Under dash air box colors?

[kna4977]

What color were the originals on a factory a/c setup? I’m in the process of cleaning up and restoring and replacing what I can but each piece seems to be a different color. The heat/defrost metal box looks to be some type of dark fine metallic gray. The vent at the bottom of that piece is a lighter gray. The S duct is also a fine metallic gray but is more flat in sheen and it’s plastic. The diffuser is some type of brown and the final piece that goes to the firewall is a brownish gray. Were there really this many different colors going on originally or what is it supposed to be in color?

['68OrangeSunshine]

I thought they were a Satin Black. The same low sheen black GM used for Frames, Radiator supports, Fender Skirts, etc. My truck was built at Fremont Calif.

[kna4977]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

I thought they were a Satin Black. The same low sheen black GM used for Frames, Radiator supports, Fender Skirts, etc. My truck was built at Fremont Calif.

That’s probably what I’ll end up doing just to be consistent, but it’s not what I’m seeing on an original so was curious.

[PbFut]

I have it all apart right now. To late in day to get you good color shots. The primary box is unpainted black plastic. The metal duct housings are a lighter shade of blue/gray black and there is a small unpainted black duct section as well. Everything leans to the stain side of the gloss spectrum. Careful. The plastic mars some and you get light color scratches. I'll shoot a few pic tomorrow for you in light that will provide good representing of color.

[Orange71shorty]

The ones I have are a mix of black and dark gun metal gray

[FirstOwner69]

Below are mine as they currently look. All pieces are 100% original.

However, I THINK mine were all closer to satin black when the truck was new. It was one of those things with me when one day in the 80s I got in the truck and noticed they really were a poor match.

[1970cstblazer]

The metal box is gunmetal gray.

[PbFut]

Here is what I came up with for you.
The larger air handler box where the heater core is for AC trucks is a plastic housing. It is a harder plastic and appears similar to a material my father called bakealight when I was a kid 60 years ago. Not sure it's a real name or some slang he just used. It's molded and if it's paint it's a damn fine job. I think it was some sort of spray coating that may have gone on the mold to both smooth the color and also release the material from the mold during the process. But it is just a guess. The surface does not feel like paint but is quite smooth almost like a teflon coating of today. It easily scratches with a light color result come through the scratch. I want the used look so not correcting. Picture always bring up flaws not as noticeable in person. I'll drop the duct portion in next post.

[PbFut]

The 3 portions of the plenum are all different material on my truck and I can not confirm original. I believe 2 are original and the center piece is for sure aftermarket modern black ABS. . Likely because most plastic from the period were rather brittle and was likely cracked. The paint on metal part is as stated above sort of a gun metal. The right side in picture 2 evidently fades with sunlight as the portions more exposed to light are significantly lighter in color. There is also a yellowing in shade in some areas. The photos clearly shows the fading of the plastic on the surface that would face the seat when in position in the cab. The colors are shot in direct sun light only shadowed on very far left. The correct color of that plastic is in that upper T area on right in second pic. These are in as removed condition and still a bit dirty.

[kna4977]

Yep those are the same exact colors I'm seeing. Would love to see a picture from when these trucks were new to see if they actually came with all those different colors or if they've somehow completely changed over the years.

I'm going back satin black on everything so it is consistent and doesn't stand out like a sore thumb. The gray on original pieces is quite dark and appears to have a very fine metallic so it basically looks black. New pieces if purchased are going to be black anyway.

I couldn't find a gray that looked right. Could use a metallic black that almost looks gray. Don't think there's a good way to match the olive brownish color with paint and make it look right.

[PbFut]

The Eastwood Zink Phosphate rattle can works really well for parts you want dark but not black. Has some sort of flake in it to mimic zink coating. The result is nice and even. I did this the other day but rushed it too much and marked up the finich. Might be a good option

[kna4977]

Originally Posted by PbFut

The Eastwood Zink Phosphate rattle can works really well for parts you want dark but not black. Has some sort of flake in it to mimic zink coating. The result is nice and even. I did this the other day but rushed it too much and marked up the finich. Might be a good option

That’s quite a bit lighter in color than the factory a/c box components which are almost black. So I went black for a nice clean look and I doubt I’ll go back.