1982 Red, White, Black, No Clearcoat?

[Robert C.]

I've searched the archives and did not find an answer to the following. I'm hoping someone can shed light and/or perhaps give a definitive, unequivocal answer.

(1) For the 1982 Corvette, there were only three exterior colors that were non-metallic: code 70 red, code 19 black, and code 10 white. These codes are indicated on trim tags.

(2) For 1982, paint manufacturers' (PPG, DuPont, etc) paint-chip charts indicate that these codes are not BaseCoat/ClearCoat (BC/CC).

(3) The 1982 Corvette dealer brochure indicates, "Acrylic enamel or base coat/clear coat application for metallic colors." The first clause of the sentence is separated from the second clause of the sentence by the word "or". This indicates that the 1982 cars will have one type of paint OR another type of paint. Note that BC/CC is specifically indicated for metallic colors only. It certainly seems that those sly GM lawyers who wrote the text for the brochure were indicating that the three non-metallic colors would not be clearcoated.

QUESTION (I hope that I don't sound too ignorant): For the 1982 Corvette, were red, white, and black clearcoated at the factory?

[Rob V.]

Re: 1982 Red, White, Black, No Clearcoat?

Hi Robert--

I purchased my white exterior with red interior, 1982 Corvette in 1986, with approximately 65,000 miles. The previous owner purchased it new; it had not been wrecked prior to my purchase, and the exterior white paint was not covered in ClearCoat as I recall.

Best Regards,
Rob

[Robert C.]

Re: 1982 Red, White, Black, No Clearcoat?

Thanks, Rob.

The paint codes used for the only three non-metallic 1982 colors (red, black, white) seem to indicate no clearcoat. However, I've seen so much literature that says "all" 1982 Corvettes were clearcoat, I started to question my knowledge of paint codes.

I do see that by 1984, "all" Corvette exterior paint finishes were clearcoat.