need some color opinion before i spray

[Lookin4the1]

I'm getting my cab ready for some paint and want to go with a 2tone type deal. I'm painting the firewall, under hood, inner fenders the same color that i go with my inside. What do you guys think?

everyones first reaction is black but i'm not sure i want to be that simple. I was thinking a brown color

[dsraven]

I always like to see the firewall painted the same colour as the outside, but that's just me. it's your truck, do it your way.

[bowt1ed]

Hey Lookin, what's that seat out of? The back pattern looks like a 00-06 Chevy/GM, but can't place the center section.

Thanks, Jim

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by dsraven

I always like to see the firewall painted the same colour as the outside, but that's just me. it's your truck, do it your way.

Me too. I like the firewall as clean as possible and inner fenders & firewall painted the same as the body. But again, your truck, do it your way. I've seen a few with black inner fenders and the firewall painted champagne to match the interior. Anything looks good if it's done with a high degree of care.

[Flysocal]

Paint is a matter of personal taste but damn that's a nice seat!

[dsraven]

looks like the rear seat from an avalanche. does it tip down as well?

[dsraven]

i'm pretty sure it is avalanche rear seat. pull the tab at the rear of the lower seat and it flips up. then the upper seaction will lay down on top of it leaving a flat area for the midgate to lat down onto (in an avie) or just a flat area for storage in the back seat. nice to get at something behind the seat in this case.
will you be painting a champane colour to match up to the seat or a darker brown? metallic or solid colour?

[Donaldo]

Paint it how You like it - others opinions are of what they like on their trucks -

So - whose truck is it ?

[_Ogre]

i agree with donaldo, but...
paint the firewall body color, if your 2 tone cuts the firewall in half, follow the body color lines
it will look better with the hood open
beginners mistake to have the firewall anything but body color

old school would be body color firewall and black inner fenders
new school is body color under the hood

truk is new school

[mr48chev]

I'm down as another one who likes the firewall painted body color. One reason is that it makes the engine compartment look brighter and cleaner than a flat black firewall does when you have the hood open and makes the whole truck appear more complete and finished.

Way back when I had my firewall flat black and it looked like just what it was, a cheap quickie half effort job. I was in a hurry and that was the quickest cheapest way to get it done .

Inner fenders can be what ever color you like. I had them painted body color on the last build of the truck but they will be factory satin black this go

[dsraven]

paint it like you want it but remember, when the show trucks win, they have same same under the hood. it's like when you look at a used car, if the under hood and door jambs are a different colour you think it was a cheap paint job. a quality paint job would include those areas.
just my opinion, it's your truck. do it your way then post pics, haha.

[72Mountaineer]

I'm still interested in the seat, looks great.

[dsraven]

i assume you have test fit the seat with door and steering wheel in place. wouldn't wanna find out after it is painted inside that the seat makes you feel offset from the wheel or jammed against the door. some jeeps are like that and it just feels weird.
anyway, again, your truck, do what you like. then post pics.

[Lookin4the1]

seat i was told was out of an 02 yukon. yes it folds down and yes i've tested it. I cut the original seat frame out to make room. I don't need it to be adjustable as i'm the only one to drive it. (besides my dad and we're the same height) I've had the steering column (ididit) i haven't decided on a wheel yet.

So i'm with everyones thinking on going back with the original body color on the firewall and i'll run the factory black inner fenders. I'm probably going to sandblast, fix the original holes and keep it clean.

New question... lets say i want to get funky with the dash, doors and the rest of the paintable interior. I don't want black or champagne. weirdly i'm thinking either match the seat or a dark brown and go 2 tone with tan and the brown color. maybe some pin striping on the dash where i deleted the radio plate. OR real weird and go with a Copper type color. I'm sending this thing out to have someone cut down the outside and clear it on monday and most likely do the inside too so i don't have much time to decide. This thing is has changed 10x on what my idea of it was going to be. far from original, but it will have a similar height stance but with the s10 frame and 6.0 ls over built for this application.




firewall before i started with the holes and playing with my engine

[tpimuncie]

I also like the firewall painted same color and as clean as possible

[dsraven]

have you talked with the painter? he may want the inside and firewall done first so he has a line to paint against. plus, less chance of scratching it all up while doing the inside and firewall.
just some thoughts.
looks like it will be a fun time getting the accy to fit on the engine. what will you use for belt system, corvette, custom?

[dsraven]

don't rush it. it only takes a bit more time to get it how you want it the first time. the painter isn't going anywhere, right?

[joedoh]

go two shades darker inside than the outside color. easy to mix in some black, and you already have the base. this way the colors are complimentary and you arent hating a contrast later.

I like to be thematic with paint and chrome, and on the last couple I matched the carpet and seat (on the last one even the dash) to the wheel color, which was a complimentary contrasting color (burgundy wheels/interior to a black truck, ivory wheels/interior to a green truck)


and I did NOT paint the doors or headliner/rear panel. you can have too much of a good thing, if I had matched everything it would have felt like I was sitting in a cup of vanilla pudding. look at modern interiors, guys actually get paid to design them (that blew my mind too) and they use varying surfaces and even 3-4 complimentary colors including black.

brown paint on the interior does not look like rich leather, it looks like brown paint. if you are going with a specific seat color I would suggest to spend some time under different lights to determine a paint color that compliments or matches the seat, then use it sparingly to match up some of the interior.

just my 2 cents of advice, worth what it costs.

