Paint color- how do you choose one

[zzebby]

I've got two projects in the works and absolutely no idea what color to do them.   Last two projects were banana yellow and irmine white and was happy with both of them but ...............
Saw a new PT Cruiser today that was a custard / caramel yellow.  Made me want to get a spoon and dig in.  First one I've seen,  anyone else seen that yet?
I've never been good at picking colors,  we have a BIG 38 Ford truck that pulled a BIG trailer with all the kids when they were young.  Travelled all over every summer.  When first built in the early 80's I painted it deep maroon and my wife hated the color.  Shortly thereafter I had it apart to change motors and the front clip and running boards where set off out of the way up on saw horses.  It took me a few weeks and one day while I was at work my wife saw her opportunity................went to the paint shop and very flamboyantly said " match my nails"  and held out her freshly painted fingernails.  They mixed her a gallon,  she loaded the spray gun per their instructions and when I got home from work she was in the back yard.........in her bikini (wow figure then) .............just laying on the final coat.  I've got pics as proof............  I'm sure Crosley has seen this beast around town with the maroon cab  and ................HOT PINK  front clip.    
That was years ago and the hot pink has faded to a pepto bismol color,  but ...............it's different.
How do you guys pick a color ?

[EMSjunkie]

If ya wanna sleep safe and sound at night............let the Mrs. pick out the color

thats what I did, and she did OK, for a chick

now about those pix of her in the back yard....................


Vance

[Crosley.In.AZ]

must be a new colour on the PT cruisor.

I've only seen a few of them that colour

>

[Deuce]

I am NO HELP ...
I paint everything BLACK ...

[Dave]

I've got two projects in the works and absolutely no idea what color to do them.   Last two projects were banana yellow and irmine white and was happy with both of them but ...............
Saw a new PT Cruiser today that was a custard / caramel yellow.  Made me want to get a spoon and dig in.  First one I've seen,  anyone else seen that yet?
I've never been good at picking colors,  we have a BIG 38 Ford truck that pulled a BIG trailer with all the kids when they were young.  Travelled all over every summer.  When first built in the early 80's I painted it deep maroon and my wife hated the color.  Shortly thereafter I had it apart to change motors and the front clip and running boards where set off out of the way up on saw horses.  It took me a few weeks and one day while I was at work my wife saw her opportunity................went to the paint shop and very flamboyantly said " match my nails"  and held out her freshly painted fingernails.  They mixed her a gallon,  she loaded the spray gun per their instructions and when I got home from work she was in the back yard.........in her bikini (wow figure then) .............just laying on the final coat.  I've got pics as proof............  I'm sure Crosley has seen this beast around town with the maroon cab  and ................HOT PINK  front clip.    
That was years ago and the hot pink has faded to a pepto bismol color,  but ...............it's different.
How do you guys pick a color ?

Oh ya ..Dud you cant come here and talk S&*T like that without pics.
Were all waiting..
Dave

[alchevy]

I was trying to decide on a color for my '40 Chevy and I liked how the dark maroons look on big sedans, but I am very partial to bright Red. So I had been seeing these late model Victory Red Monte Carlos around and one day I saw one in the bright sunshine and that's all it took.

If you go to some of the bigger car shows these days, you will see some wild color schemes that I would not of thought they would look good if someone had told me what the color was going to be before they painted it. Louisville is one place like that. So I guess it takes imagination to visualize what it's going to look like in that color. Or you could get ya one of those computer programs (House of Kolor sells one) that lets you see what it will look like on the car.
AL

[tom36]

When I was building my 53 Merc mild custom, my friends would ask what color I was going to paint it.  I said purple and gold and I could see their noses kinda wrinkle up.  When I painted it the same folks said "that looks pretty nice, what colors are those?"  I told them "Champagne and Plum". I guess that sounds better than purple and gold.  Tom...

[40]

I'm not much help,Like Randy.....Most of my stuff is Black,Ocassionally a red or yellow just to break the monotony

[donsrods]

Final color is the toughest decision to make on a car.  I always know what engine, trans, body, frame, etc I am going to do, but never know what color it is going to be until I finally lay out the cash and carry it out of the paint store.

Certain colors are "safe". like red or black.  You can't go too wrong there, but we all strive to be different than the other 5000 cars at a show, so it takes some risk to do that and end up with something nice.

When I did my '27 roadster, it was going to be black, then red, then yellow. But I happened to open a magazine one day and there was a purple '32 Ford coupe, and it was exactly the oldtimey color I was looking for, so I shot the frame in it, and never quite got around to the body in the 7 years I drove it. :oops:

On my current T project, I don't want this car to be "normal" in any respect, that is why it is sort of cartoonish. Very low and a very high engine.  I didn't want to do satin black with red wheels, as that is being done a lot right now, but one day a new Hummer rolled into work, and the color just grabbed me.  It is called Fusion Orange, but looks more bronze or gold to me, and was exactly what I was looking for.  

So far I have painted the engine and trans that color, and I think I am going to like it a lot.  Here is a shot of that color.

Don

[donsrods]

And the transmission.................

[sirstude]

I agonize for years, and then when I pick a color, my wife hates it and I start all over again.  The Olds was her dads car, so she needs some input on it.

Doug

[rumrumm]

I did a mockup in PhotoShop before I ever started building--found a picture in Street Rodder magazine, scannned it, and then I went to work modifying the picture to determine what I wanted to do. The finished mockup looks very similar to the finished car. House of Color has a program for this sort of thing, but since I know PhotoShop, I can do it with any image. I don't know if you can scan images into the H of C program. You may be limited to the images in the program.

[1FATGMC]

Rule #1, never ask your buddies.  They probably can't pick out a color for their own cars and if they can you probably don't like it.

Rule #2, only ask your wife if it is going to be her car or you know the color she is going to pick is what you want, otherwise she is just going to say "why did you ask me, you were just going to paint it what you wanted anyway".  Now you are in the dog house and still don't have a color picked out.

Rule #3, don't use the color off of some car you really like at some car show unless it really fits your car.  I feel you can paint most 30's roadsters and coupes about any color you want and they will look ok to good, but put some of those same colors on a custom or late 40's to 60's car and they can look terrible.

Rule #4, when you look at other cars really try and visualize that color on your car, not theirs (this could have been added to rule #3).

Rule #5, even though it is expensive if in doubt buy a pint or so of the color you want and spray it on something at least as large as a fender.  I spent over $100 once doing this, but at least I hadn't spent over $500 and ended up with a color I didn't like.

Rule #6, remember, remember, remember this is your car and you are going to see it probably every day and you want to smile when you look at it today, tomorrow and maybe 5-10 years from now even if it is the most obnoxious color to everyone else.

Rule #7, when you see the right color you will know it.  Just keep looking.

Rules #8 on up pertain to "flames", so I won't go into them here   ,

Sum

[Carnut]

Color? I thought pro distressed was the 'in' thing.

[Dave]

Ya ever see the movie where they were stealing cars and they took one for paint and the guy asked what color it was gonna be and the painter turned around and threw a screwdriver over his shoulder into a paint chart. Then he turned around and said thats your color..  Ok Honest ejnun..I did that once to a guy.. Stuck in white so he picked the hemi orange next to it..    
Dave