8N Gray

I found the original gray on my fenders after removing the 're-paint'. The nearest I can describe it is that it looks very much like the gray shade that separates the messages on this board (I assume your screen looks like mine.)

A few years ago I went to my Ford/New Holland Dealer to buy some rattle-cans to spray my rims and they sold me some New Holland Gray. Compared to the original gray I found on my fenders, the rattle-can paint looks lighter, with a slight creamy-yellow tone. It's almost a butternut---Confederate gray, I call it.

Can someone give me a reference number to some name-brand company (Sherwin, PPG, etc.) that I can look at? Also, does TSC sell the correct paints for the old tractors? We have a new TSC in my town, but it won't open until July 4th.

Thanks for any advice.

bottum line----- -You have a lot of room for choices of the shade of gray.

I have used a lot of paint from various stores similiar to TSC, and have had very good luck. A lot of folks on this board won't say that, but I know what works for me. My tractors are kept inside when I am not using them, thats probably the most important thing you can do to preserve the paint. Keeping bird do do off is also a good thing to help.

I happen to believe that a novice painter like me doesn't need to be spending $80 a quart for paint. I am thrilled to paint a hood and not have a run, thats a big accomplishment for me!

• PPG

Q: "What are the correct paint colors for my 8N?" A: Good luck finding 2 restorers who can agree on the "correct" shades of gray or red. I can tell you what I use, but someone else may tell you it's wrong. For the gray, PPG Delstar DAR 31657. This is listed in the old Ditzler books as Ford tractor gray. It's very close to the original color. The red..... ..... everybody's Ford tractor red is different. Even the Ford red they sell at the Ford dealer is too orange. I've matched several good samples of the original 8N "blood red" from inside the air cleaner, behind the running board brackets, etc. I tried to match it up with a ready made formula so as to have a uniform color that I could buy off the shelf rather than custom mix each time I needed some. What I finally came up with, that is a very good match with the original paint, is DuPont Centari C8508 (single stage). It is a General Motors red from the mid 80's. It's my opinion, based on my research, that these 2 colors are very close to the original Ford 8N colors. Other opinions may vary :)