Paint and upholstery colors that just KILL the look of a 1930's Classic

[8E45E]

25 minutes ago, Jim Skelly said:

go look 7 posts prior to your comments ...

I'm referring to the multi-hued Ruxtons. painted with horizontal bands; not one in a single color.  Here is an example: Bonhams : 1930 RUXTON MODEL C SALOON Chassis no. 1005 Engine no. 18S-1043

 

Craig

[8E45E]

1 hour ago, prewarnut said:

 

You mean when you haggle with the salesman on just attempting to get an allocation and being asked how many cars you've bought from them and then being told, if we call you it will be $10K over sticker, $20K for those customers out of state,,,.and you have to submit your "Not-so-fairway-spot-on-your-golfball-green" or "Hyperventillating-dog-gingiva-on-a-sunny-day-taupe" to xxxxxUSA headquarters for approval and maybe we'll only charge you $12.5K extra for it. Yeah, been there, almost done that....

Here ya go!  You Won't Believe This $97,000 Porsche Paint-To-Sample Color | CarBuzz

 

$12.5K must have been a bargain.

 

Craig

[wayne sheldon]

6 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

It was far more involved than just walking in and filling out a form that said, "1934 Packard limousine, Orange with Yellow spots," then writing the check.

 

6 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

I grow weary of this idea that they'd do anything a customer wanted being used as justification for bad taste today. Bad taste was one thing the high-end automakers were not selling in the Classic era.

 

 

I completely agree with you there! (Both being facetious?) Maybe someone DID go in, write that check and buy a limousine painted orange with yellow spots? Does that excuse fifty people painting their survivor car those colors?

 

I tend to find myself in an odd spot when it comes to two-tone brown/tan. More than fifty years ago, I knew TWO prewar Classics in nice very original condition that the original colors were that. So when I read arguments that "it was never done"? I know that it was done, just not much. I know a 1927 Cadillac limousine, and a 1932 Nash big eight model sedan, that looked very nice in those colors when they were new. However, in the fifty plus years since? I can't recall another car that I have seen up close and personal, that was known to be those colors originally. There is the "another 1932 Nash big eight sedan" currently in this forum's "For Sale" pages that appears to be the same colors as the Nash I saw up close 55 years ago. It makes THREE cars those colors out of how many (likely thousands?) of original cars I have seen up close? And I have seen likely a hundred or more cars those eras "restored" with those colors?  The fact is? There are likely more cars that era painted those colors today than there actually were in the entire world when they were new.

 

The maroon and silver being trotted out on lots of cars in recent years is even worse. A handful of extreme customs in the prewar years don't justify fifty or more cars that never did do it those colors.

 

Freedom of choice is a wonderful thing! But one also must accept the responsibility of the consequences of those choices. Choose wrong colors and you limit your options when it comes time to sell it.

 

I need to be careful here. Cannot reveal too much. However, some years back, a collector I have known for many years suffered a building fire, and lost a few good and/or expensive cars. One of them, a beautiful high quality restoration, painted shall we say in one of the combinations previously mentioned here? Over the following six months, at a few swap meet and car shows, people would stand around and talk about things going on in the hobby. Just like they always do. Several times, I overheard someone saying "At least we won't have to see that ********** and its horrible colors again!" I heard a couple people say "He has some really nice cars! If he had to lose a couple I am glad that ********** was one of the ones destroyed." Not everybody likes those bad choices.  By the way, he is a good Antique/Horseless Carriage/Classic car person, and I would not want to insult him in any way. He didn't restore that car, bought it already done.

[8E45E]

26 minutes ago, wayne sheldon said:

I tend to find myself in an odd spot when it comes to two-tone brown/tan. More than fifty years ago, I knew TWO prewar Classics in nice very original condition that the original colors were that. So when I read arguments that "it was never done"? I know that it was done, just not much. I know a 1927 Cadillac limousine, and a 1932 Nash big eight model sedan, that looked very nice in those colors when they were new. However, in the fifty plus years since? I can't recall another car that I have seen up close and personal, that was known to be those colors originally.

