Correct Color Scheme

[Wulfman]

For my '52, I am planning on black for the chassis and the correct OD for the '52. Gillespie seems to be the choice. 23070 OD for WWII thru '55 Mil Vehicles. Questions. Red or gray primer? Primer, 3 coats, ID 3 coats. Get the primer from Gillespie as well.

There are so many different colors on the darned thing but the overall looks like black for the chassis. I've seen the numbers posted for the code before but if someone can post, that would be great.

Were the insides of the wheel wells facing the engine compartment black and OD outside or are all body panels OD. The bumper was OD. I've seen people paint the whole thing OD including drivetrain. The Tranny and Xfr are/were OD, the engine is silver. What's the correct way to do this to keep it historically accurate.

[Bruce]

Gillespie Coatings 4 Sure

In the field, when repainting was necessary, it was up to the Motor Sgt/NCOIC of the Motor Pool.
Most of the time, everything was painted 24087 (might be dif #) I chose another shade. I started off doing the blk thing on the under carriage, but switched to the od thing.



Post a pic, I don't remember the # of my paint, but Gillespie. If you navigate around my webshots you should come across it?

[Mike L.]

When I stripped my truck, my primer colors were black on the box and red on most of the cab (doors, fenders, etc.) There were a few parts forward of the box that were black primer but that seemed the general rule of thumb on mine. I have been attempting to do the same as you in my repaint-at least on the topcoat. I've been using a DTM epoxy primer for most of my project. Some have written they notice shade differences depending on the primer colors but I haven't noticed a difference after two coats of OD over the few red and black primered parts. Maybe they are only putting one topcoat on, don't know.

Some of my parts bolted to the frame, like the hold down brackets, were also painted black like the chassis. It seemed, with my truck, all the sheet metal was OD to include the engine panels, inside & out; chassis was black; engine was silver, etc. My perception was that the panels and parts were pre-painted OD or whatever color they were going to be painted prior to assembly; assembled to the cab, box, or engine/drivetrain assembly (as appropriate); and the completed cab/box/engine assembled to the black frame as it rolled down the line. Maybe some touchup/spot painting near the end of the assembly line to cover the body/cab panel fasteners? At some point the fasteners were painted and that is the only think I hadn't figured out yet as some fasteners couldn't have been painted over without the frame getting oversprayed (to include the wiring harness clips). So, I presumed most bolts/clips on the frame, engine mounts, would not have been painted but rather finished with whatever the specs called for on that fastener (like what is listed in ORD 9 SNL G-741) when it rolled off the line, probably a cad plating for most of it. Along this same discussion is other fasteners/hdwe may also have been left unpainted depending on when it was attached to the vehicle.

I just don't see much opportunity to be doing much/any painting once parts start getting assembled on the production line. But, they were put together 50+ years ago and streamlined production concepts may have been different than I imagine them today. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the assembly line looked like then, nor talked to anyone who remembers seeing a truck fresh out of the factory/delivered or any good photos of one. The only photos of "factory fresh" trucks are either in the TMs or of too little resolution to be helpful and all in B&W.

There has been a substantial amount of discussion on the paint scheme at the G741.org site as well on other sites. Lots of good research posted but still some areas for interpretation if you are into the nit-picky details.

[Wulfman]

Color Scheme

Thanks Mike. I've got the chassis and all chassis parts painted black and the sheet metal will be Gillespie OD, which I have to yet order thru Rapco. I still have to have the body parts blasted and have two more screws to grind off for the bed to come apart.