After many years of wishing I finally purchased my first Model T: 1926 Tudor Sedan. I want to take the time to restore this thing to its previous "glory", so naturally I want it to be the original factory painted color. Sometime in the past, this vehicle was subjected to a really poor restoration job where it was painted black. I can look at it and see three layers of paint: the pouter black, and a light blue and green peeking through in places. So, I took a piece of emery paper and sanded light on the windshield support and the attached pics show what I found. Question is, was this car originally blue?

Kevin,

You did it right guy, this is how to do the forensics. Feather out a little more using successive higher grit paper, and then give it a quick wipe with mineral oil dampened rag. The crater boundaries will show each and every 'layer' in its original glory as near as the eye can tell.

As to what color was first or rather original final top-coat finish....depends on the year made! Give us the year and if it is in the black era and USA built the answer will always be 'black' (yet the primer coat 'may' show a hint of blue as in blue-black)

Before gets easier to 'guess', later has a host of possibilities and body style on the later may also be a clue as to 'most probable'.

d'uh....26 tudor...I have the retention span of a flea! Do the test as mentioned, come on back...the original color could have been something else...like 'green' with most of the reported black 'exceptions' occurring in earlier 26 production. .

Darn it, there was a chart of the original colors for the 'improved cars' around here somewhere but I can't find it now? This has been talked about here before. Maybe one of the less 'computer challenged' guys can dredge it up.

See this thread - about 1/2 way down....Jan. 1, 2010...

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/118802/118925.html?1262444896

When I took the emory paper to sand on the windshield pillar, I did wipe it down with a clean rag and xylol. Clean metal is under the blue paint. The second pic shows the color of the blue paint in detail. The car is one of those 1926 Tudor models that is hard to track down precisely because the range of engine numbers can only be tracked down to a Sept. 1925- Feb. 1926 date. The engine is definitely black in color though. Hope that helps.

Kevin

If your motor number isn't available, you could check the frame rail on the chassis for the number given at the factory. That will date your T. T's after Dec 16, 1925 got numeral stamps on the upper frame rail just beside the running board bracket. Lift the floorboards and search carefully, sometimes sandpaper, or rust remover will help, the stamping are faint at times.



If original blue hue is the color on the body it could be Gunmetal Blue, which came along in later '26 and into the final '27 model year.