AUUUUGGGGHHHH!!! Ready to hang up the restoration

Johnnys70SRT · April 21, 2009, 03:37:01 PM

So here I am 20 years later. My car is so close to being painted that I can taste it. Went to the bodyshop today and they have actually made progress after I got on their case. I actually helped out for about 3 hours today and felt good about it.
Discussed how much paint was needed and told the owner I would have it by the end of the week for him. They want to get the car in the booth and keep it there until it is completely painted inside and out. So, it actually looks like there is hope and I came home all energetic and pumped up.
I call my local Dupont distributor and order the paint from him, only to get a call back about 20 minutes later, stating that Dupont has discontinued the paint color I chose (Purple Rhapsody 741516). I don't believe him so I call another distributor and they tell me the same thing. Finally I call Dupont direct and they comfirm that the color is discontinued.

I just found this color at the Dupont display in September 2008, discussed it with the Dupont rep., and now it's discontinued. This is my luck I guess. I have looked at hundreds of purples and this one was exactly what I wanted. No other purple caught my attention like this one did. My car was originally Red, but I wanted it to be something different since I was making a resto-mod out of it. I'm not hacking the car up, so that if I decide to sell it in the future (which I'm getting pretty close with all the frustration I'm dealing with), it could be put back to original.
If only my friends had left the car alone 20 years ago. I could actually be driving it right now and enjoying it, instead of dealing with all this B.S.. So now it is back to square one in searching for a paint color. I do not want to go with the original Red since there are so many out there. I want this car to stand out from others.
If any of you know where I could get the HotHues 741516 Purple Rhapsody paint, please let me know. For now I think I'm gonna go have me a couple brewski's to ease the pain. As always, thanks for your input.

69bronzeT5 · April 21, 2009, 03:39:45 PM

Sorry for your bad luck but what can you do. You just gotta look at the silver lining...you have a Charger that's ready for paint. Some of us here wish are cars were that close to being finished.

grdprx · April 21, 2009, 03:46:37 PM

Someone in the Paint section might be able to help...

ChgrSteve67 · April 21, 2009, 04:26:02 PM

I quit counting all of the things that have pissed me off and the times I have been screwed durring the rebuilding of my Charger. I figure its just part of the hobby.

Is always frusturating to have a great plan stepped on.

I'm currently waiting on a upholster to get off his dead a$$ and finish my door panels and center arm rests. These are the last pieces I need in order to finish my Charger.

You know what color you want its just a matter of finding another one thats close.

I'm actually kind of suprised that you can't have the color you are after mixed up. Paint codes and computer mixing instructions? I wonder what makes this color so special. But then again I'm no paint guy either.

Drink a few beers, get over it and move on. What else can you do?

Helps to vent though. Of course that what we are here for.

Oh I almost forgot. WHERE ARE THE PICTURES?

Steve

Charger1973 · April 21, 2009, 04:29:57 PM

I dont think I have seen a color yet that looks bad on a 70. They had some real wild colors that year so pretty much anything looks good. You say you want it to stand out, how about FM3?

1969chargerrtse · April 21, 2009, 04:34:57 PM

As my car sits in my garage leaking gas, oil, power steering fluid, trani fluid, and anitfreeze around the exhaust bolts after investing 45,000.00 in it in less than two years I would swap our issues in a heart beat.
I would take the red over purple also. I never found red Chargers to be common? In fact I though it was a highly sought after color to have an original red Charger.
Go have a few

and you'll be fine. I understand your frustration, but that was a lot of

for the color issue in my

That does suck though.

Dans 68 · April 21, 2009, 04:36:36 PM

I agree, have a few beers and relax. I have been there (albeit with carpet on a remodel I did) but it is a frustrating experience. You'll be fine.

Dan

bull · April 21, 2009, 04:58:00 PM

Not to minimize your situation but if that's been your only or biggest problem so far I'd say you're doing very, very well. I certainly wouldn't say to hell with it based on a lack of the perfect purple.

Johnnys70SRT · April 21, 2009, 05:18:43 PM

Thanks for your support guys. It helps to have people you can vent to that understand where you are coming from. Gotta read up on how to post pictures correctly. Last time I did it, they were too large. Once I figure it out, I will post more pictures for all of you.
Maybe this is just a sign telling me to stay with the original color??? Ever since I decided on painting it purple, it has been a constant up-hill battle. Needless to say, I have some decisions to make. Probably going to stay with a factory color so there will be a paint formula if I ever need any retouching done.
By the way, Dupont told me the fac-pac colors were made in very large quantities at their lab with no formula to back it up. The customer service rep. told me is was a one-time mix and once it all was sold, they would not make anymore. The bright side to this whole scenario is the fact that my car is NOT painted yet. I could only imagine my frustration if I was trying to repair damage on the car right now and could not get any paint to match the existing color. OUCH!! So, I guess it could always be worse.
I am fortunate to own this very clean California car. I just regret letting my friends take it apart to restore it cause it was not all that bad to begin with. When it is all said and done I know I will have a spectacular looking 70 Charger though. There's gonna be a big party once this thing is done!!!!!

