Why "Ceramic White" rather than "whisper White"??

[Duke583]

I apologize if this has been covered before, because if so, I missed it.

When we toured Wixom, Dave Davis informed me that the tops on Whisper White Birds are "Ceramic White" rather than "Whisper White". He neglected to give the reason why there is a difference. It was not until I got my Bird home, and stared at it for some time that I could see the difference in the 2 colors. It does not bother me, in fact, I think it is the kind of difference that will intrigue collectors in the future (like the differences between a 64 1/2 and 65 Mustang).

Can someone tell me WHY there is no Whisper white available in the hardtop?

p.s.: I know that these tops are ordered and listed as Whisper in the brochures, etc., but this is not accurate.:puzzled:

[03bird]

The 03 sales brochure states that the hard top color is Whisper White. This is only on the white cars.
Dick

[5bird7]

Ceramic white is the name for the color used on Lincolns as near as I could gather when Wixom Pooh used to post all the time. She had never heard of Whisper White when she was painting the 02s - they were all Ceramic White to her. These cars are being built in the plant that builds Lincolns.

The slight difference that you see is because the tops are painted by the manufacturer of the hardtop - they're not painted at the Wixom factory so they are from different color batches.

My 03 color chart does not list colors used on Lincolns, just Fords. The same color may have 2 or 3 different names depending on the model it's applied to. It's a marketing tool, reaching a particular buying public.

[Terry]

My parts man said the paint code is the same when I ordered the whisperwhite/ceramic white touchup paint for my Angel

[Duke583]

Interesting. I just looked at some of the "throwaway" materials that the dealer saved for me from my new Bird. One label is labeled "Ceramic White" as the color. Not sure if this came from the steering wheel, shift knob, or the top.

At any rate Dave Davis said there is a slight difference in the 2 colors. I said I had not noticed the difference, and he said "there is one, and you will be able to tell". He was right, there is a slight difference. Which brings me back to my original question; does anyone know why there is a difference? :puzzled::puzzled:

[Duke583]

Sorry, I just reread Dot's post on the topic after I posted above, which answers my question.

I guess the answer is: they are the same color going by different names, and the variation is caused by different paint batches used at different locations.

Do owners of other colored Birds notice a difference?

[Red]

The reason that there are two different colors of white is because the "Perfect White" aka Performance White (part number code 1028) looks better on vehicles with other than white bodies. Whisper white, (part number code 7018) is an off white tone.

Terry, check to make sure you got the "7018" touch up tube. You don't want the 1028 for your Whisper White beauty. Always cross reference to the color code on the door jam label when ordering paint.

[5bird7]

The color differences are noticeable on the Thunderbird blue but the differences are so minute that you really have to look for it. The bumpers are painted elsewhere as are the door handles and outside mirrors.

Red is right, make sure when you order touch-up paint that the code is correct for your color. There are obvious differences between the Performance White and the Whisper White(ceramic white) top colors.

[Terry]

I ordered from the paint code and when it came in the partsman said "here's your ceramic white touch up paint". I said "I needed whisper white" and that's when he told me ,"Oh, they are the same. Same code, different names. If we order whisper white it comes invoiced as Ceramic white". The performance white is very different so you are right , need to buy by the code.

[Red]

The Ford Engineering community assigns a Name to paint colors and that is what normally makes it into the Dealer's parts books. The Vehicle Marketing Managers may choose to assign a "Promotional" name to the color and that is how we get multiple names for the same color.

Over the years, the color on a Ford would often have a different Marketing name than the Mercury version of the same color. That is why most part's counter personnel will ask you for the code rather than the name.