There were a number of 1931 and 1932 Studebakers painted that color combination:

 

[Akstraw]

So I guess Henry was right; we should just paint them all black.

 

[8E45E]

11 minutes ago, Akstraw said:

So I guess Henry was right; we should just paint them all black.

 

In the former Soviet Union, black was reserved for government cars.

 

I believe it was also true in Japan.

 

Craig

[Buffalowed Bill]

I knew what a hornet's nest I was poking, but I felt that it was important to try to set some boundaries for era that was being mischaracterized. My point is that in most any era there are cars produced that don't seem to fit a stereotypical model. Should we then eschew the atypical for the sake of some preconceived idea of what we think it should look like? I really don't feel comfortable criticizing a choice made ninety years ago. Do any of you? As for a current owner making a choice I see nothing that should get people upset if the choice is made within what might have been available, and in fact may have been done in the day. 

 

Color choices were and are very personal. They can also be wildly popular with one group and hated by another. In other words they can be very polarizing. Another example that I have used before is such a color. Men tend to love it and women not so much (an understatement). I've owned eight of thes over the last sixty years, and I still own my first. I always wanted to restore one of my cars that was this color, but I could never get any of the women in my life on the same page, so I sold it. Today it is wildly popular, but believe me a guy needs to check with his better half before he pulls the trigger.

 

[Grimy]

48 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

 

I believe it was also true in Japan.

While I made frequent trips to Japan 1985-1996, senior government officials were indeed driven in black cars, but black was not reserved for government cars.  What we would call "car service" vehicles (vs. taxis) seemed to be always black.

[ericmac]

5 hours ago, Hudsy Wudsy said:

If I had to guess, I'd say that this is the most loathed color scheme of the seventies:

Oddly enough,  I actually like the colors on this one. Actually,  I like them a LOT.  I could even live with the whitewalls.  The colors of the previously posted '37 Cadillac prior to restoration? Not so much!

[8E45E]

40 minutes ago, Buffalowed Bill said:

I knew what a hornet's nest I was poking, but I felt that it was important to try to set some boundaries for era that was being mischaracterized. My point is that in most any era there are cars produced that don't seem to fit a stereotypical model. Should we then eschew the atypical for the sake of some preconceived idea of what we think it should look like? I really don't feel comfortable criticizing a choice made ninety years ago. Do any of you? As for a current owner making a choice I see nothing that should get people upset if the choice is made within what might have been available, and in fact may have been done in the day. 

 

Color choices were and are very personal. They can also be wildly popular with one group and hated by another. In other words they can be very polarizing. Another example that I have used before is such a color. Men tend to love it and women not so much (an understatement). I've owned eight of thes over the last sixty years, and I still own my first. I always wanted to restore one of my cars that was this color, but I could never get any of the women in my life on the same page, so I sold it. Today it is wildly popular, but believe me a guy needs to check with his better half before he pulls the trigger.

 

Buick also offered a similar yellow/lighter green combination, as did Ford trucks in the 1970's.

[wayne sheldon]

5 hours ago, 8E45E said:

There were a number of 1931 and 1932 Studebakers painted that color combination:

 

 

 

Studebaker did a lot of unusual things throughout their history. Many of them superior to the accepted "wisdoms" of their day. I think it was a very sad thing when they became unable to continue building and selling cars. Unfortunately, they were then building the right car, just a few years too soon to appeal to the market.

I loved the 1925 Standard coach I had years ago. But sometimes people would ask me why I put a 1950s hand brake in the car? I wish I still had the car.

I had bought the car about half restored, and finished it. I had it repainted to very close to its original green between black fenders and black upper body. I left the original paint on the firewall just to show what the original color was.

