Miata Mailing List: March 1997, Message #81
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   From: (none)

Subject: Re: Yellow Paint Color Question

   Date: (none)



    Jeff Schmatz asked about a slight difference in paint color on his

Yellow between the hood and the rest of the car.

    I can think of two explanations.  One is that the hood may have been

expertly repainted, and even though it is a very good repaint, the fade

rate is slightly different than for the rest of the car.  The second is

that the aluminum hood leads to a very slightly different hue under some

lighting conditions. I have not seen this happen on yellows, but I suppose

it is possible, given that the hood is the only aluminum panel on the

Miata's body.  It is definitely true that the fade rate on other colors

(reds, for example) is different on the plastic bumpers than on the steel

panels.  So the material could possibly be a factor.

    I'll be interested to see other posts on this topic.

    On a related point, Jeff mentioned the three-coat option used on the

Sunburst Yellow.  A few weeks ago, I chatted with Tom Matano about all

this, and heard Tom describe the more recent efforts to develop a new

yellow that will work well with just two coats.  I believe we're talking

about the metallic yellow that is on the M Coupe -- does not use the three

coats.  In any event, taking a new color from initial design through the

chemistry and engineering all the way to production sounds like a lengthy

and expensive process.  Cost is a nontrivial part of the equation!

John Emerson,  1992 Yellow A

Middlebury, Vermont