Model Railroading > SP depot paint colors

Can anyone provide paint code information that will work with Home Depot/Lowes paint manufacturers for the Light Brown (Samoan Brown) and Colonial Yellow colors?  We have several buildings to paint.  Thank you!

Not so easy: Looks like SP neverr used Samoan Brown'
You have lots of choices considering variations and weathering.

http://www.modelingthesp.com/Structures/Painting_Structures.html#:~:text=The%20SP's%20official%20name%20for,it%20called%20%22Samoa%20Brown.%22%20%22Samoa
RB

To my eye, Sherwin-Williams SW0030 is a good match for SP's Colonial Yellow.   I'm happy with it.
https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/yellow-paint-colors/sw0030-colonial-yellow

Also, don't trust what your computer shows to be the color on the SW website.  Head on down to your Sherwin-Williams paint store for the color, or perhaps HD has it in their color match catalog.

Cheers,
Harry

SP Light Brown and the so-called "Samoa brown" aren't the same color.  "Samoa brown" is much darker.  Also, "Somoa brown" was never a standard color used by the SP contrary to what was stated on the old Centerville Depot website. It was the owner of the website or his minions that came up with that color name (the website was basically reponsible for many restored SP depots being incorrectly painted).  In the late-'50s, though, it appears that the SP started repainting a small number of wooden depots Colonial Yellow with a dark brown trim color similar to Samoa brown.  One of these was Indio (where just the first-floor window frames were painted dark brown with the rest of the trim in the standard Light Brown.  A 1957 color photo in a calendar shows the difference well).  In 1962, I recall seeing the Gonzales depot with new-looking paint and dark brown trim.

The Goleta depot (now a museum) has been painted fairly accurately so you might contact the museum people there for information about the paint they used.  When I compared the Colonial Yellow paint on the Goleta depot with a jar of Colonial Yellow paint I obtained in 1965 from a Bakersfield SP Buildings & Bridges Dept. employee, I could see no difference.  My jar of Light Brown paint was a bit different from the trim color they used, but this was only noticeable in a close-up inspection of the painted woodwork on the depot (I still have those jars).



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 05/02/26 14:16 by johnsweetser.

The Calif. State RR Museum has drift cards for the colors used on SP depots but I think the Colonial Yellow is too bright.  I suspect the depot color drift cards reflect the time when paint was mixed at each job site involving specific formulas for pigments, linseed oil, etc. but the Colonial Yellow changed somewhat when commercial paints started being used by the SP.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/02/26 13:53 by johnsweetser.

A very long time ago, I ended up sitting next to a Valspar employee on a long plane ride. He was an art historian, if I remember correctly his job was to work with various architects and preservation groups to match original colors.

I have no idea if this group still exists within Valspar but it might be worth reaching out to them directly rather than Lowes (I think Lowes still distributes the brand.)

Rich