[Keith Seymore]

Special paint process, per author/historian Eric White (originally written for discussion on a Pontiac forum):

The procedure for getting a special-paint car ordered went like this:

• The customer (or dealership) determines what color is desired.

• An All Series Special Equipment order form is filled out.

The information required for a special-paint-request on this form is:
• Lower Color Paint No.
• Upper Color Paint No.
• Make of Car & Year Paint Used.
I am guessing that obtaining the correct paint no. would be left up to the ordering salesman/dealership paint department.

In the '60s and early '70s, before colored plastic/fiberglass trim parts became common, any color paint could be ordered, as long as the dealer could supply the paint formula no. on the S.O. form. After the mid-'70s when the crash-bumper fillers became common place, special order colors were phased out except for large fleet orders. [Keith comment - or, steel components substituted for painted parts, as in the Endura front bumper on a '68 GTO]

Several codes were used on the Fisher Body trim tag to indicate a special-order paint. Codes varied between the years and between Fisher Body plants. Some of the codes used were:
1= Standard GM paint, not a Pontiac color
2= Special Pontiac color. Sometimes offered a half-year "springtime" color.
3= Cadillac FireFrost color. This paint was not normally allowed on a Pontiac build because of the special processes required to apply this type of paint.
4= Body in primer
SPEC or ** would indicate a paint color from a source outside GM (Ford, Chryco, AMC, John Deere, International Harvester, etc.) Colors could also be ordered to match school or business colors. As long as a formula no. could be identified by the dealership just about any color hue could be specified.

• The order was then routed through the Pontiac Zone office, which then routed it on to the Central Office.

• Central Office then entered a request to the paint supplier, usually PPG/Ditzler, for the appropriate paint.

• The paint supplier shipped a quantity of paint to the appropriate assembly plant.

• The special-order build was scheduled and coordinated between the Fisher plant and GMAD or Pontiac assembly.

• Build was delivered to dealership with a quart of touch up paint in trunk.

[Keith again:]

I have also seen a && (double ampersand) to designate special paint, on a Pontiac plant cowl data tag.

Most assembly plants have/had a special paint system, separate from the main line, where smaller paint pots could be loaded with low production volume colors, which would minimize the amount of waste when flushing the system. Typically these were done for fleet and special equipment runs (Grand Trunk RR, RCMP, Bell Telephone, etc). We also have had some plants were the special colors were run through the paint repair line rather than the main assembly process.