Is there any such thing as "standard" paint colours

[Top Card]

Fellow artists,

With regard to the paint colours used by the various manufacturers for backglasses and cabinets, etc is there any such thing as a standard Gottlieb red or Stern purple that they always use ? I have a Stern backglass artwork to restore and I would like to make it as close to the original colours as possible. Therefore I was wondering if anyone knows the Pantone colour code for Stern pinball machines manufactured in 1977, if such a thing exists. As a last resort I will sample the colours of the backglass on IPDB or similar but this colour has been photographed under unknown conditions, saved, viewed over the Internet, downloaded, etc, etc.

Any ideas would be gratefully accepted,
Dan

[Strangeways]

Regarding cabinets ;

The different manufacturers had different base colors that changed across the years. Back in the 60's and 70's Lead Based paint was used, and from what I understand a Gottlieb standard red was different from a Williams standard red. Then you have the finish, which again was different. Then there was webbing and or splatter.

For my restorations, I always find a section of the game that will have the factory colour and finish. Gottlieb red on Pro Football is exactly the same red on High Hand. The base on these two games was not off white, it was cream - exactly the same cream.

I never consult pantone charts etc. I have an expect match the exact color from the original game. I happily pay for the time spent to match the exact color with the exact factory finish.

Backglass ;

Very difficult as original colors rarely stay intact. I'm no expert, so hopefully someone can chime in and help you with that one !

[patric67]

There seems to be a few standard colours that you can use straight out of the tube which appear to be a perfect match for gottlieb playfields. It's hard to believe but vermillion was used as red. It appears as dark orange in the tube. Once applied next to a playfield red it matches perfectly. The brand I have been using is Matisse vermillion (acrylic).