Im going to install a 4 speed console on my Cougar, as well as paint the kick panels which now look pink from fading. I’m looking at interior paints and ive seen dark saddle and medium saddle. I dont know which to buy.
I’m looking for this color scheme since the lower part of my dash is saddle and not black. I’m not sure if the plastic parts on the console should be the same as the pad. Any insight?
On original standard cars I’ve seen, both the pad and the base were the same color.
The pad and base should be the same color on standard. It will end up looking a little different applied to hard plastic vrs the soft vinyl. I did my kick panels, console base and all my vinyl padding with the Sem stuff from NPD. Just make sure you request that the cans all have the same date code on them. On my first order of 2 cans they had different date codes when they were mixed, and they were not the same shade of Ivy gold. They had to hunt all there stores to find me more of the same date code of the color I liked.
did you use dark or medium saddle?
I believe what SEM calls Saddle is not a close match to Mercury’s version of Saddle. Names can be deceiving, don’t assume they are the same thing. The two closest colors they have for your interior would be either Palomino or Camel. Maybe get a can of each and try a random test piece (not necessarily something from your Cougar) and see which is a better match. I like their products a lot. Get their prep stuff as well to clean and promote adhesion.
Nothing off the shelf is going to be a perfect match. So if you don’t mind spending some extra money, your local automotive paint supply store can custom mix SEM color coat (the same flexible vinyl paint) based on a sample piece you bring in.
I have a 1969 XR7 in “Saddle” I’ve had luck with paint from John’s Classic Cougars with their paints and dyes.
If John has any Saddle left. I called him for ivy, and he didn’t have any, and said he was getting out of the paint. He said it was hard to find a consistent supplier that made the same thing every time, and didn’t like dealing with shipping the stuff. Seems to me you have to watch at least some of the parts stores and what cameras they have. I went that route with doing a color shot, and both times it came out wrong. Like I said, even the Sem stuff I bought from NPD…two different date code cans. One was date code basically spot on match, one not.