so im one of the lucky suckers that has the 1986 with the incorrect RPO and fisher paint code label. My RPO states 81U which in reality is Fisher code WA8774 and is actually a brighter red. BUT my Fisher code at the bottom states WA8553 which is actually 71U and is a bit darker red.
So guess FING what i have been painting certain panels going off code 81U - WA8774 . and when my body guy asked for a pic of the sticker to get the correct color code he used WA8553 ( totally not his fault its GM's fault ) and now my front bumper is a bit darker in red. This is totally not his fault as he followed the correct color code shown on the sticker and my dumb ass went off the 81U since i knew that meant upper. I am SOOOO mad at GM right now.
this helps me understand the problem I had with my "red" 1986. I had the front and rear hood, front bumper, a fender, side scoops and rockers painted when I did some changes. painter used the code and damn if what he painted was different than the parts he didn't paint. I'm having him do the other parts with the formula he mixed before so it will all match. we were both scratching our heads. Thanks for sharing.
Many "paint stores" can match any color w/o codes etc if you have any part so their computer can scan it. Some can "scan" the car if you can drive it there.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
Bringing it to a paint store to match does not help me it's a done deal all the panels are already painted and it's not the painters fault this was only affected by 1986 cars if you read the thread in full.. it's an archive thread so I couldn't reply to it but I wanted to make another thread so people don't make the same mistake I did
Unless indicated otherwise, the below information is contained in the Fiero fact and reference book, “All 1984-1988 Fiero Colors, Codes & Quantities” (available on Amazon)
Page 17: “The RPO is for that specific car, for that specific color, for that specific year.”
Page 17: “GM can and will assign the same RPO code to completely different colors.”
Example (not in book):
1996 Corvette RPO 53U is WA9804 Competition Yellow 1997 Corvette RPO 53U is WA307D Light Carmine Red
The SPID label information is correct.
Example (not in book):
1992 Chevrolet full size 84U is WA9802 Hawaiian Orchid 1992 Chevrolet Camaro 84U is WA9802 Purple Haze 1993 Cadillac Allante 84U is WA9976 Pearl Red
The SPID label information is correct.
Note that Chevy called the same color two different names in 1992. However, the name of a color does not indicate the paint formula. The WA code indicates the paint formula.
Page 17: “GM can and will assign different RPO codes to the same color.”
Example (page 17):
1984 Fiero RPO 71U is WA8553 Fiero Red 1985 Fiero RPO 71U is WA8553 Fiero Red 1986 Fiero RPO 81U is WA8553 Bright Red 1988 Fiero RPO 81U is WA8774 Bright Red
I will agree that GM’s paint labeling format can be extremely confusing. However, as mentioned above…
Page 17: “The RPO is for that specific car, for that specific color, for that specific year.”
Are they painting the panels off the car? I would think a body shop would do more to verify a match beforehand, especially with red which tends to fade over that many years.
