Is Chevy engine paint color the same as Hugger Orange?

[saxart]

I'm going to be painting my crate engine with an enamel out of a gun (with hardener) Is the orange for our engines the same as Hugger Orange?

[jocko]

no

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Here's some info. I just found, guy looking for "Chevy Orange Engine"..........Can't speak for years though:

My father is an NCRS judge, and we have done extensive resorations on many corvettes.
I can tell you for a fact the absolute closest match to the factory color is in an aerosol.
The absolute best match to Chevrolet Orange is made by Plasti-kote.
You can go on plasti-kote.com and punch in your zip code..and it will bring up the closest location to whos selling it.
Heres a link to the product website:


Here's another link: The Plastikote is popular: http://www.camaros.net/forums/33-cam...ine-paint.html



http://autobodystore.com/forum/showt...ine-paint-code

[special-K]

No, not exactly, but probably close enough for most to not notice. Hugger Orange is also called Red Orange.

I don't see any benefit to using spray equipment vs spray bomb in this case. The engine paint is come seriously tough paint to be from a can. It has ceramic in it and is formulated for precisely this application...hot metal exposed to petroleum products. I've used Plasti-Kote low gloss black for chassis paint and it holds up great. Very tough durable stuff. I understand using spray equipt/mixed paint to get a custom color, but if wanting the engine to be the factory color I would use spray bomb engine paint.

[saxart]

Thanks for all of the thoughts so far, I appreciate it.

Originally Posted by special-K

No, not exactly, but probably close enough for most to not notice. Hugger Orange is also called Red Orange.

I don't see any benefit to using spray equipment vs spray bomb in this case. The engine paint is come seriously tough paint to be from a can. It has ceramic in it and is formulated for precisely this application...hot metal exposed to petroleum products. I've used Plasti-Kote low gloss black for chassis paint and it holds up great. Very tough durable stuff. I understand using spray equipt/mixed paint to get a custom color, but if wanting the engine to be the factory color I would use spray bomb engine paint.

My experience with rattle can vs gun-paint is that you can add a hardener to gun paint and it becomes a much more durable surface against things like gasoline leaks and chips from physical damage. I'm guessing Chevy just used a regular automotive paint when they were hosing down engines prior to putting them in our trucks originally.

Thoughts?

[DeadheadNM]

As an aside, I've heard that GMC v8 motors were painted a slightly different but similar color - more red than orange. Can anyone confirm this?

[special-K]

Originally Posted by saxart

Thanks for all of the thoughts so far, I appreciate it.




My experience with rattle can vs gun-paint is that you can add a hardener to gun paint and it becomes a much more durable surface against things like gasoline leaks and chips from physical damage. I'm guessing Chevy just used a regular automotive paint when they were hosing down engines prior to putting them in our trucks originally.

Thoughts?

That's what I'm saying. The engine paint is formulated specifically for this use, so it is the ideal mix for hardness, oil/gas resistance, etc. I'm sure the factory paint was nowhere near the quality of this Plasti-Kote engine enamel. They now tout "with ceramic" on the cans now. An engine isn't so big you can't put a quality job on it using spray cans. I just don't see any negatives at all. Prep is the most important thing in making whatever is used to stay on.

[saxart]

Originally Posted by special-K

That's what I'm saying. The engine paint is formulated specifically for this use, so it is the ideal mix for hardness, oil/gas resistance, etc. I'm sure the factory paint was nowhere near the quality of this Plasti-Kote engine enamel. They now tout "with ceramic" on the cans now. An engine isn't so big you can't put a quality job on it using spray cans. I just don't see any negatives at all. Prep is the most important thing in making whatever is used to stay on.

So your saying a rattle can engine paint will stand up to gas leaks? Every time I've seen rattle can paint get gasoline spilled on it, it wasn't pretty.

[Bigdav160]

I've painted several engines bc/cc with the paint I was painting on the car.

It held up great and much easier to clean than spray can paint.

[Z10]

Originally Posted by special-K

No, not exactly, but probably close enough for most to not notice. Hugger Orange is also called Red Orange.

I don't see any benefit to using spray equipment vs spray bomb in this case. The engine paint is come seriously tough paint to be from a can. It has ceramic in it and is formulated for precisely this application...hot metal exposed to petroleum products. I've used Plasti-Kote low gloss black for chassis paint and it holds up great. Very tough durable stuff. I understand using spray equipt/mixed paint to get a custom color, but if wanting the engine to be the factory color I would use spray bomb engine paint.

Red Orange is not the same as Hugger. Hugger is a lighter shade. For example, my truck is Red Orange, the stripes on my 69 Camaro are Hugger Orange. Here's a couple of pics, but a bit hard to tell. But when the car and truck are sitting next to each other, you can tell.

[davepl]

I used PPG Acrylic Enamel; it's the best choice. It's incredibly hard and retains its high gloss for years without a clear coat. Of course you must prime the bare metal with DP90LF catalyzed primer or similar first.

