My 46 Olds will be painted OEM 2 tone, cream and metallic gold. Here's another 2 tone 46 Olds and a sweet 46 Olds resto in 2 tone green.
So if you own a white car, a bright metallic blue car, and a green car, does that mean you are severely schizophrenic? What about if you have a bike thats Jacaranda purple and silver? Deeply conflicted, but only when you are riding your Triumph??
Pretty much all of these are vehicle wraps and a lot cheaper than a paint job. The Lamborghini Reventon might be the exception as all 20 of them were painted that way at the factory, described by the factory as "mid opaque grey without the usual shine." Road going stealth bomber look I guess....
I just cant let this thread end with a post about wraps. Heres another early fifties colour I really like, '52 Buick Terrace Green. This would work really well on a fat fendered car with lots of curves, like a '40, or a '47-'55 chevy PU
This may be off topic slightly, but for many years I made regular trips to the OEM plants in Detroit. When color was brought up in one conference we were informed that factory colors are chosen mainly from women's clothing. Since surveys proved that the man picks the car but women pick the interior and color. So depending on fashion colors for that year also influenced car color choices.
How about fleet colors? I have seen rods and customs with really nice solids that are rich and deep and saturated using fleet colors. I had always assumed that such paint was either cheaper or easier to use for large commercial production work. But PPG now lists over 3600 colors in multiple finishes, some of which look quite complex.
I'm just thrilled the 80s pastel craze is dead. I couldn't stomach one more billet-laden street rod in 2-tone salmon pink and aqua.
For no particular reason, I've been particularly conscious of the overwhelmingly large number of non-colors on the road the last few days. Grey, white, silver, black, beige. I actually tried to estimate the percentage of cars I saw that were "real" colors -- red, blue, anything but neutrals -- and I really believe that the number is somewhere around 2% red, 1% blue, <1% everything else. The remaining 96% were all those fucking non-colors. That was the same observation I made when I started this thread three years ago, and for sure the situation hasn't improved. I live in a middle-class neighborhood, and maybe my neighbors are more conservative than in other areas, but sheesh! I am very nostalgic for the late '50s when cars were COLORFUL!
A year ago I bought a new car, because I wanted an intermediate with a standard transmission my choices were few. (None American) I chose Honda because I've had very good luck with them over the years, but with a manual transmission, I had 3 choices for colors, white, black and charcoal. I chose charcoal, because I really hate black and white modern cars. I have never understood why people paint a rod some ugly brown or grey or any other blah color. It's a rod for cripes sake, you drive it to stand out in the crowd, paint it a color that stands out, leave the blah colors for the restos.
I'd have chosen charcoal too; I really do like that color. I was all set to paint my '40 (avatar car) dark metallic charcoal, but there are so many dark charcoal cars on the road now that I had to change my plans. I think it's pretty significant that you only had a choice among three neutrals.
I agree. I work at a bodyshop as a painter and spend my life painting cars black, white and various shades of gray. I think it has actually gotten worse over the past few years. We see very few new cars that are a real colour. On the up side I have noticed a few more blues recently.
It would be interesting to me to see what a day in the life of an automotive "color stylist" is like.
For your average commuter car I am positive that most folks want a color that is easy to maintain. ie: white, silver etc. Red is a big pain, Black is the same. White you can't tell if it needs to be washed until you smear it. same with silver. For customs like Tony's exotic colors should be the norm. Beautiful reds, candys, Pearls ETC. I am very glad i don't have to make this decision!!!! Semi gloss black works for me
My stepdaughter (who has always been very artistically minded) and I have played this game while sitting in traffic for years. We get about the same numbers as you. The only exceptions seem to be the little wind-up car shitboxes. They sell those in colors, and some pretty cool ones, a great metallic mauve on some kinda newer Mitsu, and a bunch of pretty cool golds on the Mitsu as well as the Chevy and Ford micro cars (sorry, car model names unknown). I've also spotted a fantastic, almost candy root-beer on a Toyota Venza.
Dave, those late 50's tutone colors on Fords - black and orange - were also on Dodges in a different variation, but similar hues. I recall a 57 Dodge four-door that was salmon and charcoal. Loved that combo. Seems it carried over from the 56 Dodges, which had lots of chrome, too.
