[Prugna]

Hi - I am restoring my 1973 GT Junior and I would seek your advice /personal view on the original color code AR525 Prugna. Car is completely stripped and changing to anything but the original color would be an option at this stage.
Would you sacrifice originality over taste? Looking forward for your views.

 

[alfamichele]

As someone who took ownership of a 71 1300 junior which is Pum or prugna I think you should keep it the same. I have always returned to the original color even when I did total resto . the color is fantastic if you keep it clean and shined up. BTW my chart shows plum to be AR308 and or AR509.
Take a look

https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?make=Alfa-Romeo&con=k&year=1971&rows=50

https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?manuf=Alfa-Romeo&code=509&con=m&page=1&rows=50&size=large

https://victorparts.com/media/wysiwyg/pdf_files/colorcodes_pdf/AlfaCampionarioColori.pdf

Glasuirit shows a AR 525 as Prugna or plum in italian

When it comes right down to it you paint what you want but please not resale red

 

[Prugna]

As someone who took ownership of a 71 1300 junior which is Pum or prugna I think you should keep it the same. I have always returned to the original color even when I did total resto . the color is fantastic if you keep it clean and shined up. BTW my chart shows plum to be AR308 and or AR509.
Take a look

https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?make=Alfa-Romeo&con=k&year=1971&rows=50

https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?manuf=Alfa-Romeo&code=509&con=m&page=1&rows=50&size=large

https://victorparts.com/media/wysiwyg/pdf_files/colorcodes_pdf/AlfaCampionarioColori.pdf

Glasuirit shows a AR 525 as Prugna or plum in italian

When it comes right down to it you paint what you want but please not resale red View attachment 1702164

Thanks a lot for your reply - its a really difficult topic since I got only the faded color on the car as a reference. The color seems to be quite rare and so its difficult to find good pictures in general. I think you are right with the shine - the shine will make a difference as I believe this color code was quite prone to fading. With a good shine it sure gets more depths and reflections. Anyhow the colors they used tell us lot about the period. No comparison to todays grey and black....

 

[PSk]

1972 Alfa Romeo Color Chart -- Reference Materials

This thread has been established for reference purposes only. Please, do NOT post here! There is a discussion thread for comments, suggestions, discussion, errata, enhancements, etc. Please post there! I will read your posts and update the reference material presented here accordingly. For...

www.alfabb.com

 

[alfamichele]

Hi - I am restoring my 1973 GT Junior and I would seek your advice /personal view on the original color code AR525 Prugna. Car is completely stripped and changing to anything but the original color would be an option at this stage.
Would you sacrifice originality over taste? Looking forward for your views.

I have a good overhead shot of mine , you can PM me and I will send it

 

[Aggie57]

Years ago there were a couple of Prugna GTV’s in our local (Melbourne Australia) club. Stunners, a great color for 105 coupes.

Keep it original or not, different question I won’t buy into here.

 

[Prugna]

Thanks a lot for your reply - its a really difficult topic since I got only the faded color on the car as a reference. The color seems to be quite rare and so its difficult to find good pictures in general. I think you are right with the shine - the shine will make a difference as I believe this color code was quite prone to fading. With a good shine it sure gets more depths and reflections. Anyhow the colors they used tell us lot about the period. No comparison to todays grey and black....

Years ago there were a couple of Prugna GTV’s in our local (Melbourne Australia) club. Stunners, a great color for 105 coupes.

Keep it original or not, different question I won’t buy into here.

Thanks for your view - that is highly appreciated. On the originality topic I would always stay in Alfa and / or period correct color codes for sure. But in the other hand I would not be afraid to sacrifice the original color in case it would not appeal at all to me. But maybe I just have to think a bit out of the box and get back into a more colorful 70s mood.

 

[Sergio105]

.

 

[joegt3cup]

That rare color is a gift... keep it!

Joe

 

[bellagt]

Ultimately you need to be happy with the color. There is no doubt the color is rare, you won't have any problems spotting it in a crowded parking lot or display field and you will receive attention, questions and comments about the color. If I had to repaint my car (Giallo Piper), I don't think I would keep it the same color. It's not my favorite and never will be. But the originality and novelty more than make up for it.

 

[Dave J]

Hello, all--My Berlina was originally AR509 (Rosso Amaranto, according to the sticker on the trunk lid underside). After many years of living outdoors, and suffering from a poor paint job by some PO, I just had it painted. This will sound really "amazing," but the shop where it was done could not find a paint code for AR509, or AR308, even with the dupont and ditzler numbers. Long story short, I ended up finding a hit for a "Rosso Amaranto" listed as a modern (mid-'80s) Maserati color. The shop was able to mix it in urethane base and clear-coat, and here are a couple of really mediocre (bad lighting and angles) photos taken at the shop. The new paint is not too far off the original color (you can see some of the old paint on the underside of the hood), some might say it's not exact, but I'm very happy with it. (I plan to get around to a more involved post here about the whole resto project at some point.) I think the color, or variations of it, shows off the lines, the chrome-work and glass very well. It's a darker, without seeming stodgy, and somewhat rare color to see these days. I'm very happy with it. I'll try to get a couple of better, more recent pics with some of the chrome on it to post.

 

[Dave J]

I should have added: Somewhere in trying to track down the formula code for Rosso Amaranto/Prugna, the color number AR515 popped up, a seeming number also for Prugna, and the folks at PPG were able to connect it to that Maserati color I posted. The PPG formula code the shop ultimately used for that is 51310. I hope that helps.

