I stole this pic from cars for sale thread. It belongs to Justa231. I hope he doesn't mind:biggrin: My car is the same color (dark red metallic) but the top surfaces are faded and needs new paint. I have chrome where this car in the pic has the black out option. I can either go with factory color or try a two tone. Any suggestions? Bodyshop wants to do a silver or grey two tone with the red on bottom. I just need hood, roof, trunk painted. Thanks!
Need color for new paint ideas
- Thread starter GNRick
- Start date
TheGovernment
Member
- Joined
- May 2, 2010
I don't know if it's just me but I hate 2 tone cars. IMO, they look horrible. I've been painting for quite a few years now and IMO, 2 tone if just a way to hide bad body work or make some "look" flashy.
I've always found it's the rims and the little stuff that really make the car.
The color combo your shop wants to go with would probably look odd, as silver and dark red are not a great combo to begin with. If they are planning on going that far, your going to have to clear the whole panel anyways (if they don't plan on doing it that way, take your car somewhere else) I'd go for a unified color of your choice.
But thats just me. What I've learnt in my years painting is that terrible colors can look pretty sweet on the right car and awesome colors can look like a pile of garbage on the nicest car you've ever seen lol
I've always found it's the rims and the little stuff that really make the car.
The color combo your shop wants to go with would probably look odd, as silver and dark red are not a great combo to begin with. If they are planning on going that far, your going to have to clear the whole panel anyways (if they don't plan on doing it that way, take your car somewhere else) I'd go for a unified color of your choice.
But thats just me. What I've learnt in my years painting is that terrible colors can look pretty sweet on the right car and awesome colors can look like a pile of garbage on the nicest car you've ever seen lol
If it where me I would paint the whole car the same color.I been a auto body collision tech for 26 years and if the top surfaces of the car is faded and the body shop cares about the work they do they will have to blend the color to the header panel and fenders when painting the hood and clear all panels.When painting the roof they will have to blend color into the quarter panels and clear the roof and whole quarter panels too.When painting the trunk lid they are going to have to blend color to the quarter panels and paint the filler between the trunk lid and back window also and clear all panels,some shops will panel paint but there is almost always a difference in color and texture. The roof can't be panel painted because there is no break off point so they will have to blend the clear and melt it into the quarters,usually by the side window or at the first body line on the quarter.Over time the blended clear will break down from the heat of the sun.The reason for blending out the color is so you don't see any difference in color from panel to panel,so with that being said the only panels left to paint is the doors,bumper fillers,quarter extentions and rear spoiler, if you have one.This also gives you a reason to take care of any dents and dings you might have.Also if the faded surfaces are cracked (checked) they will have to be stripped to bare metal to do it right.Doing it this way will ensure many years of enjoyment with no paint issues,but will cost quite a bit more roughly $3,000-5,000 depending on how much body work needs to be done.Good luck and take your time picking a auto body shop to do the job,remember some care about their work and some care about the money only.If you have any questions feel free to PM me.Thanks,ikle.
Thanks Ikle. Bodyshop owner said he would strip paint down to bare metal and charge $2500. He uses PPG products. I paid him $5500 to do my GN a couple months ago. He also stripped it down to bare metal. I removed most of the trim like bumpers, quarter glass, antenna, etc. He removed the rest, like door handles and locks, rear spoiler, trim around front/back windows. He did a real good job. I was just trying to save a little money this time around. Would like to get it looking good for the meet in Ohio on 7/31/11.
Body shop owner came by today. Benefit of living in a small town I guess. I had a problem matching the dark red paint when I painted the new front bumper fillers. The paint which was mixed per the paint code was a little too light. So I went back and they mixed me a new, darker batch. The paint is Sherwin Williams (for cars, not homes) and they put it in a spray can. Anyway, body shop dude uses PPG, so I'm a bit concerned that he will have a problem matching the bottom half. Long story short, we decided on black. Problem solved. Still taking suggestions though.
Well, I paid $4000 for it about 10 years ago. I rebuilt the motor, did maintenance items over the last 10 years, and it turned 200,000 miles 7 days ago. Transmission is still original. Previous owner had the car repainted in 1991 at the dealer where he bought it. So I don't think the value is too high right now. I'm just thinking of something different, like putting a wig on the girl friend. Also, if the top half is painted black, he won't have to blend the color with the bottom half. He will separate the colors with a pin stripe. But I appreciate your opinion.
TheGovernment
Member
- Joined
- May 2, 2010
The problem with paint matching is, it doesn't. Your paint code may be a specific color but that's not to say GM didn't have variances on that exact code. Your color could have 2-15 other variances and even those may not be an exact match. Heck I use dupont cromax at work and pretty much no color old or new is an exact match (there are a few exceptions). We pretty much always have to blend out into the adjacent panels.
Your paint is old and faded, the paint yellows over time with uv rays. There are just tons of things to take into consideration.
As for blending the color into the bottom, when i say blend, I mean clearing the whole panel, not blending 2 separate colors. Either way, he should be painting it complete or your wasting your money. I mean you don't have to listen to us and do what you want but theres a right and a wrong way to paint your car. If he does a 2 tone, just make sure he does it right.
Your paint is old and faded, the paint yellows over time with uv rays. There are just tons of things to take into consideration.
As for blending the color into the bottom, when i say blend, I mean clearing the whole panel, not blending 2 separate colors. Either way, he should be painting it complete or your wasting your money. I mean you don't have to listen to us and do what you want but theres a right and a wrong way to paint your car. If he does a 2 tone, just make sure he does it right.
