[68bird400HO]

To me it appears that the charcoal on the wheel in your picture is way lighter than the original PPG 32947 formula. So, are you looking to match that wheel or looking for the original color?

Like you, I have searched and searched for a rattle can that was close to original and that I didn't need to take a loan out for (eg OEM paints). The best match I have found is SEM Trim Paint #39033. It is really close to the Eastwood paint but doesn't have the brown tint at all. It is purely charcoal gray. It has the fine metallic like the original PPG and comes out fairly matte. I laid down a coat of satin clear over it which makes the sheen really close to original. I ordered it from O'Reillys. They didn't have it on the self but can get it. I was about $13 a rattle can. I used less than one can on all five of my wheels.

If you want perfect and you can't get the PPG formula mixed up near you, I would check out the phantom gray. I have seen pictures of it and thought it looked really good but I have not seen it in person. Pictures can be deceiving sometimes. With that said, here are some pictures....

The first picture is of the paints I used on the face of the rim. The next two show a small piece I sprayed with the SEM vs an original paint wheel. The last picture is a comparison of the SEM charcoal to the Eastwood charcoal. The Eastwood is on your right hand side when looking at the picture. You can see how brown it is vs the SEM.

[Philg]

Your obviously a detailed person like myself. Your right about any picture. You have to consider angle and lighting and then kinda guess what the color really is. Thanks for mentioning the other points I am considering. Not only do you have to look at the gray tone but also metalflake content and finish tone.

I was going for the original color but the online pictures I saw showed it as kind of a dull, flat, primer grey. The OEM paint looked very close but had a little more brilliance to it with slightly more metallic and a little lighter tone.

Sem is one I hadn't considered. Thank you, I will look that one up. If you have a straight on face shot of that SEM painted Rim it would be appreciated.

Here's what I am looking at to make my decision. Is the Phantom gray (far right at end) what you saw or thought it was? This is too dark IMO.

Pic 1 "Original", 2 & 3 PPG 32947, 4 different light on the OEM from my 1st post, 6 Phantom Gray Metallic

[68bird400HO]

Originally Posted by Philg

Your obviously a detailed person like myself. Your right about any picture. You have to consider angle and lighting and then kinda guess what the color really is. Thanks for mentioning the other points I am considering. Not only do you have to look at the gray tone but also metalflake content and finish tone.

I was going for the original color but the online pictures I saw showed it as kind of a dull, flat, primer grey. The OEM paint looked very close but had a little more brilliance to it with slightly more metallic and a little lighter tone.

Sem is one I hadn't considered. Thank you, I will look that one up. If you have a straight on face shot of that SEM painted Rim it would be appreciated.

Here's what I am looking at to make my decision. Is the Phantom gray (far right at end) what you saw or thought it was? This is too dark IMO.

Pic 1 "Original", 2 & 3 PPG 32947, 4 different light on the OEM from my 1st post, 6 Phantom Gray Metallic

I am doing a nut & bolt resto on my 71 TA so I am also being extremely picky. You can see in my pics above a close up of the original color. It has a slight metallic to it and a bit of a sheen. Looking at the pictures you added, I think #3 of the PPG looks too light. I would guess that if someone claims they used the formula that is was mixed wrong. Picture #4 looks the same as #3, too light. I don't know if it is just the lighting or not. Pics #1, you can't argue with. When looking at the 40 year old original paint on a very used wheel, it often looks chalky/dirty and could be somewhat faded. I cleaned mine up a bit and found that semi-gloss sheen on it. Picture number #2 looks correct. It is hard to see the sheen or metallic in that picture. Picture #5 is the one I had seen of the Phantom gray. I think it looks a lot like #2 and #1, but again, it is really hard to tell the sheen and metallic at that angle in the shade.

When I first laid down the SEM, I though it was too dark, so, I did some more digging. The response I got was that Eastwood was the best match and was pretty much the standard for restoring these wheels so I ordered a can. I sprayed the second wheel with that and compared the two. IMO the SEM was wayyyy better. It is a bit lighter than the Eastwood and doesn't have that brown to it. I figured if the Eastwood is acceptable by most judging standards then the SEM should be find. You can drive yourself batty trying to match this perfectly and I don't that at the end of the day anyone will be able to tell for sure anyway. To me the SEM is so close that I decided to use it and move on to the next issue.

Here are a few more pictures. The first one is a front shot of the same wheels above. The one on the right is the Eastwood, left is SEM. Second shot is the wheel on my car. It looks darker in the dark garage. Third is an original paint wheel where I taped off some smal l areas and test sprayed a few colors. From left to right Duplicolor (too metallic), Eastwood (too brown), then the SEM.

