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Paint Color - Regrets?

26K views 80 replies 56 participants last post by  Bilwil 
#1 ·
Picking the color to have my car painted is nerve racking. My wife and I are trying to decide between two completely different colors.
So, have any of you picked a color, then been so disappointed you changed to something else?
I will follow up with our choice once we make our decision.

Thanks,
Doug
 
#2 ·
Doug:. I let the color choices stew for the entire 2 year build! I just kept looking at cars (any cars) in the color choices my wife and I liked and finally settled on Ford "magnetic metallic" (graphite). These cars look good in almost anything, so whatever color you pick will work!
:smile2:
 
#7 ·
Frank,

Can you post a picture?! I'm picking the colors out now - Jeff Miller will be doing the painting, and we're looking at a mid-January date. I've been thinking of gun metal gray with black stripes - not sure about the exact colors. See below. The web site said gun metal gray and black.

Thanks,

Steve
 

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#3 ·
I have spent most of my time doing my build thinking that I was going to paint my car satin blue with gloss blue racing stripes. However I have now started thinking of going with black with gunmetal racing stripes. I'm sure i will change my mind again before an eventual paint job that I hope will come in the spring.
 
#4 ·
I still love my color even though the "blues" get dissed for being too common. Mine is an original 60's Ford color so it's a bit different. But Frank is right - these cars look great in any almost any color. I did see one with huge metalflake that I didn't love (think bass boat or dune buggy). My only advice is to make sure your wife is on board with you choice. Good luck. You really can't go wrong!
-Chas

 
#5 ·
Chas,
I am a long way from getting to the paint, but have been struggling with the color. Wife and I agree we do not need another red, have a gray and tan for daily drivers, short story, we decided we need a blue car in the mix. I have not been able to say I am comfortable with the blue, so far. After seeing yours, I think there will be a short list. Any chance you can give me an exact year, or color name for the blue you have? I am impressed. I was about to drop the blue option, but really like the shade you have.
 
#8 ·
Yes, for many of us, color choice was a challenge.
My car was prepped and ready for paint and I had narrowed the color choices down to silver, black, blue and red. :)

When I finally decided on red, I found out there were literally hundreds of reds to choose from.

Good luck. Like the others have said, they look good in (almost) any color.
 
#9 ·
I've been building for 4 years, and it seems like every year, I have a different color in mind.
When I started, Toxic Orange as found on the dodge charger/challenger was my vision.
The orange colors have aged, and so have I, so I started swaying towards a dark metallic gray (especially magnetic gray like frankb)
This year, I got the car registered, and have been driving it in the bright red gelcoat, enjoying and appreciating red. I also like the idea that other cars will more easily see the bright red, low profile, light weight roadster before making an ill-advised maneuver in front of me. However, having driven a burnt orange mustang for a decade, I know that argument is a fallacy.
If I painted today, it would be magnetic grey with a bright red stripe (similar to the summit racing roadster). Maybe next year, it'll be flipped to bright red with a metallic stripe.
And of course blue always looks good. My wife has steadfastly held to this color preference, and maybe I'll cave in to her preference before it is finally painted!
Bottom line, these cars seem to look good in any color.
 
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#72 ·
I've been building for 4 years, and it seems like every year, I have a different color in mind.
When I started, Toxic Orange as found on the dodge charger/challenger was my vision.
The orange colors have aged, and so have I, so I started swaying towards a dark metallic gray (especially magnetic gray like frankb)
This year, I got the car registered, and have been driving it in the bright red gelcoat, enjoying and appreciating red. I also like the idea that other cars will more easily see the bright red, low profile, light weight roadster before making an ill-advised maneuver in front of me. However, having driven a burnt orange mustang for a decade, I know that argument is a fallacy.
If I painted today, it would be magnetic grey with a bright red stripe (similar to the summit racing roadster). Maybe next year, it'll be flipped to bright red with a metallic stripe.
And of course blue always looks good. My wife has steadfastly held to this color preference, and maybe I'll cave in to her preference before it is finally painted!
Bottom line automotive paint, these cars seem to look good in any color.
I've owned a lot of cars. 34 to be exact. Having owned that many, I've discovered that many times I've sold a car because I regret the color I chose. Not every color works on every car and their different lines. I call it "color regrets" and it is a strong incentive to get into something else. I'm wondering if anyone who has already purchased their M3/M4 has regrets about choosing their particular color. Even slightly. Please indicate your color if you have any regrets about the choice and why. Thanks!
 