The Acrylic Enamic is being phased out and still contains lead, so get it while you can. I got mine at Wesco, but had to drive around to several to find it.

[davepl]

Check this out, a 1969 Bonneville I found that was painted hugger orange from the factory, but it sure wasn't an option on the big Bonneville, so the actual Ditzler/PPG paint code is right on the trim tag. Not something I'd seen before!

[saxart]

Originally Posted by Z10

Red Orange is not the same as Hugger. Hugger is a lighter shade. For example, my truck is Red Orange, the stripes on my 69 Camaro are Hugger Orange. Here's a couple of pics, but a bit hard to tell. But when the car and truck are sitting next to each other, you can tell.

Great comparison! Now to figure out which one should go on an engine.

[1972RedNeck]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

As an aside, I've heard that GMC v8 motors were painted a slightly different but similar color - more red than orange. Can anyone confirm this?

I have never heard this and can't confirm it, but I have always thought GMC V6's look more red than Chevy engines.

[special-K]

I'm not saying body paint won't hold up, I'm saying spray bomb engine enamel will. Not all spray paint is the same. This is paint made for engines. You can put all the spray bomb on you want. It's only less paint if you put less paint on. Mine are juicy smooth and clean up just as good as any other paint. Use what you want, same with others. I know what I'm saying and just wanted to help out.

Hugger Orange and Red Orange actually are the same color on '72 GM Trucks. If it's different on your Camaro it's either because car colors vary from trucks or your paint mixes aren't the best example of accurate mixes. PPG uses a different code for Hugger Orange '69 cars and '72 trucks. And they call it Hugger Orange but my '72 K/20 Cheyenne Super had Red Orange on the SPID

What's in a name? On that chart both Chevy Trucks and Internationals had Flame Red and those aren't the same color

[El Dorado Jim]

I painted my engine with rattle cans, VHT brand in chevy orange....there is also a chevy red-orange paint, not sure when that was used, but I love the original chevy orange....seems to be good paint from what others on here have said...I got mine at autozone. Soooo Art you are getting ready to put your engine in?

[RPOZ11]

Many years ago I had done code 72 mixed up into some aerosol cans to do just this.

However, after painting my block, I can say that it seemed a bit too bright.
I liked the look but I'll assume that a small bit more red in the 72 might have achieved the result I wanted.

That color is still on my 396 block from my Camaro.
I'd post a pic of it but it may take some time to post it.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

As an aside, I've heard that GMC v8 motors were painted a slightly different but similar color - more red than orange. Can anyone confirm this?

I've heard that too, but I have no data on GMC paint codes, or if it's available from VHT or DupliColor.

[geezer#99]

Originally Posted by saxart

Great comparison! Now to figure out which one should go on an engine.

Neither one!!
If you want your motor to look chevy orange after a summers worth of use then paint it ford engine red. The red fades to a more chevy orange. The chevy orange gets a yellow tint to it.

[davepl]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

Neither one!!
If you want your motor to look chevy orange after a summers worth of use then paint it ford engine red. The red fades to a more chevy orange. The chevy orange gets a yellow tint to it.

If you paint it with Delron Acrylic Enamel it'll still be orange when it's Geezer's age. But it's about $300 in materials and you wind up with enough to paint 5 motors, let alone the gun. Still looks wet and shiny and there's no clear coat on top of it either. Just good old leaded paint from the 1960s, and it's harder to find every year. This was 3-4 years ago and I had to hunt stores for it then!

[geezer#99]

It's not 'age' dave, it's 'wisdom'!!
While your motor looks great, not everybody will buy all the paint and equipment to paint it when it's easier to just use a rattle can of whichever they want.

[davepl]

I've done plenty of "rattle-can-rebuilds" in my time too :-)

[CaptRMW]

Putting $300.00 worth of paint on a $1300.00 engine is like putting a $50,000.00 saddle on a $20.00 horse. I won't hold my breath waiting for the Bloomington Gold Gurus with their color swatches to write me up for the wrong color on my engine. Art go get the VHT engine rattle can paint and hurry up or the warranty will be up before you get to drive it.

[djeCST]

This is a great topic that always guarantees a lively discussion. I love how passionate Chevy owners are about the color of their engines.

Unless you're going for a 100 point restoration, pick the one you like and go for it. Most people can't tell the difference anyway.....

Let's see some photos once you get it all painted up.

[davepl]

Originally Posted by CaptRMW

Putting $300.00 worth of paint on a $1300.00 engine is like putting a $50,000.00 saddle on a $20.00 horse. I won't hold my breath waiting for the Bloomington Gold Gurus with their color swatches to write me up for the wrong color on my engine. Art go get the VHT engine rattle can paint and hurry up or the warranty will be up before you get to drive it.

I don't care what the Bloomington Gold guys do or think. I have my own quality standards. Yours are different.