full-sized pickup and bronco interior colors & paints

1980 - 86 FORD TRUCKS:
The following table shows the interior colors available for the 1980 - 1986 Ford trucks, and this was gleaned from the info on the Ford Color Names tab.  In addition, the table shows what I believe is the correct SEM Color Coat paint to match the original color, and that was gleaned from the info on the SEM Colors tab.

​But, note that these are not off-the-shelf paints.  You will have to have them mixed by a SEM dealer as the pre-canned paints available at the parts stores are not the correct match for our trucks.  How do I know that?  Here's what I got from a SEM technical consultant via email:
"We manufacture only 50 aerosol colors in COLOR COAT for plastic, vinyl, carpet and velour and would be happy to send you a card since the online versions are too inaccurate to use as a color match. We also have over 6000 formulas created to match all GM, Ford, and Chrysler interior colors from 1976 to present as well as many other colors from some foreign manufacturers that customers have sent in for us to match over the years. "
So, putting that together with the fact that the off-the-shelf paints have 5-digits codes and the formulas that SEM shows in their exact-match tables, included below, have 4-digit codes, it is pretty easy to see that there must be some differences and that the off-the-shelf paints will not be an exact match for our trucks.

Given that, you'll have to find someone to mix the paint for you.  Here are the options of which I'm aware:
  • Vinyl Pro: They are a big distributor of SEM and have all of the products on site, so can mix and ship.
  • Johnson Supply: Unfortunately they no longer mix the SEM products.
  • Ford's Color Names
  • SEM Colors
  • Instructions
  • SEM Numbering & Products
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The following snippets are from Ford's 1980 - 89 Master Parts Catalog and show what colors were available for the F-Series trucks during the Bullnose years.  And, by the way, the Bronco colors were the same.
The following tables are from SEM's web site here:
1980 table:
1981 table:
1982 table:
1983 table:
1984 table:
1985 table:
1986 table:
  • SEM's Instructions
  • Gary's Thoughts
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These instructions are from SEM's website.
I think SEM know what they are doing and have the right products for use on our trucks but their instructions can be quite confusing.  For example:
Their website has these instructions for Plastic Adhesion Promoter:
  1. Clean area with SEM Soap (interior plastics) or Scuff & Clean (exterior plastics) and a gray scuff pad.
  2. Rinse with water and allow to dry.
  3. Next, clean with Plastic & Leather Prep and/or SEM Solve or XXX Universal Surface Cleaner using a clean, lint free towel and wiping in one direction.
  4. Apply one medium wet coat. 
  5. Allow to flash 3 – 5 minutes before topcoating. If top coat exceeds 24 hours, scuff, tack and reapply.
  6. Refinish with Color Coat, Bumper Coater, Marine Vinyl Coat, Marine Engine Paint, all base coats, clear coats, urethanes, acrylic enamels, alkyd enamels and acrylic lacquers.​
However the actual can of Plastic Adhesion Promoter has these instructions:
  1. Use a gray scuff pad & 3833() Scuff & Clean.  Rinse with water & dry.
  2. Use 38353 Plastic & Leather Prep, which says to apply it directly to the surface or a clean cloth.
  3. Sand with 400 grit paper
  4. Use 38353 Plastic & Leather Prep again
  5. Apply a light coat of Plastic Adhesion Promoter
  6. Wait 5 minutes
  7. Apply a wet coat of Plastic Adhesion Promoter
  8. Wait more than 15 - 20 & less than 30 minutes
  9. Apply Color Coat
So, what should we do?  I'm using a modified set of the instructions from the Plastic Adhesion Promoter can:
  1. ​Clean with Dawn soap and a gray scuff pad and/or toothbrush & rinse with water
  2. Clean with SEM soap and a gray scuff pad and/or toothbrush & rinse with water
  3. ​Use 38353 Plastic & Leather Prep by applying it directly to the surface & wiping with a clean cloth.
  4. Apply a light coat of Plastic Adhesion Promoter
  5. Wait 5 minutes
  6. Apply a wet coat of Plastic Adhesion Promoter
  7. Wait more than 15 - 20 & less than 30 minutes
  8. Apply a light Color Coat
  9. Wait 5 minutes
  10. Apply a heavy Color Coat
  11. Wait 10 minutes
  12. Repeat 10 & 11 until you have the coverage you want.
SEM makes a number of products for different applications, and their numbering system for the products seems to make it hard to understand the different products.  So I'm going to try to explain what little I know.
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The numbering system consists of 4 characters that determine the product followed by 1 character that tells what container it is in - 2 is a squeeze bottle and 3 is an aerosol can.  So here are the generic ones I have on the shelf:

  • 15993: Color Coat in a spray can, which is a "blank aerosol for filling custom Color Coat colors" which are mixed by someone like Vinyl Pro.  In other words, all the mixed paints will have the # 15993 on them.

  • 39362: SEM Soap in a squeeze bottle.  Their site says it is "a mild abrasive cleaner used as the first step in refinishing flexible substrates."

  • 38343: Vinyl Prep in a spray can.  Their site says it is "a strong solvent blend critical to properly refinishing vinyl" that "Temporarily softens substrate."

  • 38353: Plastic & Leather Prep in a spray can.  Their site says it is a "mild solvent blend to clean plastic and leather prior to refinishing" and that it "promotes adhesion of topcoat".

  • 38363: Sand Free Adhesion Promoter in a spray can.  Their site says it is "a unique wet-on-wet adhesion promoter for ABS, PVC, and similar plastics" and that it "melts color into substrate" and is "perfect for interior plastic parts".

  • 39863: Plastic Adhesion Promoter in a spray can.  Their site says it " seals substrates and increases adhesion of top coat materials to a wide variety of raw plastics."