When I bought my '13 Mustang a few years ago, I told the salesman I didn't want red, black, or any silver. They had difficulty in finding a car... LOL (I took 'Impact Blue' which I like but is a bitch to keep clean on my gravel road). One thing I have noticed is it's the lower-line models from just some makers (mostly American) that seem to be seen in bolder colors; imports or once you go above a price point, they all get bland looking...
I've never agonized over colors. I can not explain how or why, but some colors just click for for certain cars. From the earliest I remember my dad talking about cars, his favorite color combination was light mint/seafoam green with dark almost black green trim, from his '53 Pontiac. When ever I was going to paint a car, he always pushed for that combination. At one point when I was going to have a car painted, as usual he was pushing for his colors. I promised that I'd use his colors someday. Fast forward 36 or so years, and from the first time I pictured my current project, it was in his colors. Some if not many may not like it, but for me the colors and the car are made for each other.
Hey, Brook; This is interesting, though not w/o history. I do know flags use color for representation(s) of (supposed)value(s), & to convey "ideals", sometimes through images. Which would probably work, if everybody had a clue because it being actually taught from young. This actually happening - would of course upset the knowledge-apple-cart & spoil things. & of course, colors of ink for signatures, autographs, & contracts. Shields are the same way, as are corporate logos. I'd be interested in reading more, if there were decent, reliable sites available. I've seen some, but I wouldn't call them definitive, & it's been awhile anyways. Got any? TIA. As for thread-content, Fords' f-150(last couple of years) cherry red & slightly darker(Bordeaux?) is good. The cherry red is near candy apple. For greens, ~'54 Packard had a real interesting color w/metallic, that pops in the sun. Kawasaki had an darkish almost candy-Jade on the '96 ZX-11, & a dark almost-black purple on the '95 ZX-11. My "problem" sorta-now for the future, is figuring out how color(s) react on concave & convex surfaces for future projects. '55 Stude Speedsters, ~'50/'51 Stude 4dr(modified to represent possible factory "what-if" cars), & some late '20s -> mid 30's Studes +/-. Got color selection(s) wanted, but not shades etc. Marcus...
Hello, Here are two separate Corvair Greenrbier Wagons. Each one has its characteristics, low mileage and nice work on the stock appearance. My wife liked the red one just because she could see it from a block away. But, that also means so can the CHP or local police for any reason. But, we both would probably like the bluish one better, just because of the color and appearance when we would drive it to the beach or campgrounds. Although, with our fortunate colors on our daily drivers, this grey/white Corvair would probably stay the cleanest in all sorts of weather conditions and road trips. Look at the three Corvair vans. One stands out, whereas, the other two blend in better and don’t attract as much attention in all sorts of driving. So, that could be a “saving grace” moment as folks would notice the red one and be cautious. Or… notice the clean old van and still admire the old folks driving around in something they knew as a new vehicle 63 years ago. Jnaki But, the red Greenbrier was pristine and the cost was a little higher than the blue one. We drove a red 1965 El Camino for 125k miles and yes, the pristine red did stand out anywhere we went. But, at the time, we were 20 somethings and red was ok. At least we never lost sight of the El Camino in any large parking lot. Perhaps, that is why my wife in her college days, could see the Red El Camino parked a row back from her light blue 62 Corvair in the vast parking lot where we both went to school. It was instant recognition anywhere we went and it was one of those cars that just stood out in a vast field of cars. So, yes, from 1964 fall season new to 125k mile in 12 years is/was reliable, attracted attention as the color was always pristine red. YRMV Note: Since we have gone through several black cars, they are history for us. As nice as a deep black paint color is, it is a nightmare to take care of, even after a thorough detailing after a hand washing. Luckily, we lived in a house or apartment with a garage. But, the daily parking on any street or community takes its toll on all paints, but the black paint shows more. Living on the coast, near the ocean has its plus factors. So, we bought a black car one year. The salt air is constantly floating around with every wave crashing on the shore. It floats in the air and with the trend of prevailing winds coming from the ocean to the land, it covers everything in sight. Including cars left outside of a closed garage. We took good care of the black coupe, but it was double overtime work every day or weekend. Now, our silver and custom white daily drivers stay cleaner longer and we live far enough away from the salt air infusion for most of the year. So, they still need cleaning, but it takes longer to get as dirty as an all black painted sedan or station wagon. Color matters…
The Jalopy Journal
