I have been matching colors and painting automotive for over 40 years. As paint technology and EPA requirements have changed, the color components of paint have changed. The old formulas just don't translate well to modern paint chemistry. It is guesswork. If you can find a chip in an old fleet color book or an old polished sign, a good auto paint supplier can find a close modern formula and adjust it to match what you need. They often have computer scanners to approximate the formula or just do it by eye.
Even with today's technology, new cars of the same color code don't precisely match each other. Much of the paint work done in body shops has to be adjusted by adding or leaving out toners. No reason to think that Gulf's paint suppliers all matched one another over the years either.
Searching through old topics on this forum will turn up questions and answers about color recommendations. Here's how:
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