 

[VeloceSA]

I should have added: Somewhere in trying to track down the formula code for Rosso Amaranto/Prugna, the color number AR515 popped up, a seeming number also for Prugna, and the folks at PPG were able to connect it to that Maserati color I posted. The PPG formula code the shop ultimately used for that is 51310. I hope that helps.

Dave, Rosso Amaranto and Prugna have different color codes which would indicate to me that they differ in formulation, from memory, RA is more burgundy whereas Prugna is more of a violet/plum color ( I used to own a 73 GTV 2000 in prugna)

Glasurit Classic Car Colors

It’s very difficult to get a good representation of color from a computer screen and given the cost of painting a car today I would suggest that the OP gets his painter to do a spay out for him to help him decide.

Nick.

 

[Dave J]

. . . a plum by any other name would smell as sweet . . .
I totally agree about seeing a sample sprayed on a panel. I would have liked to, and should have, but I was impatient and liked the sample paint the shop mixed up and showed me on a stick. I realized later they were just saving time by not spraying a sample and then needing to clean up the gun, etc. But I could have insisted. In the end, I don't mind if it's not the same as anyone else's Rosso or Prugna, I am loving the look of it. But other owners might not feel so flexible.

The AR numbers are interesting--somewhere on the forum I saw a post with reproductions from a color sample book from '71 (? I think), and according to that page, they had two AR numbers for Prugna, for that year only! So, does that mean AR listed two different numbers for the same color, or did they have slightly different versions/formulas that were both called Prugna? One of the issues that also complicates all of this is that the types of paint easily available are so much different than the paint used in the '60s and '70s. With that in mind, I feel very happy about what my car ended up with.

Most photos of cars we see probably aren't entirely accurate renditions of their color, dependent on the light source, angle, camera quality, etc., and the scans of color charts can be off, too. Add to that the variations in color settings and quality of different computer monitors, one really can't depend on images to tell for sure.

 

[italo.file]

Hi - I am restoring my 1973 GT Junior and I would seek your advice /personal view on the original color code AR525 Prugna. Car is completely stripped and changing to anything but the original color would be an option at this stage.
Would you sacrifice originality over taste? Looking forward for your views.

 

[italo.file]

As an ex owner and restorer of a 72 GTV in the color AR 525 Prugna I could make a comment and share a photo. When i bought this car it was painted a horrible light blue metallic over the original Alfa Rosso. It was a very good rust free California car so I did a full restoration on it including a bare metal media blast by an expert. When she was sitting there naked, and gorgeous by the way, the fine Bertone craftsmanship on full display, I could paint it any color the same as the other. i settled on this AR 525 Prugna as the best choice. I thought the original Rosso was boring and too common. I've always loved Rosso Ammaretto as one of the best colors for this model. I did a test with the two and although very similar, as mentioned earlier the Prugna has a cooler more violet undertone and the Ammaretto is more burgundy with a warmer brownish tone. Just personal taste but one thing I don't beleive in is going outside the factory color palette. To me that is blasphemy...!

 

[Dave J]

Beautiful GT there!

 

[vsharp]

Sergio105's post #8 is a very good example of how Prugna AR525 looks on a car. Prugna 525 has very distinctive pinkish hue in the color.
Rosso Amaranto AR509 is a definitive deep burgundy hue.
In the posting #16 above, italo.file's car APPEARS on my screen as looking much closer to Rosso Amaranto 509, not so much Prugna 525.
Now I'm not saying #16 italo.file is wrong about his paint color (beautiful looking car) , but what I would advise is that certainly post #8 is a very good guide to how Prugna 525 looks. Prugna is the only Alfa color I can recall that has a distinctive pink hue.

 

[italo.file]

I have to disagree with vsharp. I didn't notice that Sergio105's Junior was actually represented as AR 525 and it doesn't look to me that it is, not even close. Way too pink and light. The tag Prugna is used on several variations around the world. AR 509 Rosso Amoretto or Amoranto, whichever you want to call it, is a darker warmer burgundy . All i can say is I tested them both side by side. heres another couple pics..!

 

[vsharp]

Hello there italo.file,
I am open to being disagreed with, we are both trying to help out the original thread poster after all!
I think perhaps the light conditions and shading in your photos probably make your car appear darker than otherwise. In post #8, the showroom lighting makes that other car's color really intense. A similarity between the two appears above your coil where the paint is in sunlight.
Perhaps they both are interpretations of AR525 Prugna at either end of the scale, but impossible to really tell in such differing light. I do agree with you for sure that comparatively Rosso Amaranto AR509 is a much warmer burgundy, while Prugna has a pinkish hue to it. And while Prugna is certainly not a pink as such, I'm guessing that burgundy plus a dash of a pink tint would result in a Prugna color. What I was trying to say in my previous advice, is that in full light, Prugna 525 is quite a full, striking color, where Amaranto 509 is much more subdued.
See the Glasurit color chart in post #2 describes Prugna AR525 as violet-red in German, that is pretty accurate in my experience of original cars.
Below is a MaxMeyer chart from '75. It shows left to right AR501 Rosso, AR525 Prugna, AR509 Rosso Amaranto and black, (pic taken inside with flouro lighting above)
Kind regards,
Vince.