dads_69 · April 21, 2009, 05:22:58 PM

Try crossing it over to another paint line. House Of Kolor would be your best brand to start with. Or at least a close enough purple for what you want.
www.houseofkolor.com

Mark

1969chargerrtse · April 21, 2009, 05:24:55 PM

Quote from: Johnnys70SRT on April 21, 2009, 05:18:43 PM
Thanks for your support guys. It helps to have people you can vent to that understand where you are coming from. Gotta read up on how to post pictures correctly. Last time I did it, they were too large. Once I figure it out, I will post more pictures for all of you.
Maybe this is just a sign telling me to stay with the original color??? Ever since I decided on painting it purple, it has been a constant up-hill battle. Needless to say, I have some decisions to make. Probably going to stay with a factory color so there will be a paint formula if I ever need any retouching done.
By the way, Dupont told me the fac-pac colors were made in very large quantities at their lab with no formula to back it up. The customer service rep. told me is was a one-time mix and once it all was sold, they would not make anymore. The bright side to this whole scenario is the fact that my car is NOT painted yet. I could only imagine my frustration if I was trying to repair damage on the car right now and could not get any paint to match the existing color. OUCH!! So, I guess it could always be worse.
I am fortunate to own this very clean California car. I just regret letting my friends take it apart to restore it cause it was not all that bad to begin with. When it is all said and done I know I will have a spectacular looking 70 Charger though. There's gonna be a big party once this thing is done!!!!!

Well, now that you said that, I can say I would take the Red over the purple any day and it's nice to be able to say your car is the original color. Many cars may be Red but that's because it is so desirable. To have a original Red charger is super Cool.

Don't get me wrong Original Purple is great also, if it came that way.

My car is kick ass orange, but when asked I have to say, no it's not original

. As for the pictures, I used the paint option on my computer and resized them down under edit.

Dodge Don · April 21, 2009, 06:15:28 PM

You really want to stand out??? Go Panther Pink. It works on a 70!!

Rolling_Thunder · April 21, 2009, 06:43:33 PM

just a dumb question - why not ask dupont for the mixing code and just have some made ?

Dans 68 · April 21, 2009, 06:53:07 PM

Quote from: Rolling_Thunder on April 21, 2009, 06:43:33 PM
just a dumb question - why not ask dupont for the mixing code and just have some made ?

He mentioned that there was no formula, and that it was made up in a single large batch.

Dan

bakerhillpins · April 21, 2009, 06:53:45 PM

Quote from: Rolling_Thunder on April 21, 2009, 06:43:33 PM
just a dumb question - why not ask dupont for the mixing code and just have some made ?

Yea, I was thinking the same thing?

I'm sure someone out there must be able to match this color, body shops have to do this sort of thing all the time when they repair cars yes?

EDIT - whoops, looks like there is a reason to review a post if someone else posted while I typed it up...

captnsim · April 21, 2009, 07:02:33 PM

Second page, Second paragraph mentions machine mix formulas?? Seems odd a company like Dupont has no codes for bodymen and paint shops...Maybe you need to go up the Dupont command ladder a few rungs?
http://pc.dupont.com/HotHues/deployedContent/en/us/html/images/prod_HOTCOLORpg_ER3831.pdf

Ghoste · April 21, 2009, 07:15:02 PM

Based on the hassle of getting it, I would choose something else and the first thing I'd want to know is the mix formula (it was your comment about matching a touch up).

Fitz73Chrgr · April 21, 2009, 07:51:03 PM

Quote from: Dodge Don on April 21, 2009, 06:15:28 PM
You really want to stand out??? Go Panther Pink. It works on a 70!!

Oh please no...I know some people like FM3, but there is no way I could drive a pink car. If I had an original FM3 car, I would change the color. Plum Crazy though, now that is a cool color.

mauve66 · April 21, 2009, 08:06:04 PM

i say try something newer and ya know that touch up will be available for many years, 2005 Go Mango, also known as Tangerine Pearl per Dodge color codes

Rolling_Thunder · April 21, 2009, 08:17:45 PM

thats why all my cars are painted 2000 or newer toyota colors haha

captnsim · April 21, 2009, 08:19:07 PM

Quote from: Rolling_Thunder on April 21, 2009, 08:17:45 PM
thats why all my cars are painted 2000 or newer toyota colors haha

