David Ritenburgh
New User
I have noticed that there were several discussions on paint in the past year. I was the Chairman of the Minneapolis Moline Collectors paint committee 10 years ago when a lot of research was done on paint colors and applications. We started out by trying to determine what manufacturer had paint colors for MM tractors that were closest to the original colors. We had dozens of samples of what several people thought were the "best match"; we then compared them to samples which were sprayed from cans of paint that MM sold through their dealers back in the 40's 50's 60's and 70's. Bottom line, we really didn't find any that were a good match to the original colors or even to another paint supplier's color. We then decided we needed to set a "standard" for what we felt the color should be. I went to many manufacturers and industry experts, and they generaly agreed that aged paint even if not exposed to sunlight would change over time once sprayed. The general consensus was that the best solution was to get samples of paint in the original cans and use that as a baseline standard. We then got, in most cases, several cans of each color of paint from the collections of MM enthusiasts. The age of the cans was determined by the logos on the cans. MM used different logos in different time periods, and we used that to age the samples. MM sold these cans of paint in those periods to serve as repair parts for their products, therefore, were considered to be the best source for accurate colors. As far as Prairie Gold goes, PG1, PG2 and PG3 were not color names that were ever used by MM. These names were something I personally came up with to help differentiate between the different shades used in different time periods. I know there have been names such as Power yellow and Energy yellow published in some books and articles, but evidence suggests that MM did not consistently used these names in marketing. PG1 was identified as the original color used by MM in the early years. This color is NOT what we see painted on most restored tractors of this era. This color has kind of a greenish brown tint, and a lot of people really don't like the color. Dozens of original tractors were inspected and it was fairly clear that this color was used until after WWII. We found a can of Prairie Gold paint with a label which was used in the early 40's, mixed it up, and sprayed samples. This is what we used for the standard for this color. It was generally in the ballpark of what we saw on numerous samples of original paint from that era, although no two samples of the aged paint were alike. PG2 was used after the war until about 1959; this color is what most MM people consider to be Prairie Gold and is what most paint suppliers tried to duplicate. PG3 was developed with the introduction of the two tone GVI, M5 and 4 stars; the shade changed again to a little darker shade. I believe this was done because it complimented the Bronze Metallic color better. In approximately 1962, the two tone colors changed from Bronze Metallic to Dyna Brown. This is about the time that the gold changed to the yellow that was used until the end of production.
The paint committee went to the major paint manufacturers, asked them to match our standard colors, and assign them a code which could be used to mix the colors in any store. Each manufacturer declined. I then located a supplier who was willing to match our colors and ship paint to anywhere in the US. This supplier is a Sherwin Williams distributor in Arizona; the phone is 623 931 2421 or 602 269 5624 www.equipmentcolor.com. I have sample sheets of the color standards and take them to most MM national shows if anyone would like to see them. If anyone knows of another supplier willing to match these samples and ship nationally, please let me know. Also, PPG has a PG1 and PG2 color, Please dont't try to associate this with our PG1 and PPG2, they are generally between the two in shade. I would also caution against trying to determine a shade on a computor screen. Have you ever gone to a TV store and noticed the color differences from screen to screen?
The statements I have made are in many cases the opinion of myself and the paint committee after much research and are always open to discussion. MM did a lot of unusual things with paint and I am sure there are many exceptions to these general observations.
The paint committee went to the major paint manufacturers, asked them to match our standard colors, and assign them a code which could be used to mix the colors in any store. Each manufacturer declined. I then located a supplier who was willing to match our colors and ship paint to anywhere in the US. This supplier is a Sherwin Williams distributor in Arizona; the phone is 623 931 2421 or 602 269 5624 www.equipmentcolor.com. I have sample sheets of the color standards and take them to most MM national shows if anyone would like to see them. If anyone knows of another supplier willing to match these samples and ship nationally, please let me know. Also, PPG has a PG1 and PG2 color, Please dont't try to associate this with our PG1 and PPG2, they are generally between the two in shade. I would also caution against trying to determine a shade on a computor screen. Have you ever gone to a TV store and noticed the color differences from screen to screen?
The statements I have made are in many cases the opinion of myself and the paint committee after much research and are always open to discussion. MM did a lot of unusual things with paint and I am sure there are many exceptions to these general observations.