 

I often wonder just how many cars in that era were painted two-tone beige/brown? I would probably like it on any car that was actually marketed and sold in that combination. However, being one of those that spend hours studying original era photographs? Even in black and white, one can quickly see in pictures of street scenes, and parking lots?  Very few cars in that era were actually painted and sold in those colors. 

[Restorer32]

I have had a hood for a 1932 Packard 900 since some time in the early 1970's.  It has what appears to be original paint, a bright watermelon red with chromed doors.  Interestingly the '32 900 and all the 12's shared the same factory colors.  On the other hand I have probably owned, touched, or restored maybe 30 original Light 8 frames and have never seen one any other color than black despite the available option of frames painted whatever color the buyer requested.

[John_S_in_Penna]

9 hours ago, wayne sheldon said:

I tend to find myself in an odd spot when it comes to two-tone brown/tan. More than fifty years ago, I knew TWO prewar Classics in nice very original condition that the original colors were that. So when I read arguments that "it was never done"? I know that it was done, just not much.

 

Here is a 1928 Marmon advertisement that specifically

shows their car in tan or yellow, with brown, and red or orange wheels:

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[edinmass]

14 hours ago, Hudsy Wudsy said:

If I had to guess, I'd say that this is the most loathed color scheme of the seventies:

 

 

Yes, it was way over done.......but most everyone forgets..........Harley Earl had his car done exactly in these colors........and hundreds of other Cadillacs followed. The wheels by the way, are "burnt orange moon". I owned a 1931 Caddy built in these exact colors. Half way through the restoration I sold it.......couldn't live with them and didn't want to ignore the build sheet.

Edited November 16, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Paul Dobbin]

I always thought it was only Street Rodders who painted their cars like Jelly Beans.  I guess I should go to more AACA Shows. 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Paul Dobbin (see edit history)

[Buffalowed Bill]

Photos seldom do justice to the real thing. Colors are seldom true what's on the car, but even that changes with the type of light under which it's shown. Reds seem to be particularly difficult the capture in a photo. A car's presence is dependent on so much more than color. For me it was almost always form before color. If a car is done to a particular standard I usually give it a thumbs up. I'm not saying that a pleasing color won't enhance form, but I certainly don't see color, in most cases, as a huge detractor, especially if it is true to the car's history. I used to think it was just women became stressed over color but...

Edited November 16, 2021 by Buffalowed Bill (see edit history)

[alsancle]

23 minutes ago, Buffalowed Bill said:

Photos seldom do justice to the real thing. Colors are seldom true what's on the car, but even that changes with the type of light under which it's shown. Reds seem to be particularly difficult the capture in a photo. A car's presence is dependent on so much more than color. For me it was almost always form before color. If a car is done to a particular standard I usually give it a thumbs up. I'm not saying that a pleasing color won't enhance form, but I certainly don't see color, in most cases, as a huge detractor, especially if it is true to the car's history. I used to think it was just women became stressed over color but...

 

I'm going to have to disagree.   There are so many cars that were just ruined in the 70s and 80s by color choices that were in vogue then.    Maybe I'm just a chick that hates to see circus colors on cars that were never intended to flashy in that way.  

 

At the top shows,   you see less and less of the inappropriate gaudy paint jobs.  Especially with the class winners.

[Buffalowed Bill]

Ruined seems like a pretty strong term to use. A car that is ruined for you if it's otherwise a well done original might fit nicely in my garage. There is also a place for some well preserved original cars at shows. It wasn't always this way. We've come a long way from the days that every car had to be restored to be appreciated. For me a car's history and it's form will trump paint color almost every time.

[alsancle]

17 minutes ago, Buffalowed Bill said:

Ruined seems like a pretty strong term to use. A car that is ruined for you if it's otherwise a well done original might fit nicely in my garage. There is also a place for some well preserved original cars at shows. It wasn't always this way. We've come a long way from the days that every car had to be restored to be appreciated. For me a car's history and it's form will trump paint color almost every time.

