GSX Stripe Shades

Discussion in 'Color is everything!' started by flynbuick, Sep 6, 2006.

  1. flynbuick

    flynbuick Guest

    We had a post about this topic the other day. I want to see if the current and past GSX owners of cars with original paint agree with this:

    The black on the hood is a matt finish ( Some might say flat );

    The black side stripes have more gloss than the black on the hood --perhaps more of a semi gloss but they are clearly not gloss; and

    The red side stripes would be called gloss.


    The back of the headlamp doors were semi-gloss black primer with some overspray the main color of the X. So if is a 70 QQ then the overspray is saturn yellow, if it is a limemist X the overspray is limemist, etc
     
  2. buickx

    buickx Well-Known Member

    Jim,
    I agree with your color selections, but the matt finish on the hood will become semi gloss after several wax's. If your trying to get this paint job as close as possible, remember the stripe jumps at the center of the rear wheels each side. The amount of the jump varies, no two cars were alike. They hardley ever lined the templetes up with each other, My stripes are an exactly tracing of the stripes on a unmolested gsx.
     
  3. flynbuick

    flynbuick Guest

    Thanks for that confirmation.

    Yes I have seen the offset caused by the two part stripe templetes although I only remember it on the passenger side. It is a tough call there kind of like whether you recreate the overspray on the inner fenders or spray the trunk lock mechanism. It is a tough line to draw.
     
  4. Joe Shepard

    Joe Shepard Pure Stock Rocks!

    Hey Jim, this shot was taken a few years back, at the GS Nationals. This is the left side of this car. Joe X.
     

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  5. Joe Shepard

    Joe Shepard Pure Stock Rocks!

    Another, same original paint car. Joe X.
     

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  6. JOE RIV 1

    JOE RIV 1 Well-Known Member

    What is the correct percentage of gloss on the side stripes? Riv
     
  7. Racerx88

    Racerx88 Platinum Level Contributor

    I think those stripes on that original car has been waxed so much over the years they now look gloss. Here's a pic of an X back when it was new. Both the hood and side stripes look semi-gloss almost flat and they appear to match.

    [​IMG]
     
  8. SS-TRUCK

    SS-TRUCK Stage 1 X


    Jim I agree with you it is a tough call but for me mine will not have the off set stripe or the over spray . If I loose points , well so be it .
     
  9. flynbuick

    flynbuick Guest

    I am with you on that. 99% of the people that look at you car will not have the detailed info found here. People will repeatedly ask you about defects or just think you did a sloppy job--in this case just like the factory.
     
  10. WE1

    WE1 Well-Known Member

    Jim,

    For what its worth, my input would follow what your first post described as correct original colors. My original paint QQ car had a satin type finish to the black hood. With years of buffing the hood finish would shine up some but never be to the quality of a gloss paint job. So to describe it as originally matte could be accurate. And the tach housing is of the same satiny finish, but has shined up some over the years with buffing. I'm surprised at the gloss in the stripes apparent in the GSX that Joe took photos of at the Nats. Mine are nothing like that and it has the original finish. The red in the "GSX" quarter decals are faded to white with the exposure to sun and the elements over of the years and remain original also.
    The side stripes seem to be slightly "glossier" but most likely due to years of buffing on the paint. I think originally they were also a satiny finish, but that is just a subjective observation, based on what I think they would have done, if that means anything. But you could tell they certainly were not gloss from the factory.
    I remember seeing two GSX cars new but never really tried to remember looking at things like how much shine or whatever....I was too busy drooling. One we tried to chase down on the interstate with a buddy driving his Fairlane wagon and the lady in the GSX wasn't going to let us catch her. I don't understand......we didn't look like pervs or anything :Do No: :laugh:
     
  11. flynbuick

    flynbuick Guest

    Thanks for that valuable input. I saw one saturn yellow Gsx here back in 70-71. The image stuck in my mind as it was about dusk and I could see the light in the hood tach. The car was stunning. I was a sophmore in engineering school and could not afford the air in the tires then but hoped someday to have one. That day is today.


