Art & Inspiration Why'd You Pick That Color?

Jim Jacob's jakeopage 28 tub has always been a huge influence on me. I'm strongly thinking red for the tub. And also red because it's not a popular color choice right now.

 

I have yet to follow through with my plan but back in the 90's when I started my roadster project there were a few cars being painted a reeel dark blue, nearly black and it was real hard to tell for sure in some light.
That aspect always held some attraction for me, that and it was getting increasingly (even back then) difficult to come up with something that stood out from the sea of red and black hiboy deuce roadsters.
I don't know if they still make it but Dupont used to make what (I think) was called
"no moon blue", and it still is what I would go with.

 

1963 metal shop teacher had a 56 belair 409 4 speed, painted brown so no one would steal it

 

by definition black is the absence of color, but is it really?
i say it is all the colors around it.

 

i always liked green.............. so did my dad.

 

one of the nicest greens.........

 

Looks like vanilla ice cream. Love it.

 

I want that T-28!
Oops, this is a car color thread.....
Funny how a color will great on one car and horrible on another. I do like greens, but they certainly aren't right for all cars.

 

This, and a common happenstance. The 'brightest' white that's as close to proper would be Ford Wimbledon White, but the base will play a huge role in the final color. Best over a red oxide, black if you have the patience to apply thin coats and more of it to assure coverage. Best 30s white can be found in the PPG color palette. They call it "Vanilla Shake" and it's a really nice soft off white. Over a white sealer will brighten it a bit and remove the slightly tan tones from it once done and surfaced. It makes a stunning firewall color with any true candy. Red, Blue, Green, Root Beer, all look really sharp next to that white.

Early VW and Euro colors are surging right now. I've seen them on everything from Deuce roadsters to 50s Cadillacs. Some can pull it off, some just look weird. Most of those early shades are just plain 'dirty' and do very little to highlight trick mods or pleasant original shapes. For the darkest of dark blues (I've said this before) look for "Packard Blue", available from TCP Global. Or, if you have a good supplier they can mix it for you. It's all Prussian Blue toner with about 6-8 drops of white to a qt. Apply it over a black base, magic. Here's an early car with white on it and I think it pulled it off well. Another "Absence of Color" example that's been shared before:

 

Because everyone on the HAMB told me to...

Lately, I have been thinking of Roman Red for my T-Tudor for the very same reason.

 

...........I've always been a big fan of Wimbledon White since I owned this '64 Galaxie many yrs. ago. I'm not much of a fan of the bright, bright refrigerator Whites that I often see though.

 

Sorry it's not in color.

 

I have changed my mind numerous times before I settle upon a color for a car. But in the end, it really doesn't matter to me what color it is. I like just about any color. Even brown can look good on the right car. I have painted the spectrum from white to black to red to yellow, I like them all. But I haven't done a green one yet. Maybe that will be the next one.

 

I picked the colour I am painting my truck based on two Ayala shop custom Merc's the Wally Welch and Louis Bettancourt Mercs. They were both painted a similar colour when first completed. The lacquer paint was custom mixed for me by Manuel Reyes who painted the flames on the California Kid.

 

When I learned to paint, lacquer was about $20 a gallon. I loved painting and most of my cars got at least 2 color changes, if not more, in the couple years I owned them. Variety is the spice of life they say.

 

I know the "pastel period" is not terribly popular around here but I was quite smitten with "Vanilla Shake" when it first came on the scene, always seemed like a perfect compliment to a wide range of colors when two-toning.

 

I never have to worry about that question.
When I buy my Hot Rods.........I look for the "existing" paint cars and that's the color they stay.
Saves me lot of money that way!

 

The color the car is painted has to suit the car and build style-otherwise the impact is negative rather than positive-On early cars that are not heavily customized- I tend to lean toward solid colors rather than metallics.

 

To be more specific concerning white paint, I can see the use of vanilla shake and Wimbledon
White. IMO seeing a "refrigerator " white used on those eras I posted earlier is a giant no-no which is the point I was trying to make.
On the white subject ( without a hi jack here) does anyone know when the Big 3 started painting all white cars in the brighter whites similar to what we see now? If I had to guess I'd say Cadillac early 50's.

 

Funny stuff on this thread Don.

 

I wanted my coupe to look like an original car that someobe took the fenders off and made into a hot rod. Nothinng flashy, just a plain looking old coupe.
I picked an original color from a 29 model a ford, niagara blue.

 

While I'm not a fan of white cars, it appears that white is the safest color to paint a car.
We don't paint our cars in a color to be safe I guess, but it's something to consider.
It also appears that black cars are 12% more likely to be in an accident.

 

I respect your "criteria" and I realize many decisions are money driven but whenever I see a red pickup with a blue canopy on it I think they also put price before esthetics.

 

You would have got along great with my dad. He was always easy to pick out of a crowd, you just had to look for the guy wearing an orange sweater and green pants...

 

^^^^
Ha!

I never worry about what I wear either.
Colour co ordinated I'm not!
I'm of the "chrome don't getcha home" group!

 

Picked these colors because it came from the factory with them. Wanted it to look stock. Sort of.
1930 Ford Kewanee green

 

I gotta tell you, that post wasn't meant as a validation of your good taste and common sense!

 

.........................................Perfect!

 

the closest I ever came to painting a whole car would be the jambs and under the hood and trunk of my Sunbeam Alpine... then I sold it in primer with dark green jambs. quite a striking combination.

I have had more white cars than any other color, but I would never paint a car white. if I were more ambitious and more rich I would probably paint all my cars black. I had a friend with a beautiful Art Himsl painted 58 Impala. must have had 5 different shades of pink, with pearl and flake and all that Himsl kind of stuff. I used to like to tell him the first thing I would do with this car would be to paint it black

 

Warren