Johnnys70SRT · April 21, 2009, 09:35:34 PM

Ok I'm going to give this picture thing a shot again. Here is what my car looked like before the restoration. I know the car will look incredible once it's done, but I also think back on the 20 years of cruising I missed out on. I'm gonna stick with it and finish this car so I can enjoy it once again. I know I'm not the first one to encounter many problems with a restoration, but it does get overwhelming at times. Guess the difficult times make me forget about how great of a car I actually started with.
Let me know what you think of the "starting out" pics. Thanks again to all of you for keeping my spirits up.

captnsim · April 21, 2009, 09:40:47 PM

Man that is sweet red!!!! With the black top, seats...just change out the red carpet for black

My vote is for the factory colour

69bronzeT5 · April 21, 2009, 09:41:17 PM

That's way better than what I started out with

69*F5*SE · April 21, 2009, 09:54:20 PM

Quote from: 69bronzeT5 on April 21, 2009, 09:41:17 PM
That's way better than what I started out with

I agree

same here.

Rolling_Thunder · April 22, 2009, 01:09:09 AM

Quote from: captnsim on April 21, 2009, 08:19:07 PM
Quote from: Rolling_Thunder on April 21, 2009, 08:17:45 PM
thats why all my cars are painted 2000 or newer toyota colors haha

Well - here's the thing... the white is brighter than the stock WW1 white... and the gray stripe just looks kick ass IMO

captnsim · April 22, 2009, 02:05:19 AM

Quote from: Rolling_Thunder on April 22, 2009, 01:09:09 AM
Quote from: captnsim on April 21, 2009, 08:19:07 PM
Quote from: Rolling_Thunder on April 21, 2009, 08:17:45 PM
thats why all my cars are painted 2000 or newer toyota colors haha

Well - here's the thing... the white is brighter than the stock WW1 white... and the gray stripe just looks kick ass IMO

I was just hacking on ya. I own a 72 FJ40 and I love it even with the cheby 350 in it...

Charger1973 · April 22, 2009, 03:34:28 AM

That car does look pretty sweet in red....

1969chargerrtse · April 22, 2009, 05:02:31 AM

Again, an original Red charger is tops.

Beautiful car. You talk about problems with a restoration. Please start at the beginning of my thread.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,34954.460.html

And there are worst stories out there. ( Maybe )

mopar0166 · April 22, 2009, 06:45:18 AM

stay focused on the prize, thats my best advice. if you can get the color you want, see if you can get it mixed?

other then that a little patience will go a long way to having a fun summer with the charger. Its true in my case, i keep pushing off paint cuase i lov to drive my car so much.

Fitz73Chrgr · April 22, 2009, 10:05:31 AM

Quote from: Johnnys70SRT on April 21, 2009, 09:35:34 PM
Let me know what you think of the "starting out" pics.

It almost looks like it was already restored in those pics!

Johnnys70SRT · April 23, 2009, 11:28:22 AM

So I get a phone call from the original Dupont distributor today. He says, "Guess what, I have good news for you. Dupont just released the paint formulas today,for the discontinued HotHues colors." I am sort of stunned after he tells me this. I talked directly with Dupont and they said there was no formula for the color I wanted.
I just spent the last 2 days debating what I should do with the car color. Looked at old pictures and hundreds of Chargers on-line. Finally, my wife and I came up with the decision to go with the FK5 factory color. Saw a few FK5's with the black stripe/black vinyl and they looked pretty good.
I did look at my original pictures and I will admit the FE5 red does look sharp with the black top, but I'm just looking for something different. If I had an original R/T or Hemi car, I would definitely stay with the original color. I saw the purple rhapsody color on a car at the GoodGuys show and it really caught my attention. It is a deep purple that looks like you could walk right into the paint of the car. You would have to see it upclose to understand completely.
I found a 1954 Ford Crown Vic (sorry it's not a Mopar) on-line that was painted the purple rhapsody color. I have included the image so you can tell me what you think (of the color that is). The picture does not do it 100% justice as compared to seeing it in person.
By the way, I have read some of your restoration threads and I have to admit that I don't have 1/10th of the issues some of you have had. Sure made me step back and realize just how good I have it. As mopar0166 stated, "keep your mind on the prize." This is my goal.

dodgecharger-fan · April 23, 2009, 11:59:17 AM

That's a good looking colour!

I'd put that on a car if was doing something different than stock, for sure.

challenger70 · April 23, 2009, 03:53:48 PM

Quote from: dodgecharger-fan on April 23, 2009, 11:59:17 AM
That's a good looking colour!

I'd put that on a car if was doing something different than stock, for sure.

Sweet color, I'd go with it

hemi-hampton · April 23, 2009, 08:04:10 PM

Looks more blue then Purple, Is it a flip flop Pearl color? LEON.

RusTy/SE · April 23, 2009, 08:15:47 PM

These are the formulas my shop showed me. The Dark Plum Pearcoat is going on a street rod body - they described it to me as "flip- flop" - the Plum Crazy Poly will be going on my Challenger. A scrap door was shot half and half for comparison.

jb666 · April 23, 2009, 09:08:43 PM

That is a gorgeous color!!!

