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Henry's black paint?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Dreamweaver, Jul 8, 2009.

  1. If you wanted to paint a Model A to look like it had Henry's new black paint on it what would you use?

    Surely most of the new paints are too shiny and deep.
     
  2. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,628

    The37Kid
    Member

    Bodies were spray painted and fenders were dipped, the finish on the underside of NOS fenders will show runs and drips. Sherwin Williams Super Coach Black is the blackest paint I've found.
     
  3. Don't know about the A's, but T's were painted with a wand- looked like a pushbroom with tubes sticking out and the paint just flowed through onto the body as the workers walked back and forth.

    As far as the color is concerned, it was Japan Black. If someone has a part that has the original paint on it, it might be interesting to have it analyzed for color content as you will probably find that it's got a little brown in it!
     
  4. Gotgas
    Joined: Jul 22, 2004
    Posts: 7,175

    Gotgas
    Member
    from DFW USA

    Get the cheapest, thinnest, fastest drying black paint you can find and apply it sparingly. That's what Henry did. :D
     

  5. T.W.Dustin
    Joined: Nov 18, 2008
    Posts: 883

    T.W.Dustin
    Member

    I read that the reason they used black "only" for Ts was because it dried the fastest
     
  6. noboD
    Joined: Jan 29, 2004
    Posts: 8,458

    noboD
    Member

    The heck with Fords. I have a factory film of teens Dodge Brothers being painted with what looks like a garden hose. Two guys is smocks, each with a hose, the car body over an open vat. All the extra paint ran back into the pit and was reused. The car was washed with gasoline on a rag before painting.
     

  7. Doug,

    Same idea at Henry's place- geez, what ELSE did those DB boys steal:D?
     
  8. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,628

    The37Kid
    Member


    That is true, and the "any color as long as it is black held true from 1914-25. There is an original '14 T a local colector has with 7,000 miles on it. The dipped fenders and hood still look good but the body paint has failed.
     
  9. Cshabang
    Joined: Mar 30, 2004
    Posts: 2,458

    Cshabang
    Member

    Lacquer.....
     
  10. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,628

    The37Kid
    Member


    Chances are they built the systen and sold it to Ford to boost the value of their share of the company.:D:D
     
  11. Pothole 31A
    Joined: Dec 15, 2007
    Posts: 318

    Pothole 31A
    Member

    Well to answer the original question if you go to any auto paint store they can mix any black you would like (sounds funny but they blacks are different)

    There may be different pigments in the black and sometimes how find the pigment is ground up can make a difference.

    But as for the sheen (shine) you can put a deglossing additive in the paint and sometimes you can add more or less to get the effect you want.

    But as for how they put it on..... your guess is as good as mine.
     
  12. seret
    Joined: Apr 28, 2008
    Posts: 539

    seret
    Member

    Here is a model A, I built for my buddy, we painted it with single stage, Omni brand paint. its
    ppg's cheap line. I just asked for jet black. after wet sanding it, it has A nice vintage look. not to deep, its just gloss black.
    [​IMG]
     
  13. Gotgas
    Joined: Jul 22, 2004
    Posts: 7,175

    Gotgas
    Member
    from DFW USA

  14. 29ron
    Joined: Feb 18, 2009
    Posts: 260

    29ron
    Member

    You can buy all of the correct ford colors pre-mixed from Sacramento Vintage Ford or Macs.:D
     
  15. gbones32coupe
    Joined: Jan 1, 2007
    Posts: 733

    gbones32coupe
    Member

    ford said that you could order a car any color you wanted as long as it was black
     
  16. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,176

    manyolcars

    The Model Ts were coated with gilsonite.
    It wasnt really "paint" because automotive paint had not been invented yet.
    You can mix your own exact copy of the gilsonite mixture that Henry used.
     
  17. monyoldcars,

    Please share more!!!
     
  18. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,176

    manyolcars

    **If only my memory worked** There was a guy in Florida, Reed Welch??, a piano tuner who did all the research and coated his car with the gilsonite mixture.
    You could look it up or ask on Fordbarn
     
  19. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,628

    The37Kid
    Member


    Yes, when was the first automobile painted with automobile paint and what company did it? When was sandpaper invented?:)
     
  20. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,176

    manyolcars

    Who invented the automobile thermostat and did his son become governor of a Deep South state?
     
  21. havi
    Joined: Dec 30, 2008
    Posts: 1,876

    havi
    Member

    Besides the Hopi Indians, conventional sandpaper was invented by 3M in 1915 here in my home town.
     
