A word of warning. Tales of manufacturers being assailed for "the wrong color" or "that doesn't look right" after using paint chips, drift cards or precise paint specifications provided by the various historical societies are legion. In the real world, time of day, amount of overcast, season of the year, fading due to exposure to weather and sunlight, dirt and grime, etc affect how we percieve color. Photos and slides suffer from fading and drift over time and, depending on brand, response to certain wavelegths of light when the film was exposed and the settings used on the camera and length of exposure, And, we are not looking at our models in natural sunlight but artificial lighting on our layouts. It also depends on the material used in building the prototyps and model, for example, steel versus styrene. (consider the difference in surface texture between actual brick and the various substances used to simulate brick on our layouts). Of course, over the years, the prototype bought paint from different vendors, who used their own formulae, and there were even differeces between batches from the same vendor. So what to do? I have some plastic sheets which I have primed. I paint sample areas with commercial paints and also with home brewed recipes from various sources, view the results under the layout's lighting and pick the most pleasing. Even this isn't fool proof. I operate at home and on a club and what looks good on one may not look right on the other (if you are concerned by this, maybe you want to duplicate your club's lighting standards at home. Should the NMRA come up with a RP for lighting?) Anyway, there is no definitive answer. It all comes down to whatever looks "right" to you.
WP Diamond yellow is Dupont Duco 246-51596 Info came from WP FT paint code Cross referenced it to Paintref.com thats how I came up with Ford yellow MX708189 Paint is available from Everest Automotive market
There is a fascinating thread on RyPN about the Reading colors of green and... yellow. Almost anything you'd want to know about finding original spec colors or determining value from references is in there... somewhere. And it continues to get longer and longer...
Someone might start a thread over there about proper references for WP Diamond Yellow.
Then work out how the color shifted as it aged.
Then work out how to achieve the 'daylight' color in a train room with fluorescent or other illumination.
Note that it IS often possible to get an initial paint reference for color mixing. A problem is that different mixed batches of the 'regulation' color could vary, to the point you couldn't match even unweathered older color.
I do confess it's highly unlikely that someone will bring a colorimeter and calibration standard to use on one of your locomotives, though... so, as mentioned about DGLE, the research is really more for your own modeling peace of mind than historical museum reproduction.
ndbprr I can't count the number of times what is the color pops up in the PRR historical society. The problems include what happens to the color as it oxidizes or gets dirty? then some idiot will claim he has proof either from an old paint can or somebodys cousins uncle who painted engines and remembers for certain exactly what the color was even though he can't remember where he left his pants. So once all that is sorted out you choose what looks good to you and some know it all who is half colorblind will critcize it. But wait. there is more! Now you take your newly painted engine to your train room but what wavelength light bulbs you are using count because different sources will make the color look differently. Moral of the story is you will never get the perfect color and don't worry about it. Just have fun and get it close. that is the best you can do.
I can't count the number of times what is the color pops up in the PRR historical society. The problems include what happens to the color as it oxidizes or gets dirty? then some idiot will claim he has proof either from an old paint can or somebodys cousins uncle who painted engines and remembers for certain exactly what the color was even though he can't remember where he left his pants. So once all that is sorted out you choose what looks good to you and some know it all who is half colorblind will critcize it. But wait. there is more! Now you take your newly painted engine to your train room but what wavelength light bulbs you are using count because different sources will make the color look differently. Moral of the story is you will never get the perfect color and don't worry about it. Just have fun and get it close. that is the best you can do.
Well said. I once restored a 1947 Ford 8n tractor. Bought the paint at the Ford tractor dealer. When the red shot out of the gun it looked bright orange. I was shocked and swore they gave me the wrong paint. The next day it was Ford tractor red. Strangest thing I ever saw.
Color is one of the most subjective subjects. Smell and sound is right behind it.
Pete.
AnonymousWhat brand & model paint colors do I mix for Diamond Yellow (Orange) used on Western Pacific FT diesels?