[Philg]

I would agree with all your statements on the 5 pics. Thanks for adding your pics and taking the time to share your knowledge and experience with me. It really helped. looks Like I'm ordering up some SEM.

I would say to anyone looking at his pics of the Eastwood charcoal gray and not think it's that brown. Take a look at the pic I attached of someone else's green firebird with light reflecting directly at eastwood's "charcoal gray". It's a crime they call that gray. I wasted money on 2 cans of it myself.

It would be interesting to see if someone adds pics to this string of other brands of spray can Charcoal Gray like from OER, Details, Seymore etc.

Best of luck on your 71 TA. I appreciate your eye for detail.

The Blue Formula Rim pic is mine. Don't know what color the insert is. It's almost black, but not for much longer.

Thanks again my Friend,
Phil

[68bird400HO]

Originally Posted by Philg

I would agree with all your statements on the 5 pics. Thanks for adding your pics and taking the time to share your knowledge and experience with me. It really helped. looks Like I'm ordering up some SEM.

I would say to anyone looking at his pics of the Eastwood charcoal gray and not think it's that brown. Take a look at the pic I attached of someone else's green firebird with light reflecting directly at eastwood's "charcoal gray". It's a crime they call that gray. I wasted money on 2 cans of it myself.

It would be interesting to see if someone adds pics to this string of other brands of spray can Charcoal Gray like from OER, Details, Seymore etc.

Best of luck on your 71 TA. I appreciate your eye for detail.

The Blue Formula Rim pic is mine. Don't know what color the insert is. It's almost black, but not for much longer.

Thanks again my Friend,
Phil

Yeah, I have a can of the Eastwood stuff I would like to recoup my $$ on. I guess I should have sold it before posting my results here, LOL.

Just to note, I think the SEM is really close but again, it does look dark unless the sun it on it (as you can see in my pics). But, I think the original color does to some degree too. I bought the Eastwood because I had already sprayed the SEM and thought it was too dark. Then I sprayed the Eastwood and, well, you can see the comparison, it is even a bit darker, and brownish.

I did a little research on the Details line of paints. They are formulated for Chevy wheels. Chevy used the same silver PPG DDL formula that Pontiac used so I think their rally wheel paint is a good match. However, they use a different PPG DDL for their charcoal than Pontiac used. Chevy had a darker, blackish insert on their wheels. Therefore, I never tried the Details charcoal.

BTW, nice Formy 455...

[Mean Green]

These rims were shot with PPG 2847 Dove Grey, 8586 Argent Silver, 32947 Charcoal.

[Norwood]

Originally Posted by Mean Green

These rims were shot with PPG 2847 Dove Grey, 8586 Argent Silver, 32947 Charcoal.

Wheel #2 above is my wheel and they are perfect...

Mean Green's wheel are dead nuts. IMO

[getmygoat]

I would suggest searching the archives... lots of info already written about this topic - I just went through it a few months ago, so you could search for my posts to see some of it - but just search for rally wheel paint and you'll get loads of info - note there at least two charcoal gray colors - one is darker and is pre-1970 or so - another is lighter and is post-1970.

I had paint made up based on the formula you will find in the archives - that seems to be the lighter charcoal grey - which you might be looking for anyway so you could be done. I actually had the paint store match the color of my original spare tire that has never been run - and it is a darn good match.

Anyway, its all in the archives.

[Philg]

WOW Mean Green. That's the best pic I have seen of the Correct 32947. The natural light and angle cleanly shows how it looks. You don't have to decipher shadows or angles here. Do you have a shot of the backsides you could share?

Luckily, Yesterday I did find a place that can identify the PPG number and not cross it to the Phantom Gray.

Here's some more detail for others.
PPG DDL #32947
Name: Charcoal Gray 70 -79 Wheel color paint
Mixing formula:

Color Units (cumulative)
384 Yellow 20
311 White 44
321 Blue 74
358 Black 224
349 Poly 694
DX 265 Flat 984

There is a Dupont supplier near me that can put paint into spray cans but Dupont cannot cross this code as I am told because dupont never made wheel paint. Seems the individual colors formula did not help them either.

So I will mix it with reducer and use one of those Prevail pressurized sprayers with the glass container bottom. Total $60

Someone else hoping to find it in a rattle can shared the pic below. Again sometimes it's about how much pain and time to get there. I'm a glutton for punishment but that $6 can isn't as far off as most I have seen especially if they shot over it with some clear matte finish. A little light, missing some metallics but for some folks 10 minutes to the home improvement store and your back painting aint bad. The upper left (11 o'clock) section is Duplicolor 0331 charcoal gray metallic. Waay too metallic.