TA70455 · April 23, 2009, 10:34:38 PM

[quote author=Johnnys70SRT link=topic=56299.msg627373#msg627373 date=12403523

Thanks for your support guys. It helps to have people you can vent to that understand where you are coming from. Gotta read up on how to post pictures correctly. Last time I did it, they were too large. Once I figure it out, I will post more pictures for all of you.
Maybe this is just a sign telling me to stay with the original color??? Ever since I decided on painting it purple, it has been a constant up-hill battle. Needless to say, I have some decisions to make. Probably going to stay with a factory color so there will be a paint formula if I ever need any retouching done.
By the way, Dupont told me the fac-pac colors were made in very large quantities at their lab with no formula to back it up. The customer service rep. told me is was a one-time mix and once it all was sold, they would not make anymore. The bright side to this whole scenario is the fact that my car is NOT painted yet. I could only imagine my frustration if I was trying to repair damage on the car right now and could not get any paint to match the existing color. OUCH!! So, I guess it could always be worse.
I am fortunate to own this very clean California car. I just regret letting my friends take it apart to restore it cause it was not all that bad to begin with. When it is all said and done I know I will have a spectacular looking 70 Charger though. There's gonna be a big party once this thing is done!!!!!

[/quote]

472 R/T SE · April 24, 2009, 12:23:43 AM

Wow, it's not often someone with a red car wants to paint their ride burnt orange, usually it's the other way around. It's also rare to see a red or today's flavor black, on a car that came from the factory in that hue.
I don't blame you for leaning towards fk5, in the light it's a stunning shade. Of course I'm bias for purple though.

Congrats on being this far in the game.

Good luck in whatever you do and like my Mom used to tell me, "Keep yer chin up."

Johnnys70SRT · April 28, 2009, 09:10:17 AM

Well I pulled the trigger on Saturday and had the purple rhapsody paint mixed for my Charger. It looked awesome even though it was only in the can. Cost me just under $1k (ouch) but I believe it will be worth it in the end.
Called Dupont on Monday and talked to someone who had a clue. He told me they did NOT discontinue my color and actually faxed me the formula for future reference. He said the other employees I talked to did not have the proper information. So, this must be a sign of positive things to come.
Talked with the bodyshop today and they are going to start painting late this week. Finally, some progress. I will keep you all updated and hopefully provide more pictures as the COLOR is sprayed.
My question to you is, should I start another thread or keep this one going?? I just don't want to mess up this great forum.
Thanks for all the info and support you have provided me, to keep me going.

Dans 68 · April 28, 2009, 09:25:20 AM

Keep the thread going, but just change the thread title!

Dan

FlatbackFanatic · April 28, 2009, 09:33:28 AM

That color is going to look sweet on your car. I can't wait to see the finished product!!

hemi-hampton · April 28, 2009, 11:44:25 PM

Like usuall, talk to 3 different people & get 3 different answers

68charger383 · April 29, 2009, 12:04:02 AM

That purple is really nice and I look forward to seeing pics of your car after its painted. Honestly, when I heard purple, I thought it would be the color of the rug the sample car is parked on.

Johnnys70SRT · May 14, 2009, 05:22:04 PM

This is the 3rd time I have typed this and now I'm pi$$@d. I try to add the 2 thumbs guy to the end of my message then EVERYTHING disappears.
Anyhow, my Charger is moving to shop #7 on Friday. The current shop owner told me he could NOT provide me with any kind of completion date. In other words, my Charger was going to keep getting pushed to the side as it has for the past 4 years. I talked with his painter on Tuesday and it seemed to me that if they would start working on it, they were going to try and take every shortcut possible, just to get it done. For example, he said they were just going to undercoat the inner fender and shock well area, even though it is BARE metal. Any idiot knows that is not a good idea. So rather than get an expensive hack job, I have decided to pull the car.
So I found another shop willing to do it and my Charger will be making the trip there early Friday morning. We deal with this bodyshop at work and I believe they will do an excellent job for me. They have a very large shop and all the latest equipment. Another nice thing is that the shop is only 5 minutes from work, so I can keep an eye on their progress. They have seen pictures and video of the car and claim they should be able to have it done in 12 weeks or less with a stellar paint job.
If it were not for all of you I would have given up long ago. Now I have "ONE GOAL" in mind and that is to complete this Charger so I can enjoy it. If everything goes well, I hope to post pictures of the Charger with some color on it in the next week.
Thanks again for the support!!!

ChgrSteve67 · May 14, 2009, 05:51:07 PM

I'm suprised they told you the truth. Most places string you along and get it half way so they can charge as much as possible with as little amount of work done.

Glad to hear you found another shop that can get it done for you.

News:

AUUUUGGGGHHHH!!! Ready to hang up the restoration