Fords can come in any colour again

Ford has been unable to supply some metallic red and black coloured vehicles since Japan's earthquake. Photo / Supplied

Ford says it has found non-metallic black and metallic red paints to replace colours that have not been available after Japan's March 11 earthquake.

"Our team has done a wonderful job of putting in replacement colours and those will be produced in the June and July time frame," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas. On March 25, Ford told its US dealers they could not order any more metallic tuxedo black and several shades of metallic reds.

German supplier Merck KGaA, the sole producer of a paint pigment for carmakers such as Ford and Chrysler Group, hasn't been able to operate its Japanese factory because it is too close to a nuclear reactor crippled by the quake.

The plant produces the pigment Xirallic used to give metallic paints a glistening look.

Six other metallic colours in Ford's lineup will go out of production in the next few weeks and months because of the shortage of Xirallic, said Ford spokesman Todd Nissen.

Ford will replace those colours with similar metallic shades, such as the Mustang's black.