Paint and paint manufacturer cross reference question

[cymrych]

Hi all,

I have a 79 K10, 350, 3 speed, 4x4, a daily driver with 230k miles logged, and in the family from the day it rolled off the assembly line as ordered by my uncle, who I bought the truck from 5 years ago.

When I got the truck 5 years ago, it needed some minor body work. At the time, it still had the factory sticker with the color codes, so I jotted the numbers down and went to Advanced Auto, ordered myself a couple of spray cans of Dupli-color T131 Mariner Blue M. Matched perfectly to the rest of the paint on the truck.

Well, winters and salted roads here in the northeast have put me in the position of needing to do some more body work again (a never ending chore in PA), but I'm getting low on paint. So, I headed into town to order some more, only to find out that Dupli-color T131 has been discontinued without some new number replacing it.

Searching on the internet has only been somewhat successful. My factory sticker with the color codes appears to have fallen off at some point, and I have only found one reference to Mariner Blue M through a Dupli-color color chip set for 1979 Chevy trucks. It suggests my exterior color code is 25.

But on any other cross-reference color chart, like at paintref.com for instance, code 25 shows as Bright Blue or Bright Blue Poly, with no mention of Mariner Blue anywhere.

So my questions are: What is the difference between Bright Blue (or Bright Blue Poly), and Mariner Blue M? Is Mariner Blue just the name that Dupli-color used for the color GM called Bright Blue? And what is the difference between Bright Blue and Bright Blue Poly, or are they the same thing?

And finally, and to the point: What do you guys, who used Dupli-color T131 Mariner Blue in the past, use today as a replacement?

Again, this is for exterior body application, so the color has to be more or less correct or it'll look goofy. I'd much prefer to use spray cans if possible, since I'm just doing a handful of spot rust repairs. Besides, I don't have the set-up for doing a proper paintjob anyhow, so if some replacement paint is only available in liquid form I'm pretty well screwed.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

Cheers
Jason

[bake74]

     Have you tried to take all this information to a local paint shop and see if they can cross reference the codes or know of how to find the color you are searching for ?

[cymrych]

Don't have any local paint shops to hit up, unfortunately. At least, not conveniently local; closest one that I know of which isn't the $99 Special kind of place is about 45 minutes away. Best advice I got was a suggestion to see if NAPA would mix paint to match, but I'm not it the position to shoot a proper paint job myself, so unless they can make a mix in aerosol form that won't help me.

But, I haven't had the chance to see if NAPA has any better luck in cross-referencing yet.

I'm waiting to hear back from the Dupli-color guy. He did confirm that this T131 spray has been discontinued, and is looking to see if/what it has been replaced by.

[Blazin]

Any auto parts store that mixes paint should be able to put it in a a spray bomb for you.

[Captkaos]

Blue colors for 1979 were Hawaiian Blue (23), Mariner Blue (25) and Deep Blue (26).  If it has faded over time, matching it is the best option.

23 = PPG 2188 (medium Blue)
25 = PPG 2893 (Brt Blue Poly)
26 = PPG 2904 (Dark Blue)