Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive

by Ron Joseph

July, 2006

Red Oxide Primer

Q: Arizona Dept. of Transportation has specified color 20318 of Federal Standard 595A. All of the painting suppliers I have contacted cannot identify the color. Is there a sample I can get of a color chart?

A: The entire spectrum of colors can be purchased from companies such as www.gardco.com and www.byk-gardner.com.  I own a set of colors but do not have color cards for individual color standards. The following web site illustrates most of the colors, but #20318 is missing, perhaps because it might be obsolete. Go to http://www.chassis-plans.com/paint_fed-std-595.html and scroll down to #33105.  If I compare the physical color chip in my possession with the color on my computer monitor then in my opinion #33105 is relatively close, but it is darker and it is NOT the same. Remember, I am comparing a physical color chip with the color on a computer monitor and you know how different that can be.  

Best wishes,

Ron Joseph