The early Ford bodies were brush-painted, so colors weren't a problem. Even
the chassis were colored on the '09's and '10's. As production ramped up,
by 1913 Henry preferred to use black for production efficiency, and the
black they used in the T days was a self-leveling "Japan Enamel", kind of a
varnish-like material that was incredibly tough. Some years ago a guy from
the Model T Forum decided it was based on Gilsonite asphalt, and was
experimenting with applying it, but it was anything but simple for him to
reproduce. Dunno what ever happened to that effort...
The facilities used to paint most parts were pretty much one-color
operations, like dip tanks for wheels and most small parts including fenders
(the paint actually floated on the top of a tank of water). When they
started the "spray" line where bodies were painted, body colors changed to
all black for many years. The sprayers were pretty much garden hoses with
watering-can-like nozzles that flooded the paint onto the body, while the
excess ran off into troughs to be reused again and again. Color changing
was very time-consuming and expensive, and Ford was determined to
manufacture and sell the T as inexpensively as possible. Colors were a
frill he could do without for a long time.
Later they developed color-changing methods for the bodies and were able to
reintroduce colors, as pointed out, in the last T's and in the A's. But
dipping (in black) continued for fenders and most small parts through the
A's and even into the first V8's.
Karl
> From: "Randall" <tr3driver@ca.rr.com>
>> > or maybe
>> > they changed formulations by the Model A.
>>
>> Wasn't the Model T "any color so long as it's black", but the Model A was
>> available in many different colors ?
>
> Early T's came in colors. As production ramped up, Ford discovered that
> the black paint dried faster (they could cover with thinner coats, maybe?)
> and in the interests of production rates, the cars went all-black.
>
> --
> Phil Ethier West Side Saint Paul Minnesota USA
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