Hi, there! I am struggeling to find the L20E color what is on my car from the factory. A couple of weeks ago I ordered a spraycan with Porsche L20E paint, but received a very light Orange (almost yellow) orange colour. This coulor seems to be also a original Orange colour that Porsche was using, and I think still uses on Porsches. But mine is Signal Orange from '72 with the L20E on the original plate in the doorspace . It looks like more Amber, but I don't want to order an other one and risking it's not the right one. Anyone who is familiar with this problem? Thanks!

first of all its a VW color not a porsche color.

its tangerine.
which may as well be phoenix red (74 color)
but.

anything red from the 1970s was created with cadmium
now a banned material (like lead = poison).

also the actual paints, glasurit are difficult to source as they are also consiidired as greta thurnburg grade morally condemned. so its tricky.

but to assist its a VW color not a porsche color.

good luck. i am interested to know how you go with it.
i have a phoenix red 74 914 and i have serious doubts the original color can be exactly reproduced.

Thanks, but all the colours you are mentioning are different colour codes; Tangerine (L21E) Phoenix Red (L32K) so looks like I am still searching for the L20E of VW, but based on the discussion I had with the paint shop, L20E Porsche and VW were the same recipes. Anyone else a different view?

You will not find a perfect match just by paint code.

As Wonki states, modern mix and materials will be different due to environmentally friendly reformulations.

And then there is UV fading which will be present no matter what.

Your best bet will be to take a sample (headlamp cover works great) to a paint shop that can do color scan and match via computer. That will get you a lot closer but still won’t be a perfect match. If you are exceedingly lucky you’ll find a color guru at the shop that can tweak the mix based on the computer suggestions and by eye.

Even then, it still won’t be a perfect match. In all reality, this will probably be close enough for a small, amateur repair.

A pro painter will usually spray out test panels and possibly tweak it just a bit more based on how it looks.

After all that, it still will be dependent on the painter’s skill to blend the paint across panels and to blend the new to the old such that the human eye can no longer detect the subtle color mismatch.

Paint matching is an art. Perfection doesn’t come out of a can.

Your car looks to be L21E (Tangerine), not L20E (Signal Orange). Although the plate shows L20E.

100% Scans from 2-3 spots then system comes up with a composite color formula.

Are you absolutely positive it’s never been repainted? Because there’s a big difference between signal orange and tangerine/phoenix red (which I’d bet are the same colors w/ different names)..

What you describes as the paint that was sent to you, is correct for signal orange (and your chassis plate). I suppose there’s a chance that a mistake was made at the factory regarding the tag but that would be surprising.

apologies re the color code on the door plate.
i foolishly went straight off the external color of the car in the photo.
however i believe @Superhawk996 is correct.
it sure does not look like its painted L20E or signal orange.

here is signal orange.

https://www.colors.rs/colorsearch?tag=w~ezm...p;searchtype=rs

by the looks of the image you included of the door jamb that sure does look original paint in there without a doubt. door hinge pins unpainted from factory. and it looks tangerine. or blood orange as it was also sometimes called. i think it was called tangerine in the USA. i know the exact same color was referred to by its european naming protocol in australia. it was called blood orange.

photos can be deceiving. but i don't think that much. the car would look a lot yellower i believe if it was signal orange L20E.

it would not be the first time a 914 had a wrong label or mistake from factory.
rare but did appear to happen.

i am not sure what you need the paint for.
is it a touch up area.
you say you ordered a spray can from porsche.
i imagine it was not too much money or cost.
try ordering a can of tangerine L21E if its a reasonable small cost.
see of you can get hold of it and do a test with that.

a year or so back another member of this website was trying to get hold of solvent based glasurit paint (original glasurit formula paint). it was for a 74 color. he was having no luck in the USA.
as far as i know its a possibly a similar problem in Europe by now. they have stopped making it as far as i know. all water based with clear coat over.

as i mentioned the reds are particularly tricky. very tricky.

+1 on the potential printing issue.

Curious as to the paint thickness. From the one picture it appears that the front fender is a different shade than the rest. Is it possible that over time a body shop blended in the wrong color?

Here is another example of the year and color…

https://www.pca.org/news/was-1972-the-best-...sche-914-colors

i can confirm that phoenix red and tangerine are the same color. at least with my eyes.
i parked my phoenix red 74 next to my old mates tangerine 914/6 years ago.
we couldn't tell the difference. and that was in harsh aussie brittle sunlight too.
they have different codes but........i couldn't see the difference.
we were comparing the front trunk inners on both cars where the paint was completely unfaded.

Color chart for 1972 lists L21E Tangerine, if this is the original factory color and not a respray. Any scratched area revealing otherwise?

Color chart for 1972 lists L21E Tangerine, if this is the original factory color and not a respray. Any scratched area revealing otherwise?

My car was originally Signal Orange L20E and that color is much yellower than the color in your pictures.

Below is an image of a L20E car ...

Surprising, but not unheard of. My 73 Phoenix Red 914 door tag reads L64k (Green).

link

Blood red was the name of the color in English right? The US market decided that they wouldn’t sell as many if the name was blood red versus tangerine or phoenix red. Happy sounding names I guess.
Matt

Thanks everyone for the insights, links and questions. This car is 100% original on it's colour, I have investigated all small parts and holes to be 100% sure about the colour. Beside my investigation I was in touch with the first owner of the car, and he has sent me some pictures from the mid 70's with the exact same colour what is on the car right now.

In the meantime I have contacted the paintshop, and the will do a scan of the colour and will produce a recipe that will match this colour. Problem solved.

The question mark I still have is the original plate from the factory that states L20E. Maybe a drunk German on Monday morning put the wrong plate on it

there was probably a signal orange made the same day that has your color plate on it for tangerine.


good color! one of my favorites

L20E car. I got my paint from TouchUpDirectClick to view attachment

Errors on the paint code plates are common. You definitely have a tangerine paint job despite the signal orange tag. I could find the data on what the factory says the paint code was supposed to be. It is hard to know if a complete color change was done on the car very early on or not. Check under the edges of the main wiring harness grommets to see if there was a color change. Or in the most remote places where a color change might be revealed. But it is certainly possible the badge was incorrectly stamped. Also check the Karmann # on the tag against the body stamping in the rear trunk to confirm they match; it is also possible the wrong tag was affixed to the car. Email me if you want to pursue this.

Thanks Dave! have sent you a PM