 

I agree with that completely.   But wouldn't an appropriate paint choice be part of the history,  unless that car has provenance that shows it was original some crazy scheme?

[1937hd45]

1 hour ago, Buffalowed Bill said:

Ruined seems like a pretty strong term to use. A car that is ruined for you if it's otherwise a well done original might fit nicely in my garage. There is also a place for some well preserved original cars at shows. It wasn't always this way. We've come a long way from the days that every car had to be restored to be appreciated. For me a car's history and it's form will trump paint color almost every time.

 

You Sir are far more tolerant than I would be, if the car looks like crap I don't have time to explain whatever the good points may be. 

 

Bob 

[BucketofBolts]

An owner should be able to freely paint his vehicle any color he desires. That color however may down the road deplete the value but I am sure that the owners that use a color other than "stock" are well aware of the potential issues. 

[Jim Skelly]

On 11/15/2021 at 7:53 PM, 8E45E said:

I'm referring to the multi-hued Ruxtons. painted with horizontal bands; not one in a single color.  Here is an example: Bonhams : 1930 RUXTON MODEL C SALOON Chassis no. 1005 Engine no. 18S-1043

 

Craig

no argument there; I've seen photos of those, but have been fortunate to have never actually seen one of the fruit stripe versions in person ... 

[wayne sheldon]

2 hours ago, BucketofBolts said:

An owner should be able to freely paint his vehicle any color he desires. That color however may down the road deplete the value but I am sure that the owners that use a color other than "stock" are well aware of the potential issues. 

 

Unfortunately, that is all too often NOT the case! I have seen and heard too many people griping about not being able to sell their car for what they thought it should be worth after painting it horrible colors.

One, a very high end Horseless Carriage, beautifully restored in horrible colors, was for sale at a major meet for $150,000! In proper colors, it should have been able to sell for even more than that much. It was owned and restored by well known collectors, that had a history of choosing bad colors. A bit later, I got to stand into a conversation by three other well known collectors, all of whom had the money to buy almost anything they wanted. As I stood and listened, one said to the others, (and I quote) "I was seriously thinking about offering them $80,000 for it. But then I thought about it a bit more, and was afraid they might accept it!" One of the others followed with "Yeah, it would cost almost that much again to take it completely apart and repaint it!" (This was about ten years ago.)

 

A person does have the right to paint their car any color they want to. But that doesn't make it historically correct. And it probably will have a deleterious affect to future value.

[8E45E]

13 hours ago, BucketofBolts said:

An owner should be able to freely paint his vehicle any color he desires. That color however may down the road deplete the value but I am sure that the owners that use a color other than "stock" are well aware of the potential issues. 

That is my line of thought, even though it doesn't make it 'right'.

 

All I can say, if it annoys one enough, make the owner an offer he can't refuse, and paint it how YOU want it, since paint is only superficial, not structural.

 

Craig

Edited November 17, 2021 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[Buffalowed Bill]

17 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

 

You Sir are far more tolerant than I would be, if the car looks like crap I don't have time to explain whatever the good points may be. 

 

Bob 

One of the big problems that we have going forward in a diminished hobby is intolerance. People make missteps all the time. Sometimes they are recognized sometimes the aren't. It does very little good rubbing one's nose in it. I think guidance is important, but once a mistake is made we all know the consequences. It does no good to relitigate a questionable choice once the mistake is made.  

[BucketofBolts]

"..... but once a mistake is made we all know the consequences"

 

Mistakes? Yes I confess that I should have listened to my wife and I likely would have made less mistakes in the "old car collection hobby". However, if I did listen to the wife I would not be a AACA member. 

[zeke01]

“Mistakes, yes I made a few, but then again too few to mention. “Frank

[Akstraw]

I suppose we can all paint our 1930s cars in colors popular in 2021.  Then in 2070, the members of this forum can talk about what bad taste we had.

