See also Willys Paint Samples 1955-58 and Willys Paint Samples 1959-65.
The images below are scans of paint chip sheets for Willys vehicles from 1953 to 1954. They are an approximation of the colors used by Willys, and should not be considered a replacement for actual paint chips. Note that it is not always clear which of the colors were used by Willys on the CJ-3B model in particular years. Elsewhere on the web, see chips for most years at AutoColorLibrary.com.
Black bolt-on parts: Normally the windshield and its pivot brackets were gloss black. Footman loops were normally all black except the one at the top center of the windshield frame, which is whatever color the windshield frame is painted (sometimes body color but normally black). Wheels were also sometimes body color but normally white or black.
Steering column, brake and clutch pedals, and engine were normally black. Fan shrouds, seat frames and undercarriage were black or apparently sometimes olive drab. The side steps are normally the same as the body and underbody. One gallon of paint is usually enough for painting the body inside and out.
See also How to Match a Paint Color.
 Acme 1953 |  Ditzler 1953 |
The Acme Paint 1953 sheet, the 1953 CJ-3B Parts List, and a Dupont 1952-53 bulletin (200K JPEG), list only Woodstock Green as being used on the Jeep CJ-3B. This is confirmed by a February 1953 Willys memo to dealers (170K JPEG) despite the wide range of color options it lists for the various Willys Aero models.
A Ditzler bulletin dated July 1953 (60K JPEG) also lists Cadet Gray and Saber Rouge as being used on the Jeep at that point. See Cadet Gray CJ-3B on CJ3B.info, where I speculate that these colors were used at Willys' West Coast Division in California.
Note: see also Ditzler 1952 sheet (90K JPEG) and Nason sheets for 1952: page 1 and page 2 (100K JPEGs).
 Du Pont 1954 |  Du Pont 1954 |  Ditzler 1954 |  Nason 1954 |
The Du Pont 1954 sheet lists only Bristol Red, Island Green Metallic, and Persian Gray "Metalli-Chrome" as being used on civilian Jeeps.
Charlie Cherry notes: "I've acquired a 1954 Willys paint chip sheet by R.N. Nason. Curiously, the color Gale Gray metallic is an exact, dead-on, in-the-sunlight match to the original paint on my '54. Could it be the same color as the Persian Gray on the Du Pont sheet? Other colors seem similar as well, like the Nason's Granada Green vs. Du Pont's Signal Green. Some of the colors even have the same names (Bristol Red, Arctic White, Beryl Green)."
The Ditzler sheet also uses the name Gale Gray.
Jim Kearney comments that his 1954 CJ-3B (VIN CJ-3BOB54-10160) has "much original paint on the firewall and for sure it was a metallic paint and it certainly has a blue-green look to it. Signal Green, which according to your paint chart has some blue in it, appears to be a better match than Island Green, which does not."
The back of the Dupont sheet (130K JPEG) lists two-tone combinations used on some models.
Thanks to Bob Westerman for providing documents. -- Derek Redmond
Continue to Willys Paint Samples 1955-58 and Willys Paint Samples 1959-65.
Elsewhere on the web, see Willys Paint Chips on The CJ3A Page, and chips for most years at AutoColorLibrary.com.
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