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Air cleaner blue


Conner

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I finally got around to painting my air cleaner yesterday.  The one on the truck had the horn cut off and I bought a good one from Richard on this site, which he had sand blasted for me. 

 

I searched around a lot and couldn't find a vendor selling Datsun air cleaner blue.  So I cut out a small square from my old, damaged one, cleaned it up really well, polished it a little to try to uncover the fresh paint color, and flattened it.  I took the sample to Ace Hardware.  Ace sells their own brand of rust paint (similar to Rustoleum) but they will tint it to any color you want.  I had to buy a whole gallon because the formula couldn't be mixed to a smaller batch. 

 

I think it came out pretty well and looks like a decent match.  Here are some pics: 

 

inside%20air%20cleaner.JPG

 

Here are a couple of the inside of the air cleaner lid.  I painted the right half with the new paint and left the left half unpainted/original color. 

lid%20comparison%20shade.JPG

 

 

lid%20comparison%20sun.JPG

 

Here are a couple of pics of the paint can.  The label on the lid has the formula on it if anyone's interested. 

 

paint%20can.JPG

 

paint%20in%20can.JPG

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The bracket in this picture, on top of the air cleaner lid is 1968-1969 VW Chrome Blue.

AirCleanerPaint_zpsad8c6aeb.jpg

 

My paint store then shaded the paint to match the air cleaner lid.  You can see several spots of paint as they got closer, and closer.

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  • 1 year later...

When I was 20, back in 1972, the Caltaldo brothers used to have an auto parts store in Jeannette (home town).  They sold it and the brother  Romeo then opened a little hole in the wall store where he could still mix paint.  If you wanted parts, he'd call them in to Jeannette Auto which bot him out - they were 2 blocks down the road.  People used to laugh at his operation.  But he was a really nice guy.

 

But then I discovered this guy was Master of Paint!

 

I had a 53 Sudebaker that was a smoky blue which was really a great color.

 

He mixed me some paint by eye!  No codes.  No nothing.  He looked out the window at the truck and mixed up a gallon.  He had me put a drop on a fender and it was dead nuts.

 

Damn.  Guys like that are gone these days.  Truly a Lost Art.  (Myself, I'm pretty damn good with an oxy-acetylene torch doing sheet metal.  I'm, nowhere as good as my mentor when I was a kid, but I'm now better than anyone I know of.  Kind of sad.  And frustrating because there is no one I can consult with.  Well, I guess that is what the Internet is for these days I suppose)

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I found a Z-car thread where someone suggested Duplicolor DE 1610 Pontiac Blue which seems pretty darn close.

 

While it may not be an exact match, it sure "reminds" me of the Datsun color - and since it will be completely painted with no need to match - no one (except some Savant Master Paint Mixer AND Datsun Afficiando) will know the difference.

 

$_35.JPGhppp_0907_06_z%2Bpontiac_engine_compartm1303Pontiac_Blue_Duplicolor_Engine_DE161

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Don't know how many auto parts stores you have in your area but some can scan a good sample of your old paint and custom mix you a pint or half pint. I did this for my 620 housing re-do last year. They came up with a Skoda (Czech car) color that just needed a little tinting to make it right and made me a half pint. the reducer for the paint costed more than the paint. If you can't find a store that can mix, visit a few local body/paint shops. some of them mix their own and if not, they can guide you to a local mixer. Here is link to the thread that I posted at the time:

 

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/56894-air-cleaner-housing-rebuild-for-my-620/?hl=%2Bair+%2Bcleaner

 

Steve

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First, your air cleaner resto is SUPERB.  Truly.  (You should consider editing your reply with an Inline Pic of your resto - it is so impressive and relevant to this thread!)

 

But the pic with the "6 spots" on it looks like OE faded paint.  And I say "faded" because "that's not how I remembered that color" when I had Datsuns in the 70's.  And your resto definitely looks way, way, "unfaded."

 

In fact, the pic I posted where they sprayed part of an air cleaner is a perfect example of how terribly the paint will fade. 

 

I think the DE1610 matches your resto better than the 6-spot match.

 

My paint guy can scan but he needs a flat surface.  If it has curvative, the machine will not match properly.

 

But what is the point since I know my paint is badly faded?

 

So what do you do?  It is a viscious, evil circle with no clear answer.

 

Frankly, I like the "pop" of the DE1610 over the OE I have which I truly believe is faded.

 

...and considering the effort required to match and the ease of buying some DE1610, the DupliColor wins hands down.  (Hell, they painted this 620 a non-Datsun red anyway - and guess what?  It's a dead ringer for Rustoleum Sunrise Red!  So you know what I'm using for valence, floorboards, and inside the bed.

 

The red they used is pretty hot and although I despise the term, I'll go for the "pop" of the DE1610.  Besides, it looks pretty close to your resto.

 

And I'm repaint the core support, the inner fenders and above the firewall spotweld seam/flange - and that bright red will really contrast awesomely with the air cleaner. 

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Wanting to put everything in this thread:  I found there are wide variations in Pontiac Engine Paint.    Reference thread quote:

 

"I found a larger patch of original paint under some tar on the harmonic balancer bolt. I painted three valve cover bolts with three brands of '59-'65Pontiac blue paint. The lightest colored one is Martin Senour, middle one PlastiKote #208, and the darkest one Duplicolor #DE1610." by Richard Boneske

 

5166d1248825583-1964-engine-block-color-

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  • 1 month later...

difrangia,

 

I just looked at your photobucket pics and what Red is your Datsun?  I ask because that looks like the color they painted mine - my photobucket.

 

Love the M21 and the Schmitt (Messerschmitt).  Jeremy Rolls the Robin Reliant is a hoot!

 

Sorry, delayed response:

My 620 was repainted about 20 years ago. It has held up pretty good and is close to the original, but probably not exact. I have no idea what code or name they used to paint it back then. It has the worst hail damage that I've ever seen on the front sheet metal. I plan on eventually replacing fenders, hood, & cowl vent panel and putting a thin coat of plastic on the top eventually when I can round up some metal. Then re-squirt the whole thing

 

steve

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Hey man,where can I get a new rubber air filter housing to carb adapter.looks like you have a new one.

 

If you're referring to my air cleaner-carb neck rubber adapter, it is the original. I would think that, most likely, the only place to acquire one now days would be used from another cleaner.

 

Steve

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AirFilter2_zps2066ac10.jpg

 

 

 

 

AirFilter3_zps21b3b3d9.jpg

 

AirFilter4_zpseaea5a60.jpg

 

Here are the original photos of the restored unit.

 

I've been snoozin with 'me hear up me arse' for a year now. Here's the label for the PPG eurethane paint I used on the cleaner:

 

DatsunAirCleanerPPGPaintCode_zps808ec744

 

I have the E1 engine block at the shop for spectrograph scanning to mix some paint for rebuild. I Gunk-Gelled the block yesterday and visited a local car wash and I believe there's some flat spots of original paint big enough to scan. I'll follow up with some photos and a paint code for the engine paint.

 

Steve

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