[JV Puleo]

On 11/16/2021 at 5:15 PM, alsancle said:

 

...But wouldn't an appropriate paint choice be part of the history,  unless that car has provenance that shows it was original some crazy scheme?

I think this is the essential point here. The original question concerned colors that hurt sales. It is not a coincidence that these are almost always those that are "faddish" rather than something that was used by the original maker. A proper original color rarely has an adverse effect on price.

 

Personally, I like green and I know it was used in the brass era – but I'd like a very dark green, one that is only obvious in natural light.

Edited November 22, 2021 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[Matt Harwood]

The thing I always wonder when I see ridiculous colors is: Couldn't you have found a correct color that you like just as much? 

 

Wacky colors always suggest to me that the owner not only had no respect for history, but no knowledge of it and no desire to learn anything beyond, "Well, they'd paint it any color if you paid 'em enough."

 

It's not just bad taste, but willful ignorance. 

[jrbartlett]

I never would have chosen to paint a car blue-green -- either green or blue. But it turns out that this color is actually original for my car -- it was called Locomobile Blue-Green. The stripes, upholstery and top also match the original colors and styles. 

[Guest]

That looks great!

[1937hd45]

The Loco still looks great, you can add this photo from 1971 to your collection of unrestored views. By the way, the inside of the frame rails are in bare primer because that is how they left the factory. The new headlights look nice. Bob 

[Cadillac Fan]

7 hours ago, jrbartlett said:

I never would have chosen to paint a car blue-green -- either green or blue. But it turns out that this color is actually original for my car -- it was called Locomobile Blue-Green. The stripes, upholstery and top also match the original colors and styles. 

I love the colors. 

[58L-Y8]

Here's a better look at the 1971 image, the blue-green is slightly visible:

[Restorer32]

My '55 Jag was originally Suede Green with Green Leather Interior and a French Grey Top.  If I ever restore it, which is unlikely, it will be in the original colors.

[Walt G]

On 11/15/2021 at 8:54 PM, wayne sheldon said:

He didn't restore that car, bought it already done.

I am in that situation with the 1930 Packard 7 passenger touring pictured in my profile. I bought it at auction 5-6 years ago. Car has stainless spokes in the wheels and the wheel color is orange. Not my favorite BUT the car was so well done and driven little ( mostly on and off trailers) after taking its AACA 1st place award in 1982 that the $ I paid for the car wouldn't have restored one if I already owned it. I restored two large classic  pre war larger cars chassis up and the scars on my hands that I got doing so finally healed up and faded after 35+ years. I would like to see some color changes on my touring but is it worth the $ to do so while what is there is still excellent ? Sure I can tape off the spokes and then repaint the wheels - but the patience to tape/cover every spoke on 6 wheels ( at probably 80 + spokes per wheel) to do that just isn't with me. Sometimes you live with the example you have if it isn't "to bad" even if it reflects the "popular trend" of the more modern times when it was restored. Have to admit if the car was painted silver and maroon I would not have bought it..............🙄 I never have my cars judged, don't like awards of any kind for anything. 

[DLynskey]

Packard Twin Six in ice cream shop colors.

 

 

Don

[jrbartlett]

Well, I hate to show this one, but this is my '29 Packard Super 8 Roadster. I bought it off Ebay maybe 15 years ago because it was freshly restored (only driven 50 miles since completion) and had less than 41,000 miles total. I've put another 10,000 miles on it since, with minimal trouble. I would not have painted it all these colors, but must say that it's a real hit in parades (being red, white and blue). Sometimes I'm OK with it, and sometimes I just cringe. We're considering a repaint in a single color (dark blue) with blackwalls and chrome wheels.

Edited November 22, 2021 by jrbartlett (see edit history)

[edinmass]

Paint your pre war car an “inappropriate color” and try and park it on the field at Pebble, Amelia, or one of the other big events............you will be told to leave it in the parking lot. That’s just FACT.