Pearl White- 1958 TR3A Color Colour Paint Question

[mundial]

My TR3A 09 July 1958 build records from Heritage state "Pearl White", (blk leather, with blue/white front badge).

They suggested I try this forum for color guidance which they could not give me.

The research I found for 1958 Pearl White was paint code 8204 for Dockers and PPG which is a cream-white on paint chips .

I've also seen reference to a 5710 Pearl White for my year/model, but no chips to compare.

 

Do you know where I could get confirmation if 8204 is correct as a slight cream/white? (Is 5710 more of a stark white?)

I'm familiar with other stark whites such as sebring and spa white, but the 8204 I bought is quite beige/white, more so than an olde english white.

I've never seen it at car shows on a TR3A, but am open to be the only one if it is the correct 8204 shade.

 

Also- Single stage Urethane or Base Coat?

Any thoughts?

 

Bonus Question-

Does 9/July/58 build make this car a 1958 or 1959 model?

 

California

[Herald948]

As another reference point, the Martin-Senour code was 25420. See this chart from the VTR site. Or there was also ACME code 387 TR; see that chart.

 

As for "model year"? I'd guess this to be a very late 1958 model, but there's a pretty good chance that it would've ended up being titled as a 1959 model by the time it was first sold (assuming it's a USA export car).

[Alec Pringle]

Hi Mundial,

 

and welcome !

 

In the UK we didn't think of 'model years' in quite the same way as in the USA. Your TR would have been thought of as a 1958 car.

 

Pearl White was one of the original TR colours, and the TR2 and 3 paint manufacturer was Dockers, the shade reference being BF5460. Later cars were, I think, ICI paint ref 2857.

 

Hopefully you may be able to link that to a USA paint supplier reference ?

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

[mundial]

As another reference point, the Martin-Senour code was 25420. See this chart from the VTR site. Or there was also ACME code 387 TR; see that chart.

 

As for "model year"? I'd guess this to be a very late 1958 model, but there's a pretty good chance that it would've ended up being titled as a 1959 model by the time it was first sold (assuming it's a USA export car).

 

Thanks!

This is where I started, and both the Acme and M-S chips show 2 very different Pearl White.

Then I looked at the Original TR book by Bill Piggott. Table 7 shows ICI Hilux M-048-2857, among other discontinued color codes.

A restoration shop in San Diego found an original chip book referencing the I.C.I 2857, cross referenced it with Ditzler 8204 and Dockers BF.5460 which is also mentioned in the book. I thought 2 out of 3 referenced in the "TR Bible" was good.

Final color is a very beige-white, close to what you referenced with the ACME chip, but nowhere near the stark white Martin-Seymour.

Feels like a treasure hunt.

 

Also, thanks for Year feedback. Car is a CA black-tag titled 1959 with minimal rust as it has resided here since being imported.

Thanks again!

[mundial]

Hi Mundial,

 

and welcome !

 

In the UK we didn't think of 'model years' in quite the same way as in the USA. Your TR would have been thought of as a 1958 car.

 

Pearl White was one of the original TR colours, and the TR2 and 3 paint manufacturer was Dockers, the shade reference being BF5460. Later cars were, I think, ICI paint ref 2857.

 

Hopefully you may be able to link that to a USA paint supplier reference ?

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

 

So, by Later cars ICI 2857 you mean TR3A?

BF.5460 was found in an old Dockers book they had locally but it also looked beige-white

Do you believe the final product is a beige-white or leaning towards a bright-white for a restoration "Pearl White"?

If it is a beige-white, I will be able to sleep at night.

(I also gave a lengthier reply to the previous chap regarding my quest and specifics listed in Bill Piggots TR book for paint codes)

Thanks again.

[stuart]

So, by Later cars ICI 2857 you mean TR3A?

BF.5460 was found in an old Dockers book they had locally but it also looked beige-white

Do you believe the final product is a beige-white or leaning towards a bright-white for a restoration "Pearl White"?

If it is a beige-white, I will be able to sleep at night.

(I also gave a lengthier reply to the previous chap regarding my quest and specifics listed in Bill Piggots TR book for paint codes)

Thanks again.

Ive always found Pearl white as mixed in this country to be beige-ish, certainly not a bright white. so you can sleep at night now

Stuart.

[Alec Pringle]

Hi Mundial,

 

Yes, Standard Triumph Pearl White is a white with a definite beige tendency in some lights, pretty much like decent pearls in other words - it is most definitely not a stark or bright white, as in toothpaste ads . . . .

 

However, it is not the only Pearl White that has been applied to cars, so you may well come up with a brighter shade of white (or more than one) that refers to USA automobiles of the 50s and 60s, let alone later shades.

 

Cheers,

 

Alec