TheSamba.com :: View topic - Shades of yellow for a 1976 weekender camper?

Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:56 am

I have a very bright-colored, yellow-orange 1976 Westy and I'm trying to figure out what the "official" name of its color is, so that I will know what color paint to use when I repaint it in a few years. The color is similar to that of orange cheddar cheese, or like the yellow-orange paint they use on the middle of roads. Here's a link to a picture of my Westy: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/279578.jpg

I found the following list of yellow colors on a website but am not sure how to distinguish them:

L11H Sierra Yellow
L20A Marino Yellow
L62H Bali Yellow
L21A Chrome Yellow

Thanks for all your help! Which do you think would be the proper color name for my Westy?

Wed Jun 21, 2006 8:13 am

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, we have been trying to figure out the name of a 74 Westy color. It is different from your color. I can tell you right now that Bali yellow is like my campmobile, not yours, so scratch that off the list.

That said, I went hunting for this brochure that shows your color. I think this publication is so cool that I want to find one like it for the 74 & 75 Westfalia models.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/lit/76stationwagon_campmobile/back.jpg

Wed Jun 21, 2006 8:52 am

It is this one,
L20A Marino Yellow
I have the same year and color.

Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:18 am

Dan Inghram wrote: It is this one,
L20A Marino Yellow
I have the same year and color.

L20A is Chrome Yellow, according to this chart:
http://www.magomaggiolino.it/COLORI%20ESTERNI%2071...80.htm

Is this another case of two names for the same shade of paint?

Wed Jun 21, 2006 1:02 pm

Same year here... mine is Chrome Yellow. All my friends insist it's orange.

Fri Jun 23, 2006 5:10 am

I checked again.
My paint tag behind the drivers seat says " marinogelb L20A"
I would say that is marino yellow.
the napa touch up says marino yellow L20A on the can.
Mine looks yellow not orange

Fri Jun 23, 2006 7:54 am

Dan Inghram wrote: I checked again.
My paint tag behind the drivers seat says " marinogelb L20A"
I would say that is marino yellow.
the napa touch up says marino yellow L20A on the can.
Mine looks yellow not orange

Dan~ This seems to be a case of the same paint code, L20A, having more than one name. Marino and Chrome Yellow are the same shade, L20A. To add to the confusion, there are two slightly different shades of Chrome Yellow (see the COLORI ESTERNI paint chart). I don't know the reasons for the multiple color names, but my guess is that it had to do with regional marketing.

The 74/75 yellow-green color also has two names for the same paint code, depending on which charts you consult.

Wed Mar 11, 2009 1:45 pm

Here's some information to add to the confusion:

I now have two nearly identical 1977 marinogelb Westies. One difference is that one has gray pushbuttons on the cabinet latches, and the other has black pushbuttons. That's odd.

Now: paint. The are both marinogelb, or marino yellow. (In German, does this translate to "marine yellow"? If so, I don't get the "marine" part.) ...anyway... Both have paint code stickers behind the driver's seat:

One is "marinogelb L20A"
One is "marinogelb 77 L21H"

The colors have always looked alike to me (the color in the avatar). Are they not? Was there a slight color change in the middle of 1977 that I can't see?

Why the two different codes for the same color? :-k Any ideas?

Wed Mar 11, 2009 1:52 pm

Hmm... still more information ...
I went to PaintScratch.com and looked at this:
http://www.paintscratch.com/cgi-bin/makepaint2.cgi
Hmm... the .cgi will not show the page directly, but if you choose 1977 and Volkswagen and Bus it will get you there.

They actually have two listings for "Chrome Yellow": L20A and L21H. And what they call "Marina Yellow" looks like sea green, so that's messed up.

I asked the folks at PaintScratch, and got this from their techs:
Quote: both of those codes are for differant colors.L20A is ppg dbc chromeyellow 2687 .code L21H is ppg dbc 82410 called mariongold more of a gold orange yellow. So, apparently, VW changed the color ever so slightly between chassis numbers 2372009104 ("marinogelb L20A", manufactured 08/76) and 2372166785 ("marinogelb 77 L21H" manufactured 06/77).

So, "marinogelb" and "marinogelb 77" are two different colors. Huh.

Sat Oct 06, 2012 8:23 pm

Back in the 80's I had a chrome yellow 76, now I have a 76 Westy - L20A on the tag.

It might be a year to year change ?

Could it be different due to chemistry ? Is one leaded and one lead free ? In the US, they took the lead out of the fuels in 75, maybe that is the difference ?

I saw a convertible at the show in Columbus Ohio this past August - and the guy told me his convertible had a one year only color, Marina Yellow...I had to ask him when I saw the color.

Mon Oct 08, 2012 8:41 am

speedbuggin wrote: I have a very bright-colored, yellow-orange 1976 Westy and I'm trying to figure out what the "official" name of its color is, so that I will know what color paint to use when I repaint it in a few years. The color is similar to that of orange cheddar cheese, or like the yellow-orange paint they use on the middle of roads. Here's a link to a picture of my Westy: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/279578.jpg

I found the following list of yellow colors on a website but am not sure how to distinguish them:

L11H Sierra Yellow
L20A Marino Yellow
L62H Bali Yellow
L21A Chrome Yellow

Thanks for all your help! Which do you think would be the proper color name for my Westy?

Did you look for the paint code sticker behind the driver's seat?

Looks just like my '76 which is L21A Chrome Yellow.