I look for a color recommendation for Caterpillar engine yellow, is there an out-of-the-jar solution?
There is a Tamiya Yellow (I think sunflower yellow) that does the job nicely
You mean XF-4 Yellow Green.
maybe i will need to look. ill get back to you
No need for thhis, I have the color in my drawer.
Mission Models actually makes CAT yellow in their paint line:
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Rust-Oleum Caterpillar Yellow Gloss Enamel is the actual, officially licensed industrial match sold in spray cans or quarts.
I have used the old Floquil Armor Yellow (Union Pacific Yellow) and have also used Tamiya TS-47 Chrome Yellow and was happy with it.
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This is great information! I’m building the AMT 1/25 Caterpillar bulldozer and was wondering about the best-match paint to use.
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The Armour Yellow was spot on, but I don’t sweat using a slightly different shade for something crammed under a cab.
Especially after weathering.
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I tried finding some of that for my AMT Caterpillar kit but neither the Home Depot or Lowes local to me had any. Who else might have it without ordering online? I prefer not to pay shipping on a can of spray paint.
Ace Hardware?
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It might not be called Caterpillar Yellow due to copyrights. They might call it Equipment Yellow.
Jim
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Because of HD and Lowes we have a shortage of those around here. Mine is on the absolute far side of town I generally never go to, so I’ve never checked.
That’s it.
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I believe Caterpillar changed its yellow at some point - the current color has a darker brownish tint to it . Tractor Supply carries it in a rattle can . You may want to decant it for airbrushing , or do as I did and mix your own with your favorite model paint.
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@RDT1953, hi Richard - I always like seeing this build - it’s great. I mix a cat color too, using a base of tamiya fine gray primer, then a coat of gold yellow, followed by camel yellow - all from the can, And as you note, it is pretty close to the new cat yellow, which is a bit warmer than the older yellow.
Cheers
Nick 
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Doing some searches online, both Home Depot and Lowes near me had the Caterpillar Yellow in stock – as long as you were willing to buy it either as six-packs of rattle cans or as gallon cans of paint, neither of which is particularly useful to most modelers. Like yours, mine had a dearth of individual rattle cans in that color.
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Krylon used to sell it in single cans. Maybe they still do. Very close in shade, and again, if its under the hood, hard to notice.
Speaking of under the hood, I’ve photographed the engines in numerous Army vehicles. In many case the engine yellow appears lighter than the body yellow. The body yellow on the D9R I photographed looks distinctly more “mustardy” than the engines. But then even on the same vehicle, with the same light value, different components appear to be different shades.
Dirty it up the engine a bit, the question becomes moot: (MATV)
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