Hi Rich,
I did a lot of research on Colorado red 4 years ago when I had my car shot.
What I concluded was that there is probably more variability in what is
acceptable as original in C. red than in any of the other colors. There are
reference chips available, but it also depends upon which Colorado red you are
talking about. When they switched from Reno red to Colorado red with the BN4,
the initial C. Red was quite orangey, almost Chinese red. As "Colorado red"
continued to be used, it was less and less orange until it was nearly
fire-engine red. -Within that range, I've seen that any red chosen which is
not clearly wrong (too purple, too rose, too dark etc) generally receives no
deduction or a minor one if at all. -Though at serious levels, an early BN4
should probably be quite orange.
As my car came at a fairly late point in the period where the C. red color
shift seemed to have taken place, I felt there was adequate leeway to go with
the shade of red I liked, again, -within the limits of the descriptions in the
better known books and concours guides. The Porsche Guards Red that was
mentioned is a great choice -if you lean toward the less orangey reds, as I
do. I nearly used that on my car, but wound up using a 1960s Ferrari red
(there are actually 3 or more shades of F. red) which is just about the same,
perhaps a shade less orange than Guards red.
I may get flamed for saying so, but with enough attention to what has been
used, and what was original, you can select an appropriate red which also
suits your taste.
Of course, if deviating from accepted paint code numbers, and you have any
color blindness, all bets are off!!!!!
David W. Jones
'62 Mk II BT7 tricarb
Cumberland, RI USA
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