    I met the factory worker that originally painted the X cars at the 100th in Flint. I wish I had his name and number. For sure he would remember if he used the same paint flatner mix for the hood and the side stripes. Anyone remember his name?
     
  12. Joe Shepard

    Joe Shepard Pure Stock Rocks!

    Yeah Jim, It sure would be great to here from some of the people that worked on these awesome cars at the factory. Sure must have been something, when one of these wild yellow or white beauties rolled down the line, then off to upstairs for the stripe treatment. This is one of my favorite photos from the Natls. Joe X.
     

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  13. flynbuick

    flynbuick Guest



    Well I closely examined the color factory 70 GSX promo pic I have framed. I was immediately struck that the shade of black on the hood and the side stripes were one and the same. I would say the the red pin stripe is not gloss either. The picture has endured the perils of time better than the paint on the cars which have been exposed to polish and sunlight etc.
     
  14. Joe Shepard

    Joe Shepard Pure Stock Rocks!

    Jim, The first photo shows the stripe "jump", just above the left rear wheel well. I also think there are many coats of wax on these stripes. Still a great part of Buick history, that car is. Joe X.
     
  15. Golden Oldie 65

    Golden Oldie 65 Well-Known Member

    I have finally reached the point where I am ready to paint the stripes and hood black on the `70 GSX. From the information I have gathered, I've decided to go with matt black on the hood and semi-gloss black on the side stripes with a slightly glossier red stripe (the car had the original paint on it when I started, and although it was weathered, this is how it looked). Would this be accepted at the nationals? Secondly, if the hood is matt black, what about the hood tach? Would that be semi-gloss, or matt black to match the hood? It appears to have been semi-gloss originally, but like I mentioned earlier, the car was weathered.

    I've already done the yellow overspray on the headlight bezels but I don't plan to do the stripe overspray on the door jambs, etc. like they were from the factory, nor do I plan to do the crooked side stripe "jump" on the quarters. I want it to be as correct as possible without having it sloppy looking. Thanks. You guys have been a huge help with this project.

    Bill
     
  16. #7

    #7 Well-Known Member

    Jim,
    I saw this post this morning and finially saw an oppertunity to help the people that have been helping me. On my car, which has not really been in direct sunlight since 1976, all of what you say seems to be true. I am not a paint expert, but hood black does seem a bit different than side stripe black. Is this real or am I being fooled by looking at a larger paint field? Hood tach is the same as the black on the hood.
    The red does seem glossier than the black, but not as glossy as the apollo white.
    I have more overspray on one headlight bezel than the other.
    There are upsets in the red stripes on both quarters, at the door handles, and on top of the rear spoiler.
    Would it help to ask Mark Reeves, Duane Heckman, and Dave Kliner what paint they have used in the past? If I understand right these guys have restored award winning cars in the past.
    Finially, if anyone is coming to, or is in the Chicago area, and would like to take a look at the car, they are more than welcome. The more documemtation the better.
    Thanks Bill.
     
  17. 71GSX455-4SPD

    71GSX455-4SPD Nick Serwo Magic Car

    I know this is an old thread just come back to life, but I thought I'd add that the back of my original headlamp doors on my '71 Limemist car were not painted primer. They weren't painted at all.
     
  18. buickx

    buickx Well-Known Member


    Well I painted mine in 1987.....with the jump in the stripe....and there is no reason to have it "sloppy looking "....The strips were exactly as on another GSX that had not been repainted, which I think It still not repainted today. There are no crooked lines in it, it just has a jump in it about 1/8 inch, being straight from the left to the jump, and straight from the right, to the jump.
    years ago it was unknown, but today every one knows about it, that it was a factory mistake, varing between cars...
     
  19. n2buick

    n2buick Well-Known Member

    I know the amount of overspray on the headlight bezels has been questioned in the past.
    I'm sure, like a lot of things, it may have varied car to car, shift to shift.
    He are a couple shots from an original unmolested X.

    Jeff
     
  20. bignastyGS

    bignastyGS Maggot pilot

    Although I don't have an X, I can post this recent picture of an original white 4 speed X 1/4 panel stripe mismatch. Both sides were the same too..
     

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