How Did You Decide On The Color For Your Hotrod ?

This has got to be the #1 deliema for me, color choice. I'm nearing the end of my project, and for months I have stressed over the right color or colors for the body, chassis and engine.
A'm I alone?
What does a man do?
Flat finish ------- Flashy Finish --------Black------Red--------Metalflake

Anything worth doing is worth doing right, but colors either make it or kill it.
Can any one help ????

What did you do ???

 

I dont like blue, so I painted mine blue.

 

Whatever faded old paint job and the requisite rust always made a fine two-tone combo on my cars.

Seriously, look around for cars similar to yours and see what's out there. You may run across something that really trips your trigger. I walk new car dealers lots on sunny days sometime to see how some of the newer factory colors look.

Photoshop or some similar software is good for trying out different ideas and colors and it's easy to correct bad choices. Ultimately it really comes down to how you react to a certain color and how you think it'll look. After all, it is your car.

Of course, there's always satin black...

 

I used the one gauranteed best way to get the right color. And the way to promote eternal happiness.


IT WAS THE ONE THAT MY SPOUSAL UNIT LIKED.


BB

 

Since I don't have a garage to work on my car during the winter I'm building a model of it and in the process trying out a few different color schemes. You're close enough to the end that this may not be very effective, but it helps me visualize what I'm going for.

 

My beautiful wife says it needs to be Black, as she see's it as Mean and Nasty.

I canot disagree.

But I have always loved Bass-Boat-Flake.

But I'm not into polished anything, as I would rather spend my spare time driving it or fabricating.

Wash and Wear if you know what I mean.

Of course, doing the body work is not my favorite part of fabricating

 

Just wasting old spray paints ........

 

Are there any colors other than BLACK ?

 

First you need to decide what era/look you are after. Then kinda think about what looks right to you. Also you have to keep in mind the bodywork that precedes a "good" black finish. Flake is good but I forsee it will get old in the next 5 years. I try and paint my stuff neutral so it will look good and still be in style in 20 years. No heartbeat stripes or ZZ stripes on my stuff.

 

Go with shiny, I know that. There is nothing as timeless as a "finished" traditional hot rod. Flake is cool, but Root is right, it may be dated soon...

I kinda regret my choice of "faux" primer on my coupe project, I feel it also be "dated" .

Shiny black is great, how about shiny maroon ?

Good luck !

 

Well I bought mine with an old coat of grey primer alreay on it, and after sitting under my barn for a decade, then out side for the past two, its kinda developed some real patina. You could'nt pay me to paint it now! I think the biggest problem with "fauxtina" is how first they make it look "old", then keep it all clean in their garage. A guy around here has a neat deuce done up this way, and if he would just leave it outside for a year it would be perfect!
-Dean

 

Like Henry always said You can have it any color you want as long as it's BLACK

 

"Listen to the car; it will tell you what color it wants to be."

Sam Foose told me that years ago, and it's always seemed to work as far as I can tell, at least for me.

Mike

 

For some reason, I see silver on that car... could be that the grill shell looks kinda like a robot. maybe a compromise would be that 90's Chrysler color that was kinda chunky. Bright blue or red-orange for the accent color (engine, wheels) and leave the firewall white.

 

The color choice for Big Olds WAS the MOST difficult decision on the whole build. A few years ago I was thinking I was going to paint him copper and was prettty hooked on that color and the choices I had made for top, interior and carpet. The right shade of copper was my big decision at the time.

Fast forward 3 years till last winter. After reflecting on all the copper cars that had come out the previous years I want not so thrilled about the color any longer but I didn't know what I wanted....at all.

I knew I was not into spit and polishing him all the time. While I love black, after spending a summer with Roadstar and his black '40 I KNEW that black wasn't for Big Olds. Besides the fact a black '48 Olds convert had just been built outta NY.

What was I gonna do? The body work was almost complete and Earl Schieb was insisting it was time to decide on a color. I spent HOURS looking at all these paint chip books he had, marking the pages with the colors that caught my eye with a paperclip. I spent the most time looking at the "vintage" Oldsmobile colors. Well to make a long story alittle shorter when I saw the '61 Olds color called "Twilight Mist Poly" I knew that was the right color.... but I still needed a push to make the decision.

Mike, Earl Schieb, was kind enough to mix up a pint of both the copper color I had chosen and the Twlight Mist Poly and did a spray out of both. I took everything home and thought about it for about 3-4 weeks. I carried those cans around with me all over the house and looked at them while I was doing other things. My friends thought I was nuts but it's a HUGE deciision that I took seriously. I knew I would only be painting him once during my ownership and I didn't want to make a "mistake" and paint him a color that would be dated after a few years as Root stated.

I don't envy you at this point. It will be the hardest decision you will make regarding the car and your not alone in feeling this way. Take your time and don't feel rushed. Good Luck bud.

I just read what Mike said and I agree. I believe Big Olds did tell me the Twilight Mist Poly was the right color for him. It just took me awhile to agree with him.

 

Well, if the 'Caveman' is going to be the 'Rocketeer' now....I'm leaning toward silver.

Then again.....Streamline era maroon and cream?
Think Buck Rodgers (Black and white, not the 70's crap) and streamlined Lionel train sets.

The grill really sets the tone.
Like the name change.

 

...uh...Glenn...check out the 'Black on Black on Black' post...nuff said?

 

Thanks for the comments folks, I guess I have not been listening to the car....been to busy fabricating it .

It has taken on the 'Rocketeer' - 'Buck Rogers' - '60's styling street competition' look.

I don't have any 'photo shop programs to work with

Any ideas ???

 

The local tractor supply store only had John Deere green or Massey Furgeson gray.

It was a hard decision.

I went with the grey.

No, I'm not kidding.

