Mean Green Paint codes......

[HoosierDeereMan]

For the past two years I've gone through this mess of trying to match "Mean Green" paint. I myself, along with others have taken painted parts in to be scanned for a paint match. It comes up as 1972 General Motors "Elkhart Green". The problem I keep getting into is the person doing the scanning might be a Dupont dealer so the scanner gun gives you Dupont's paint code number. So you take your Dupont number to your painter and he only deals in RM or Spies Hecker paints and without a year and color code off the vehicle he can't produce a paint code to mix and match you sled. The problem is these guys have their own mixing booths so you must supply them with their paint code for them to mix their brand of paint to get "Mean Green".

I did some searching at http://www.corvettepaintcodes.com

Here is what I found out:
In 1972 General Motors used on Corvettes OEM code 946 Elkhart Green Metallic.
In 1973 GM used Corvette OEM code 47 Elkhart Green Metallic.

These GM OEM colors translate to paint manufacturers codes as the following:

Valspar Code G625
PPG Code 2438
Dupont Code 5462
RM Code 2551
MS Code 4212
WA Code 4284

So for example you should be able to walk into a PPG furnished body shop, tell them 1972 Corvette/946 OEM Elhart Green Metallic/PPG code 2438, and they should be able mix it on the spot.

Troy

[Sprailfire340]

Nice work Troy. I'm printing this right now for my files.

[SpitfireKing]

I wish I knew which colour that was, but I'm still learning...is this the colour for the 00 series from 75 and up, or like the cyclone's or which? I wish I could get the code for the true green spitfires, as the JD green I buy from the dealer really isn't a true match.

[Matt]

Troy, that's great information, nice work!

SK, Mean Green was used on '75+ 00 series, /S sleds, and '76-'77 Cyclone.

[ChickenRat]

Actually, today I just sent off a piece of a 1978 John Deere Spitfire hood where I removed the decal and had an unfaded area of green exposed to get the color matched. The place I sent it to specializes in matching colors. I just had them match the Polaris Midnight Blue a month or so ago. That is a difficult color to match as it can be black, dark blue, medium blue, or a hint of purple depending on the lighting. It also has just a smidge of metalflake in it. Anyway, they did a great job on the match and I don't expect any less on the Spitfire match.

They don't send a paint code. Instead, he sends a paint formula that you can take down to your local paint shop where they can mix all the colors in the right proportions to come up with the correct color. I have the Midnight Blue color in my file and will soon have the '78-79 Spitfire & '78 Cyclone color formula in the file as well. When I looked closely at the Spitfire panel, it appears as if there is just a hint of metalflake in it as well.

Robb

[lwb140]

i took my dator hood in to our local auto body supply store and they had no direct matches , many many close but no matches , we ended up with a color that i think is pretty close i think it should be the same as 78-79 spitfire ,correct?? wade

[SpitfireKing]

Actually, today I just sent off a piece of a 1978 John Deere Spitfire hood where I removed the decal and had an unfaded area of green exposed to get the color matched. The place I sent it to specializes in matching colors. I just had them match the Polaris Midnight Blue a month or so ago. That is a difficult color to match as it can be black, dark blue, medium blue, or a hint of purple depending on the lighting. It also has just a smidge of metalflake in it. Anyway, they did a great job on the match and I don't expect any less on the Spitfire match.

They don't send a paint code. Instead, he sends a paint formula that you can take down to your local paint shop where they can mix all the colors in the right proportions to come up with the correct color. I have the Midnight Blue color in my file and will soon have the '78-79 Spitfire & '78 Cyclone color formula in the file as well. When I looked closely at the Spitfire panel, it appears as if there is just a hint of metalflake in it as well.

Robb

Thanks guys, I know next year I will need some "Mean Green" and also some Spitfire green....Robb would you share that formula once you get it? I know if I started asking around here I would get laughed out of the paint shop, but then again after a couple of major hail storms this way last couple of years I don't blame them for not having time

[ChickenRat]

First off, I want to say that the place I sent this off to is highly specialized and WILL get a perfect match.

I have mixed feelings about sharing the paint formula. I just took a beating with the Polaris Midnight Blue color match. I had some spray cans mixed up for touch up and sold a few extras off to try to recoup some of my $$ on that project. In 2-3 weeks I had around 75-100 e-mails looking for nothing more than the paint formula. And was called flat outright an A-Hole for not sharing it with many of them. After trying to explain my point of view in trying to recoup some of my $$ and said if they bought a can, I'd share the formula. Still called an A-Hole. So I ended up selling a few cans but I elected not to share the formula because of the beating I took. And I won't share that formula. I took the time & effort and spent the $$ to get it done. They can too.

