volkaholic1 Samba Member
Joined: October 31, 2004 Posts: 781 Location: ohio
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 5:30 am Post subject: |
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"factory black" is an interesting topic, what does that even mean? Which factory? I have examples of original VW german black, but it is 40 years old, why would you expect it to be the same as when it was new? VW mexico black, VW Brazil black are different from each other, and even then, I have seen VW mex parts side by side and they are not the same color. I use standard satin black almost always, some people prefer semi gloss black, in the end, it is your car, pick the color you like. _________________ Volkaholic |
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My57Oval Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2005 Posts: 624
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 6:21 am Post subject: |
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Yeah, I understand what you are saying. I think that it's easier to get a realistic look, no matter what black the factory used in various facilities at various times/years, by using automotive paint and adjusting the sheen with a flattening agent. It looks more unfinished and production like than PC, whose finish looks a bit too perfect and stovetop enamalish if you know what I mean. A bit too....umm, globular?
I think that I will see if Bruce Berman will send me a few up-close shots of his engine bay. Its the same car as mine, but has 13,000 miles vs. mine which has 24,000 miles. And mine has obviously seen some outdoor uncovered time since my tin is pretty bad.
His car:
Rob |
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Bruce Berman Samba Member
Joined: April 13, 2004 Posts: 148 Location: Long Island, NY, USA
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 5:17 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Rob,
It may take me some time to shoot a few photos of the VW black fan housing or floor pans in my car, as I have been very busy with work, and the warmer weather now upon us means more time enjoying the outdoors, but I'll post something shortly on the forum for your and everyone else's reference.
A few words about VW chassis or engine sheet metal black, at least as used in 1957. These are strictly my own observations from being familiar for the past 37 years with the factory finish on my car. It will probably be difficult to capture the exact shade and gloss of this finish in a digital photo, due to lighting effects, color distortion in the digital image, etc., but I'll give it my best shot. If you look at the color carefully in person, it actually has a very, very slight tint of brown within the color. I estimate the percentage gloss is around 70 to 80%. Anything greater or lesser than this gloss will most likely not be accurate. I do wax the floor pans and black painted sheet metal within the engine compartment, and as such, I believe the percentage gloss is pretty much as the paint probably appeared from May of 1957. The application quality of the original VW oven-bake chassis and engine sheet metal enamel paint from the factory was quite good, with only a very little noticeable amount of orange peel to the finish, so if you are going to do it right, and replicate the original finish as closely as possible, please bear these points in mind.
I don't think you can replicate the minimal orange peel VW chassis black factory enamel finish in powder coat, at least not in my limited experience with powder coating, plus I think the thickness of the finish may be too dense. This is purely my own opinion concerning a powder coated finish. Your mileage and outcome may well vary.
Lastly, VW Black (L41, the body color) does not have the slight brown tint I had described above, and I believe the percentage gloss of L41 is higher than the paint VW used on the chassis and painted engine sheet metal components. VW chassis black did have a VW L-paint color code, but I would have to look this up in the VW Spare Parts book I have here.
I hope that this information is of value.
All the Best,
Bruce _________________ Factory original 1957 Type 1 Deluxe Sedan, with 13,000 miles. I purchased her from the estate of the original owner in 1978. Color: L324 Polar Silver, with light beige leatherette interior, dealer-installed Dehne fuel gauge and Motorola Volumatic radio. |
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