 

von franco built that model T a few years back.. was pagan gold with black steelies and wide whites, with a matching harley, if i remember. saw a pic of it in the socal sun and it knocked me off my ass about as much as the first time i saw the first girlfriend i had nekked... decided to build my buddy's 65 impala that he was selling and decided on steel wheels. so there we go. found "war bonnet yellow," a 71 corvette color close to pagan gold in the sun, had my steelies powdercoated black and ran thin whitewalls (because WIDE whitewalls on anything that late model is just wrong, unless you're superfly!). pretty good transition, if i do say so, T roadster to 65 impala!

 

I think the color depends on the era. I chose a dark root beer/champagne color for mine because I like dark, classy colors and it goes well with the 40's period. I would go shiney! I don't think I will ever own another suede or flat car, too much maintenance to keep it clean and nice. I like giving it a nice wash and cleaning her up, I have a nurturing personality! Good luck and keep us posted...

Adam

 

I kicked ideas around for a long time. My wife would love candy apple red, but candies fade pretty quickly and after the '49 is finished I have a super secret project that the Francois et Phillippe skunkwerks need to do. So…classic black it shall be. And, yes I listened to the car. In fact, I agrued with the damn thing. Black requires a perfect body, and IS high maintainence. But the idea is for the car to look like it was done at Gil Ayalas East LA shop in the mid fifties, so, black, Titian Red or Glade Green were the onliest choices.

Listen to the car. Your's says Competition Yellow to me, but it needs to whisper in YOUR ear.

 

Orange ... yellow wheels & running gear ... black tires ???
302

 

my rule of thumb is just make it NICE rather than succumbing to every trad trend out there... a good combination that u can live with and see every damn day...

 

Hey,what about the pink pastel,swoopy graphix I designed for your truck?
...you told me you loved it.

Uhhhhh...yeah, really I do....

 

You are asking us, virtual strangers to you, to help you with a very personal decision, one that only you can ultimately answer.
You might as well ask us "What woman should I marry in order to enjoy a life of joy and true happiness.

The answer:

"How the fuck should we know?"

Do this, start at the begining. Imagine yourself alone in the universe. Nothing else. Now visualize your car. What do you see? What is the car? Are you not the car? Is not the car you?

Now let's forget that crap. Ask yourself a question:

"Why paint the car?"

Answer:

To protect metal surfaces from corrosion and prevent shortened service life of vehicle and allow for accurate, predictable allocation of resourses for maintenance and fixed overhead.

That's it in a bloodless nutshell. So any color will work.

Okay. Think about that later. Ask yourself another question:

"Why paint the car?"

Same question? So it is. Answer it yourself this time, what is your criteria regarding paint? And Cars?
PAinting it to suit your own taste? Easy! Solution: What color do you like? Wimbledon white? Band-Aid Tan? James Brown? Agent Orange?
Go for it.

Are you painting to impress? Some color or combination of colors or technique that will cause people to look with interest? Answer: Find out what other people like and react to. Good Luck.

How did you make other decisions regarding the creation and building of your car? Did you set out to build it like a really cool one you once saw with your decisions helped by considering what had worked elsewhere thus setting guidelines for you?

Did you work to create unique stuff utilizing your own unerring instincts? Your criteria is you can paint it what ever the hell you want. Who cares what other people think. Fuck them. You wish to hell they would leave you alone. You hate people in general and are hoping for a good epidemic to wipe out half of the population.

Okay, think about that later. Remember some basics.

* Dark shiny colors really show off surface. If surface uneven every flaw will be revealed to the eye. Black, Dark blue. These colors also show dirt and smudges and nose prints. Eternal vigilance is the price of miles deep black on black on black. Not for everybody.

*Light colors, whites in particular, and such also silvers can hide "a multitude of sins" plus dirt. White hides dirt well. I've owned a number of white convertibles with white tops and white walls and could let the washing slide a bit at times. Bird doo on the other hand must be attended to promptly no matter the color or you risk losing social standing.

* Look around at what is "currently popular". What do you see? Do you like what you see? Would you be satisfied being a "me too" kind of rodder? In fact the mission statement of this Bulletin Board states clearly that you should not be. The denizons of this space encourage the strict avoidance of fads and trends along the flavor of the month type. The denizons of this board are all about fads and trends of a significant nature however. This is traditional hotrods, not sending a probe to Pluto by 2012.

* Hang around with crusty oldtimers and keep your ears open. Listen to what they are saying regarding paint, it's substance, it's application, and the names of the vaunted ones in the constellation of pigments. The revered names of ... I dare not mention them for I am a mere Plebian myself. But you get the idea. Adopt the opinions of the crusty ones without examination. Ape and parrot their beliefs and bewildering mannerisms as well. The crusty ones will take notice of you before they savagely turn on you just like they've turned on all the others.

Okay, don't think about that too much. Do this, strike off colors that suck. That is, done to death stuff like the much despised flat black with red wheels. Or "Ticket Me Red"
Anything that says "Cliche" or "Rat Rod" or "Hollywood" or just creeps you out.

Another question, using whatever criteria you use to identify someone as a genuine asshole, ask what color are their cars? Can a genuine asshole drive a car that's a truly great color? I seriously doubt that. Identify the colors they surround themselves with and avoid using them. That'll help a lot.

Okay, think about that later. What it comes down to is you will make the choice yourself. And you know what? If you you don''t like it you can change it. It isn't like getting married after all, is it?

Whew! That's a fucking relief!

 

Man, that was deep, in many ways.

Glenn....watch 'Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow' and 'The Shadow' ... Oh, and of course 'Rocketeer'.
It'll come to you man.

 

I like the dark maroon idea. But that's probably more a mid 50s look.

 

It's what I had layin' around.