Selecting a color for your Hot Rod is always difficult, maybe the most difficult of the build, unless you are a dyed in the wool Black only fan, which is where I usually stand. Â I have grown tired of all the similar looking roadsters in Black, Red, Yellow, Maroon and normal staple colors. The use of some earth tones seem to be making the scene these days and I like what I see. This year’s GNRS had some great colors like Winterleaf Brown, some dark grays, various shades of Washington Blue and many other tones that complimented the early coupes, roadsters and sedans. Don’t get me wrong, an all Black roadster with a mile deep paint job will always be my favorite. I talked to Roy Brizio who told me they tried some new colors this year and they were very impressive to me. Not sure I would know what color to paint my next car but as Lobeck used to say, ” The car will tell you what color it should be.” He had a good eye for color.
Magoo, Henry Dana and Boyd made their version of Porsche Guards Red a famous color in the 80-90’s. You would see a landscape of Red cars at all of the meets. Boyd moved on into Magenta for many of his builds as well as Purple. He also had a great eye for color selection. My favorite has always been Bobby Alloway’s famous Black paint jobs. I feel we have entered a new age of paint colors and interior colors for Hot Rods. Red and Tan, Black and Black, are being replaced with various shades of tan, distressed brown and even some fabric inserts like Side did for Darryl’s AMBR winner last year. I noticed Stoker’s had an interesting interior in their cute 29 entry. I look forward to seeing new trends in builds and the increased quality of paint and upholstery in Hot Rods. Of course, the cost of both of these items has skyrocketed over the past few years. Material and labor costs have driven the price out of many peoples budget. But the Suede palace has shown the somehow, the once famous primer movement has slowly turned to nice paint, upholstery and chrome for many who display there. Perhaps they have found some inexpensive painters or did the work themselves. Pride of ownership is the most important aspect of building a car yourself and enlisting those within your budget who can assist you.
Do you know the color of your next build?
Stay Tooned!
Lynn
click on photo for a larger image
A brownish olive color looked good on this Deuce roadster.
Winterleaf Brown looked really great on this Brizio built RPU.
  
I fell in love with this special shade of Burgundy 36 Cabriolet.
The interior and top were done in a complimentary brown color. Note perfect top aesthetics.
A fifties shade of Blue looked good on this build.
The blanket and Gray paint caught my eye on this little 29 roadster.
Roy had these two beauties in his booth with some new looking colors.
The “Lincoln” by Brizio was a shade of Lavender.
Putty was what the owner called this color on his roadster.
A flat Gray looked great on this 29 truck.
Another shade of Gray was used on this high end build shoebox. A very nice build.
Another 50’s color is this sharp Robin Egg Blue 40 truck.
Not sure what color this is but it seems to be popular on Deuce hiboys.
UPI has this Mint Green pickup on display in their booth.
Old Chester Gray makes a nice looking color on the Deuce.
Adams Rod Shop seems to come up with some great colors both exterior and interior wise.
Here is another shade of Winterleaf Brown a stock Deuce color.
Henry Richards of Steadfast started the trend with his stunning sedan painted this HD Green Color.
Darryl’s AMBR also selected a one off color for his roadster which may have continued the trend this year.
Sid as always did the upholstery with a fabric insert to offer a little different approach that rolls and pleats.
An 80’s build by MetalFab in MN who used Guards Red as their choice..weren’t they all!
Patina is still the favorite of some like Nick’s 50 shoebox. He just had to stop and have a view of the Pacific.
If I were to build another Deuce this would be the look for me!
A man after my heart and Rodger Bells is this all Black collection of Deuces. Old “99!”
Comments 3
Great job on this sight Lynn
Any ideas of colors for 42-48 Ford coupes?Thanks
Obliviously Darryl was never in the Army.
My ’32 tudor will be Buick midnight blue. Our ’47 Dodge convert will be Bing cherry red. My wifes ’53 Stude will be a Champagne tone on the bottom, not sure about the top, different darker shade complementary, or contrasting dark red, blue.