Now, on the other hand, many members of this site have treated me very well over the years and I am sure that I would share the Spitfire formula with these members.

Robb

[JD_Sledder68]

Myself and a friend have owned a bodyshop for 25 years. We have always used suppliers to mix our paints for us. On all of our paints they not only put the mixing formula on the label on the can, but on hard to match colors they will also supply a small amount of tint agent to custom match the paint if needed.

We have and still spray R-M, PPG, DuPont, Sherwin Williams, and Martin Seynour finishes with R-M and Sherwin Williams being our mainstay finishes.

I am going to have the Silver on my trailfire scanned and get me a quart mixed up one of these days.

[SpitfireKing]

First off, I want to say that the place I sent this off to is highly specialized and WILL get a perfect match.

I have mixed feelings about sharing the paint formula. I just took a beating with the Polaris Midnight Blue color match. I had some spray cans mixed up for touch up and sold a few extras off to try to recoup some of my $$ on that project. In 2-3 weeks I had around 75-100 e-mails looking for nothing more than the paint formula. And was called flat outright an A-Hole for not sharing it with many of them. After trying to explain my point of view in trying to recoup some of my $$ and said if they bought a can, I'd share the formula. Still called an A-Hole. So I ended up selling a few cans but I elected not to share the formula because of the beating I took. And I won't share that formula. I took the time & effort and spent the $$ to get it done. They can too.

Now, on the other hand, many members of this site have treated me very well over the years and I am sure that I would share the Spitfire formula with these members.

Robb

I would be happy to buy a can from you, except I plan to use my actual sprayer to do the whole sled, not just spray bomb's. If it's only a few $'s your looking for PM me when you get it and maybe we can work something out, or possibly trade if you need and Spitty parts.

Thanks

[400brian]

Mean Green has been a problem.

We have discussed this many times. Elkhart green is certainly close.

A couple of years ago, Don had his body man scan an NOS Cyclone hood. As it happened, that shop used Sherwin Williams products. That scan matched up with a JD Metallic Green that had been custom mixed and put into their system some time before.

That color seems to be a good match, but we don't know how to convert it into other product lines. My local NAPA store sells the Crossfire line of Martin Senour paint. Very simply, he did not have the toners to mix Don's formula.
He had another NAPA store in the state that handled SW paint mix me a quart.

Photo below: On the left is NOS, and on the right is Elkhart Green touch up spray can.

[Matt]

First off, I want to say that the place I sent this off to is highly specialized and WILL get a perfect match.

I have mixed feelings about sharing the paint formula. I just took a beating with the Polaris Midnight Blue color match. I had some spray cans mixed up for touch up and sold a few extras off to try to recoup some of my $$ on that project. In 2-3 weeks I had around 75-100 e-mails looking for nothing more than the paint formula. And was called flat outright an A-Hole for not sharing it with many of them. After trying to explain my point of view in trying to recoup some of my $$ and said if they bought a can, I'd share the formula. Still called an A-Hole. So I ended up selling a few cans but I elected not to share the formula because of the beating I took. And I won't share that formula. I took the time & effort and spent the $$ to get it done. They can too.

Now, on the other hand, many members of this site have treated me very well over the years and I am sure that I would share the Spitfire formula with these members.

Robb

That's interesting. Did you consider just selling the formula (Photocopy or PDF of the paperwork from your vendor)?

[HoosierDeereMan]

JD Sledder68,

What I keep getting into is most shops in my area only deal in one brand of paint. They will not entertain the idea of shooting another supplier's product. I think the biggest issue is product compatibilty. I'm no paint guy, but I can understand using the same product line for prep, primer, and paint. They have their own mixing booths and ask for a paint code. I can walk in with a with a paint number and a tinting guide from another paint manufacturer and they can't do anything with it. It's useless to them. The Corvette model year along with the OEM paint code number is what they require. I had trouble giving them 3 digit 1972 color code. I didn't show up in the RM computer system. The 2 digit code for 1973 did. Once he had that, the RM color guide gave him the paint number and tinting guide that he can mix in house.

Troy

[75rat]

As Brian stated, matching Mean Green has been a challange. I did the computer match thing on my first 295/S and it came out very close. I recently found out that John Deere used Ditzler Dk Ivy Met #45733 for Mean Green. Ditzler was bought out by PPG back in the day, but the number is still good. I've compared it to original paint and it's nuts on when used over a gray primer.

Hope this helps, Jim

[400brian]

Thank you Jim!