After multiple calls and visits to all the local paint suppliers the NAPA dealer was able to find a code for hiway yellow. I dealt with two different guys at the NAPA store and the second guy was the one who got the paper color charts out and finally found a mixing code for the paint. I had the numbers that 17a farmer posted and some other paint brands codes as well as the Cat code. None of the codes would come up with the mixing formula but did show up as a valid color.
I don't know if its just our area or if hiway yellow is that hard to find but its been hard to get it.
Maybe this will help someone out to find some yellow paint. This is the printout of what got mixed at the NAPA store, don't know if the numbers transfer over but the weights and colors should be enough to mix it



I doubt the picture of the paint sample will be useful but I matched it to some original yellow paint on my 2t hood and it seems really close
Should note this is the crossfire single stage urethane

I bought Napa Martin senior in Modesto ca. last October, it was their urathane Crossfire if I remember right it was about a $100 for the paint and about $60 for the activator. Went on nice and a good gloss, I got a different yellow for a Murray scraper but I am sure they had the highway yellow paint number!! 17afarmer

This is the crossfire urethane. It took the second fellow about 35 minutes to come up with the correct information to actually mix the color. He said he could find the color listed but the mixing formula was not. I dont know how or where he found the mixing formula but he mixed an 8oz sample for free to check the color. The pigment weights i posted are for the crossfire paint system so a NAPA store should be able to duplicate the color from that. From memory I think I paid about double what 17a farmer paid

"d2gary" wrote:

After multiple calls and visits to all the local paint suppliers the NAPA dealer was able to find a code for hiway yellow. I dealt with two different guys at the NAPA store and the second guy was the one who got the paper color charts out and finally found a mixing code for the paint. I had the numbers that 17a farmer posted and some other paint brands codes as well as the Cat code. None of the codes would come up with the mixing formula but did show up as a valid color.
I don't know if its just our area or if hiway yellow is that hard to find but its been hard to get it.
Maybe this will help someone out to find some yellow paint. This is the printout of what got mixed at the NAPA store, don't know if the numbers transfer over but the weights and colors should be enough to mix it



I doubt the picture of the paint sample will be useful but I matched it to some original yellow paint on my 2t hood and it seems really close
Should note this is the crossfire single stage urethane

ON the home page here click on ARCHIVES. there is some info there about paint including part numbers.
states that it is an ENAMEL paint made by Lilly industries

Thanks for the info. After reading as much as I could find on paint on the forum I decided to go with the urethane for its higher gloss and durability. If this was just a working tractor I would have went with the enamel. The enamel is quite a bit less expensive but I don't think it will hold up as well.

Does anyone know what year Cat moved away from highway Yellow and went to the more drab yellow? I'm thinking sometime in the 1970's?

Cat Paint Color Change
Cats were painted Hiway Yellow from Dec 7, 1931 to June 1979. From June 1979, the change to the "new" Caterpillar Yellow was introduced gradually - unlike the original change from Gray to Hiway Yellow - which was introduced across the entire line on one specific day.

Thank you for the information gentlemen.