I am not talking about Flat black or Primer, but the flat metallics or candy? Was it because some guys did not know how to paint or buff. Or was it because the paint didnt last in those days? Anyone.............
i think everyone wanted a shiny car. id guess the weather beat the shine off or it was painted poorly with any paint they could get their hands on.
The flat black and flat other color look came about because the primers didn't seal the body off from rusting. I have a feeling that the flat metallics came about because someone (and myself at one time) didn't clear coat the paint after They painted it with the base color. In 1973 I was rushing to get my 48 ready to to the Street Rod Nationals in Tulsa and we painted it 72 Monte Carlo gold. I could never get it to shine and it was a lot later that I woke up and figured out that the color should have been clear coated.truck h My truck has been in one shade or another of primer for so long that I am ready for shiny paint. Some of the old time rodders around Waco Tx will tell you that it was pretty standard procedure to swing by WH Thomas automotive on Thursday nights in 1974/75 to see what shade of primer I was spraying on the truck for the next weekend. Today I think it is probably more of a vote against spending thousands of bucks to put a super shiny paint job on a car or truck.
all the old farts ive ever spoken to have a different answer. guys from east coast to west coast legends. i dont know if a definate answer to questions like that can ever be decided on.
Started with primer? Not really. In the early 60's we used to add this stuff to what ever color you wanted to give the look. But it was primarily used to flatten black paint that was used on hoods etc.
Years ago I asked some "old timers" (remember, I was younger then ) about why the army vehicles were painted flat instead of shiny. I was a kid.. I didn't know that they used to put flatteners in paint to act as cammo. I was told they used gasoline as thinner in some cases. BOOM! Sometimes they's used linseed oil or kerosene. So... it goes a fair way back.
Who said it had to be only one person's idea? Around here in the 60s, the painters would tint white primer to get the pastel flat colors that they wanted. I don't think they meant for it to be the final paint job but it did look good and many of us asked how they got it. These were the mild street driven customs of the day usually the in progress customs.
In the mid 60's I built a 55 Chevy or rather was in the process of building it and wanted some color on it. This was not going to be the finished deal but only until I got the whole car ready for paint. we tooklight gray primer and tinted it with a blue base color and shot it with that. The look was good and gave me enough protection over the metal to get it ready to finish. Ran it that way for about a year before I put the finish color on it. Later, ****
I believe Evel is right about the current trend of flattened metallics and pearls. I think Cole and Jesse Cruz first did it back in the early 90's and that is when the current trend really caught on. Tinted primers are a different story not really meant as a final finish while Coles finishes were meant to be the final finish they were not put on to give color before the car was painted for real.
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