  22. mottsrods
    Joined: Jul 9, 2008
    Posts: 742

    mottsrods
    Member

    I just finished spraying a tub and used a water based black...i actually like it. and it has a very deep look to it. I think with a base coat of a bright color might bring it out more. as far as henry's paint..... i've seen original cars in both my model a clubs that have original paint and still look freakin' great. it's all in how they are taken care of.
     
  23. 29nash
    Joined: Nov 6, 2008
    Posts: 4,544

    29nash
    BANNED
    from colorado

  24. T-Time
    Joined: Jan 5, 2007
    Posts: 1,627

    T-Time
    Member
    from USA

    Reid Welch is the person that your thinking of, spelled with an "i".

    Gilsonite is a brand name of the product sold to Ford by the American Gilsonite Company. The generic names are asphaltum and uintahite and uintaite. Ford Gilsonite paint (yes, it was a paint) was a lacquer.

    This was only used on the early T's. I don't know when Ford stopped using the process. I don't think that the later lacquers were Gilsonite based. I do know that during the 1926 model year, Ford switched to enamal for the bodies. (Ford switched from lacquer to enamal for engines on on July 27, 1926.) In 1926 and 27, T bodies were painted with enamel (Pyroxylin) and fenders/running boards/splash/shields were painted with enamel.

    I don't know about Model A's though.
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2009
  25. Ghost28
    Joined: Nov 23, 2008
    Posts: 3,200

    Ghost28
    Member

    ppg delstar acrylic enamel chassis black. Believe it or not that stuff is gold. I painted a dash and trim pieces and they dried quick with a deep black shine. It has to be used with a hardener for best results. But the shine with out a clear is the best I've seen.
     

    Attached Files:

  26. pimpin paint
    Joined: May 31, 2005
    Posts: 4,937

    pimpin paint
    Member
    from so cal

    Hey,

    As explained to me as a we lad, the reason Ford chose black is because it dried more quickly than pigmented colours. The black pigment was made from carbon black, charred bone and plant material. The carbon would soak up the drying oil, and varnish, much quicker than the dyes or pigements used in the drabs and browns and blues. The chemical colours, the reds and yellows weren't very fast drying or durable. Changes in paint chemistry and technology made the intorduction of colours possible for mass -production.

    The closest paint material available today that would come close to the pyroxline enamel of Ford's time would be an alkyd enamel. No base coat/clear coat paint ever looked anything like a factory enamel, a point that's been lost on many a restorer!

    Swankey Devils C.C.
    "Spending A Nation Into Generational Debt Is Not An Act Of Compassion!"
     
  27. dana barlow
    Joined: May 30, 2006
    Posts: 5,115

    dana barlow
    Member
    from Miami Fla.
    1. Y-blocks

    When I was a small boy in 1946,I would help the old lady across the street polish her 31 "A" roadster ones a month,had the black it came with and it was shiny as all get out with only a few thin spots by then. She loved that car.
     
  28. Barn-core
    Joined: Jan 26, 2004
    Posts: 946

    Barn-core
    Member

    I've heard that a couple coats of base coat black, followed by a couple coats of a 50/50 mix of base coat with clear looks very similar to laquer. Gives it the depth without the plastic model look of some modern base/clears. Of course that's just what I've heard.
     
  29. T-Time
    Joined: Jan 5, 2007
    Posts: 1,627

    T-Time
    Member
    from USA

    From the Frontenac Motor Company's Model T FAQ webpage:

    Why did Henry Ford choose black for the color of the Model T Ford?

    It is often quoted that Ford chose black because the paint dried faster than other colored paints available at the time, and a faster drying paint would allow him to build cars faster as he would not have to wait for the paint to dry. This theory is not supported by fact however.

    The fact is that over 30 different types of black paint were used to paint various parts of the Model T. The different types of paint were formulated to satisfy the different means of applying the paint to the different parts, and had different drying times, depending on the paint and the drying method used for a particular part. Ford engineering documents suggest that the color black was chosen because it was cheap and it was durable. Common sense tells us that Ford, being a pragmatic man building a very practical car, certainly would have chosen black for this reason.
     
  30. 29nash
    Joined: Nov 6, 2008
    Posts: 4,544

    29nash
    BANNED
    from colorado

    Black, because the pigment, soot, was relatively free compared to other colors. Soot was collected from chimmneys where in the day 90-plus percent of heating/smelting/factorys were coal fired. Make your own paint by adding pigment to linseed oil.
     

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