#10 ·
I absolutely had no doubts about what color my car would be, after all, i've been dreaming about it my whole life!

Mine is blue because the very instant i open the garage door and see it, my vision for a Cobra is blue with white stripes. it's been my dream car forever. If mine weren't blue i just know i'd have disappointed myself over and over again.

Close your eyes and see your car...what's the first color you see it in? That's your baby!

Have fun with the build!
 
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#11 ·
Is that blue indigo ink?
 
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#12 ·
No regrets but whenever I see pictures of any of the many beautiful cars here, it does inspire 'secondbuilditis' an incurable condition only treated symptomatically by starting another FFR build. I'm told recurrence of the condition is likely despite repeated iterations of build-another therapy.

:grin2:

Sean
 
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#14 · (Edited)
That's a beautifull shade of Red. I found this pic on the web somewhere and would love to know whose car it is. Me and my son are trying to reproduce it with House of Kolor paints.
 

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#16 ·
Steve: Sure! But it'll have to wait until Monday when we return home. In the mean time, you can see some photos in my graduation post: "FFR8317 Graduation Day" in this forum. :wink2:"
 
#18 ·
I don't know if this helps you or not, but there is something I've done for a few GTM guys and a Coupe guy...

They sent me photos of their car, or another with the same exterior accessories (wing/splitter, etc), from a couple of different angles, and I photoshopped different colors and stripe patterns for them. I've also done virtual wheel swaps, and two interiors. I can mimic pearl and metallic effects, as well. What I CANNOT do is duplicate a specific color code. I can come close, but the variances in display and photograph quality just make it impossible to get that close. But I can give you a good idea of, say, a graphite gray vs. a medium gray vs. a metallic battleship gray, with red, black, or white stripes.


I'm sure that the people won't mind, so here is an example....
 

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#21 ·
I love mine . Black with BMW Bark Silver stripes. However, I went from blue to silver to grey, back to blue, and finally black, during the build.

My only advice is this. And who am I to say? Classic colors are always in style.

Trend paint jobs, colors or styles, are only good as long as the trend is hot. Usually two years or less. Then it quickly turns into "what was that guy thinking?". Remember the purple trend of the 90s? After two years, you literally couldn't give a purple Mustang away and there were a lot of them. Dealers didn't want to touch them on trade-ins either. Satin and flat are already on the way out.
 
#25 ·
My first build I was changing my mind up to the last minute even while at the paint shop. Since I'm a sucker for red, finally went with E4 Vermillion Red and still looks great. For the second build, told the painter I was looking for something a little deeper and this time metallic. His suggestion of Ford RZ Red Candy 2 was a knockout. Still amazed by the color, especially in the sunlight. Current Anniversary Roadster build goes to the same painter on Monday. Guess what color? Yep, Ford RZ Red Candy 2 again. Hope to be seeing another picture like this one in a few weeks. The white stripes are GM Arctic White BTW.

 
#27 ·
This thread brings back memories. I couldn't decide between two colors, neither in the red color. One day I was driving home from work and got passed by a BMW M3 in Imola Red. Stopped at a local dealer who had one in his showroom, and that was it. Called StreetRod Painter, he liked it because it was a base coat/clear coat set-up (easy to repaint and blends well with original paint - ask me how I know?). Slapped a couple of GM white stripe on it and done. Paint is an individual thing, I like all the colors I see on this forum. Good luck with your choice, and when you get it painted - post pictures so I can admire it!

tim
 
#28 ·
great idea, I will check it out to see if my color has already been used.
 
#30 ·
A lot of colors look good on a Cobra. I think the basic color of the 60's look the best.
Red, blue, green, white, silver, black, some yellows.

















and one brown one

 
#33 ·
You're right...
For most cars - you can't go wrong with "Re-Sale Red"... For Cobras, the best re-sale colors are blue/white stripes or white/blue stripes..
 
#35 ·
That is a colour I have considered along with changing my seats. Trouble is I don't know the exact paint code and seeing it on a monitor may not be the same in person. I believe this may be a Superperformance if I recall correctly.
 
#36 ·
I think SCRACER said it below - this has been my dream my whole life. I had a vision of blue with white stripes in my mind, but never saw a match in real life. I stressed over it for a year, but the best advice I got was from my painter (Whitby). We talked through what I wanted and some suggestions he had. What came of that was Spectra Mica Blue with Arctic White stripes. I just got it back and it is exactly what I envisioned. It made my dream come to life.

My advice - keep doing what you are doing now: gather lots of information from people who actually know. Then, have a lot of discussion with your painter.
 

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