[TR] TR3A paint color

[Randall]

> I know there are basically  two whites, a Spa White 
> and a Pearl White.

Actually, I believe Pearl White was before your car, and Spa White was after
your car.  The original factory white for a late 3A would have been "Sebring
White".  According to one computer scan of an aftermarket paint chip (very
accurate record there <g>), Sebring White had a very light blue tinge to it,
almost a very pale ice blue.  But it doesn't show in another scan (from a
different supplier), so hard to know which is correct.

>  I do not want the car to be  "refrigerator white" 
> regardless of what it was to begin with.  Does anyone  know 
> which of those 
> two colors is an "off white", or "antique white"?

I believe Spa White is a little darker than Pearl White (which BTW, I don't
believe was what is known as "pearlescent" ... that effect came later).

> Can anyone recommend a modern car color that should be 
> considered,

IMO, the best way to do that is to just look at every modern car you see,
until you find one that is the color you like.  Note it's make, model and
year (I've even been known to run up to people and ask them what year their
car is); and then go to a paint & body shop and ask for the paint code to
match.

> and  (last
> question) do you know the modern paint code for the two 
> mentioned  above?

The original PPG-Ditzler code for Spa White was 8335; your paint shop should
be able to cross-reference that to the paint system they use.  According to
Joe Curry's excellent page on the subject, Pearl White was 8204 and Sebring
White was 8247.

> I have seen some cars that are just too "cream" for me.
> I know describing colors is futile, but it gives me a point 
> of  reference.

I've found this process very frustrating myself ... so I'll just repeat the
above suggestion : find a car that is the color you want, then try to
reproduce that color.

Of course, foolish me, the color I picked out for my Stag was 2005 Lotus
Racing Green Metallic ... which it turns out cannot be matched in the US !
I'd have to ship the car to Belgium or some such <G>  But knowing the modern
color, we were able to find a very near match in a Ford color; the result
looks good to me.

Randall