HelloKitty65
SILVER Star
Roof color sometimes depends on body color.
For example, spring green was paired with tan bezels and roofs for a number of years.
FJ40 Roof OEM Color Code ?
- Thread starter FJ4013
- Start date
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I told my painter cygnus white... and to color match under the fiberglass top where the weatherstriping was.
Mine is March of 79 build...
Mine is March of 79 build...
Roof isn’t painted.......it’s gelcoat which is the surface layer/coating of the actual fiberglass roof as it set up in the mould Toyota used. gelcoat Is the polyester resin which carries a pigment and when cured adds all sorts of strength so they could extract it from the mould.
Gelcoat has a luster which paint cannot yield because it’s so thick. When mixing the base color with the gel it yields an almost milky look which then dries and has an almost pearly look. new paint can be shiny...but just not a deep thick look.
The only way to get that deep luster with paint is with 2-3coats of base and 9-10coats of gloss like done on a Rolls Royce. On a Rolls it’s about a $20k paint job.
gelcoat is relatively cheap @ around $180 for a 2 part system/ West Marine. Etc.(40 top coverage with a bunch to spare)
Can be sprayed or brushed on with good effect. Sprayer needs thinning and more coats. brushing I did 2 coats with a 3rd layer on the curve as too thick of a coat will sag/thin out if laid on too thick.
gelcoat has great durability compared to paint mainly due to its thickness and uber high UV resistance and the fact that it doesn’t crack like paint when the fiberglass flexes../. Think Boats hulls with twice the sun exposure due to direct and reflected uv. This is why Mr. T used a gelcoat and why some of the later 80-84 tops are still lookin good at 30+years old. It was part of the mould /fiberglass top making process.....not an additional process like painting.
but again......this was 40years ago. paints have come a long way and high end paints like Awlgrip (badass Marine paint)nowadays can keep up but are pricey and take a bunch more prep and painterly skill. gelcoat is much more of a mass production product......goes on real thick and wears like iron and is a lot cheaper than comparable durability paints.
Basically you are sanding down the polyester layer/ coating and pigment layer which at some point is mixed/bonded into the fiberglass. and you are essentially applying a new exterior layer that was actually the base layer in Toyotas fiberglass mould when they were popping these roofs out mass production style.
according to the boat guys...gelcoat has a 25-30yr life whereas paint is 12-15yr.
Gelcoat has a luster which paint cannot yield because it’s so thick. When mixing the base color with the gel it yields an almost milky look which then dries and has an almost pearly look. new paint can be shiny...but just not a deep thick look.
The only way to get that deep luster with paint is with 2-3coats of base and 9-10coats of gloss like done on a Rolls Royce. On a Rolls it’s about a $20k paint job.
gelcoat is relatively cheap @ around $180 for a 2 part system/ West Marine. Etc.(40 top coverage with a bunch to spare)
Can be sprayed or brushed on with good effect. Sprayer needs thinning and more coats. brushing I did 2 coats with a 3rd layer on the curve as too thick of a coat will sag/thin out if laid on too thick.
gelcoat has great durability compared to paint mainly due to its thickness and uber high UV resistance and the fact that it doesn’t crack like paint when the fiberglass flexes../. Think Boats hulls with twice the sun exposure due to direct and reflected uv. This is why Mr. T used a gelcoat and why some of the later 80-84 tops are still lookin good at 30+years old. It was part of the mould /fiberglass top making process.....not an additional process like painting.
but again......this was 40years ago. paints have come a long way and high end paints like Awlgrip (badass Marine paint)nowadays can keep up but are pricey and take a bunch more prep and painterly skill. gelcoat is much more of a mass production product......goes on real thick and wears like iron and is a lot cheaper than comparable durability paints.
Basically you are sanding down the polyester layer/ coating and pigment layer which at some point is mixed/bonded into the fiberglass. and you are essentially applying a new exterior layer that was actually the base layer in Toyotas fiberglass mould when they were popping these roofs out mass production style.
according to the boat guys...gelcoat has a 25-30yr life whereas paint is 12-15yr.
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thebigredrocker
SILVER Star
I like the 033 white single stage. It’s closer to plain white than Cygnus. It looks like a really light bone color to me. Are you sure your top is body color. It looks a shade lighter. Maybe it’s just the lighting.
middlecalf
SILVER Star
Yeah I was wondering why the discussions never went the gelcoat route since that's what was OEM. Of course, I used Bus Kote (Insulating roof paint for buses, recreational vehicles) cuz' I'm a
bcsteel
SILVER Star
Gallon. Judging on what was left over from painting my top, it took about 3/4 of a gal.
- Thread starter
- #29
It's the lighting. My roof color is identical to my body color.
How did toyota paint the metal drip edge if the cap wasn’t painted too? They certainly didn’t paint the metal edge before assembly or the rivets would be bare metal.
Toyota clearly used gelcoat like any other manufacturer of finished fiberglass bodywork, but they painted over it.
Today’s urethane paints typically achieve a 20-30yr life.
Also, nobody’s looking for deep rolls-Royce gloss in a FJ40 fiberglass cap. It just doesn’t suit the part. It would look weird.
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To paint just the roof? That’s a crazy amount of paint for one roof cap. Especially when you consider the fact that that’s probably over a gallon once reduced and hardener is added.
I don’t recall if the rivets were buried under the gelcoat in the rail or not. If they were that would mean Toyota laid up the rail in the mould and finished riveting underside post mould possibly.
Nevertheless- gelcoat is super easy, cheap and durable for a top that doesn’t get much upclose viewing. Which is why I tried it out and left the rail somewhat patina’d (rusty) to keep with the current patina. 30-45min sanding prep...and brush on gelcoat doesn’t really get much easier. I spent a ton more time on the inside doing Lizard Skin ceramic which is great in the calif. Sun for reducing heat transfer.
Rivets were buried under seam sealer on top and painted on the bottom. You can’t buck rivets after installing seam sealer.
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the sample color chips I am getting for Cygnus white are almost bone! Do you remember the actual code?
GA Architect
SILVER Star
I was having some other work done on another car at a Toyota shop, so I asked them to paint a few things Cygnus white 012.
Catching Neutral
GOLD Star
Same answer as one to the other ”top” thread. My 40 is paint code 031 and in certain lighting the top (original) and bezel (CCOT) look the same and in other lighting you can tell the top and bezel are a shade whiter than 031. Clearly they are not Pure white.
Catching Neutral
GOLD Star
Forgot to add....nor are they 031
I cant remember where I read, but I thought 79 and later model fj40’s had 033 white for both the bezel and the top. Earlier than that Cygnus white was used. Early 60’s fj40‘s had shell ivory which is more of a beige.
Nah, just looks tan compared to the body color.
The background color makes a huge difference in how the white bezel and roof look to the eye.
Just to put this out there, when I gave some codes to Endura, from Paint ref, based on the name Cygnus White they didn't come up with anything.
Paint ref has the code Toyota as "012" once she used the name "Cygnus White", the code came back from her system as "T012" and that is a valid code.
FYI.
Paint ref has the code Toyota as "012" once she used the name "Cygnus White", the code came back from her system as "T012" and that is a valid code.
FYI.
