Paint Color

[m-11]

Can someone tell me the correct Vietnam era color code for a 1951 M37? I also have a 1966 M151 A-1 mutt and was thinking about painting them to match. Also, how many gallons of paint will I need for a frame off restoration on the M37?

[Tom @ Snake River]

The correct color is "24087" Everyone would highly suggest getting Gillespie paint. I usually end up getting it from RAPCO out of TX at www.rapcoparts.com or call 940-872-2403.
Be prepared to pay a hazmat fee for shipping.

[Lifer]

24087 would be the "correct" color for an Army vehicle, if that's the branch of service you intend to represent. The Marine Corps and Navy (SeaBees) used a different shade of OD, and the Air Force used yet another shade on vehicles that were authorized to be "subdued." The only AF vehicles to be painted OD at the time were those which "went out in the boonies" on a regular basis, such as forward air control (FAC) and Air Police vehicles. Most of our vehicles retained the standard Strata blue color.

[rixm37]

Funny you should ask I have spent alot of time asking about this. And have learned alot from vets about paint on "in country vehicles" Many shades of color were created by the men there using what colors they could get and mixing colors was common. So there is quite a range of colors that are not official that were found on trucks.
Look back 2 pages on the forum for a topic called" paint question "lots of pics and info.
should help you out.
viewtopic.php?t=1157 this link should work to the topic

[m-11]

Tom,

I've been holding off on getting paint from Rapco because of the haz mat fees but I was unsucessful to find anything local so I bit the bullet and ordered two gallons to paint my A-2. So how much paint will the M37 require?

[sbaumgartner]

From the previous post rixm37 mentioned, I found Cabell's comment to be very true:

In order to get the "correct" shade of green for a truck used from this period, one would want to specify FS595B 24084 or 34084 (semi-gloss and lusterless, respectively). The current specification FS595B 24084 is actually the same COLOR as the previous FS595 or FS595A 24087.

The current 24087 from Rapco is not the same as Vietnam-era 24087. It's actually a more brownish shade. You actually have to get Aervoe 24084, (aka Aervoe 997B) to match the Vietnam era OD.

My truck has several areas where three layers of paint are visible: 1) The original base layer is a lusterless, lighter green, which I think is similar to 34087; 2) Then brownish-green 24087 (maybe from the late 50's early 60's); 3) Then blackish-green 24087 (or 24084 as it's known now) on top.

The current 24087 from Rapco matches the second layer of paint in this picture exactly. The current Aervoe 24084 matches the top layer exactly.

As someone else mentioned, I'm sure the colors were constantly changing in the field, whether it was an officially-sanctioned color or improvised with local supplies. So, I would just pick one you like and go with it.

My .02 anyway ...

--Steve

[Nickathome]

I was going to mention the fact that 24087 is not the actual Vietnam era color. Of course I found this out about two months after I painted my truck 24087. Bottom line is, if you are going for 100% authenticity, then you need to research the paint colors some more(David Doyle should chime in here as he has done alot of research into this subject). If like me, you just want a paint scheme that makes the truck appear to be authentic without 99% of the public ever knowing, then 24087 is fine.

Really unless going for a museum quality 100% correct paint job then 24087 is all you need.

Bottom line, I'd go with a minimum of 2 gallons. For a frame off, then probably 3. I did a cosmetic restoration only on my truck, and bought two gallons of Gillespie paint. I used almost a gallon. Mind you, I did not paint under the hood, or under the fenders or the frame etc. And at that I only gave the truck maybe two quick coats of paint. I was only after a uniform color and not much else. I would not go with Aervoe paint though, that paint frankly sucks and will chip off and fade in no time. Spend the money and go with something else.


BTW - I disagree with the above picture captions. What is shown as current 24087 is incorrect. My "current" 24087 looks more like what this man claims is 24084. My paint is much darker than what his current 24087 is pictured to be.

[knattrass]

We bought the rattle can version of Gillespie and were disappointed in the quality of the paint (sorry guys) but it seemed soft and easily marred for the small parts we used. Working for a small auto company here in the "D", the experts said to use acrylic enamel for the correct technology, not a urethane. So, we colored matched the Gillespie at the PPG store and compared it to the federal recipe. It turns out that the federal result was much more "green" so we had to add black to the mix to get to the Gillespie. The result was DelStar brand with reducer & hardner not flatner. The flatner actually chalks the paint to lusterless and does not have the same longevity as the semi/high gloss we ended up with. I have the DelStar formula if interested - but it is about $300/gal total.

[m-11]

knattrass: I have the DelStar formula if interested - but it is about $300/gal total.

Thanks however, I just ordered some Gillespie 383 CARC substitute for my mutt and I'll try it first to see if it is as good as I heard. I'm not looking for a museum quality job just a nice restoration that I can drive. I'll go to the car shows and airshows but not for competion.

[m-37Bruce]

Here's mine. I added Martin-Senuior reducer & hardener.

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