the same time as ours

That being said - I've used exterior paint toners with the epoxy primer sealers to match up with original finishes on the undercarriage

[cobrajetchris]

Thanks for tip BOB, I will try it.