[MARTINSR]

"Basics of Basics" Color Choice.
By Brian Martin

Color choice is so much more than simply picking a color because you ‘like” it. Not every color “works” on every car. Some will argue “to each his own” or “It’s your car, paint it what ever you want”. This is true, but you are painting it to look better, right? Why just get color on it for the sake of getting color on it. Why paint your favorite color on it when your favorite color is not going to make the car look it’s best?

We have all heard that black will show waves or poor body work. White on the other hand hides them. This is just the start of color choice. We can agree that even though you may love black cars, painting a wavy old beast a cut and buffed black would be wrong. It goes beyond “taste”, it is just plain wrong, if your desire is a nice looking car.

There are a few different issues when talking about color choice.

Cost:

IF you have a budget for you paint you best check on the cost before you commit to a color. In one brand of basecoat a price can go from approximately $185.00 to $420.00 a gallon. Any color with a lot of red or pearl is going to be more expensive for instance. These are not custom colors, just regular old colors off new cars. Whether you plan on BC/CC (base coat/ clear coat) or SS (single stage, where no clear is applied over it) will effect cost. Pick a color and go to your paint store to see all costs, color, clear, hardeners, reducers, any sealers you may want, etc. You don’t want to be surprised when the car is sitting there ready for paint.

Resale Value:

Yeah, I know, you’ll never sell it. Well, I have to tell you, you most likely will someday. There are lots of cars painted pastel pick from the 1980’s that are darn near un-sellable today. I know of one, a friend of mine passed away unexpectedly and his wife almost had to give away his ’34 Ford. It would have probably gotten up to $10,000 more if it wasn’t a out dated trendy color from the 80’s. Really watch those trendy colors, they can kill you.

Does the color “work” on this particular body style:

Not all cars look good in all colors. Again, I am not talking “taste” here, I mean some colors just DON’T “work” on every car. There is a 4dr ’59 Cad in my area that is painted a fire engine red, I am sorry, it doesn’t work. In fact, it looks like hell. Is that just my opinion, well yes and no. It is also the publics opinion in large too. GM spends a LOT of time and money on marketing and research to come up with the colors it offers. That red would not be a color offered on that car for good reason. This is a very gray area (if you will pardon the pun), it does come down to “opinion”. But it is like speaking your mind about politics, sure you have the right, but you better “know the room”. Or you will suffer the consequences. The resale of the Cad is in the tank. The likelihood of a crowd gathering around it at a show is in the tank. He too the chance when he opened the can. Because of this rule it is not likely you will ever see a white Lamborghini Countach or a candy apple red Rolls Royce.

What do you want the color to do:

This is where we return to the black show waves stuff. Sure black shows waves, but did you know it hides body lines? That’s right, it “softens” body lines. If you have a car with features you want to hide, black is the color. This is one of the reasons it is known for being “mysterious”. It hides a lot, leaving it up to the imagination. It also makes the car look smaller. I am not kidding, park a black ’68 Camaro next to a white one and you darn near have to take a measuring tape out to prove they are the same car.

On something like a ’27 Ford model T the doors lay on top of the cowl and quarters. It kinda looks like a tire patch on the side of the car. In black they “melt” in and don’t pop out as much.

White is just the opposite, it may hide waves in flat panels, but it shows off body lines. This includes how STRAIGHT the lines are. Panel fit is very critical with white. The gaps look like black pin stripes, if they are not perfect it will look like wavy inconsistent width stripes.

We all know what black and white do, any other color just falls in the middle. It is a sliding scale, the darker the color the more it’s effects are like black and the lighter the color the more it’s effects are like white, simple.

Tip 1. There are thousands and thousands of colors out there. To pick one from that huge pallet would be very hard. This is what I feel is the best way to start the color search, find a car the color you want and get the color code off it. It is that simple, the new car deal lots are full of cars in every color imaginable, find the color and there you will find the exact code of that color.

Tip 2. When you go to get your paint at the paint store ask if there are any “alternates” or “Variants” of the color you have chosen. These “alternates” can be VERY, VERY different from the “standard” color. The car you may have seen was one of these “alternate” colors. These alternate colors are different “batches” if you will.

Tip 3. DO NOT PICK THE COLOR OUT OF A CHIP BOOK! These chips are usually not even paint, they are ink. They are a “close” representation of the color, they are NOT the color. (for instance the alternates will not even be represented in the chip books) .

Tip 4. I highly recommend you buy a pint of the color you have chosen, take it home and spray it out. Use an old fender or something and really get a good feeling for the color before you layout your hard earned dough for a gallon or two. This is not only to see if the color is right, but to see if it covers well, and just how easy it will be to paint. The difference between colors and brands can be night and day in how user friendly they are. If you find that the color is nice but it takes 6 coats to cover, you may want to change the color choice or change the brand of paint. Some “value lines” can be very transparent, so you save no money because you may have to put on twice as much. A high pearl or metallic color may “model” easily, that may be a reason to scrap the color or brand.

Tip 5. After you have your color picked for goodness sakes don’t be a cheapie when buying your paint. Figure out how much you’ll need for the whole job. We are talking every thing you plan on painting, outside, inside, dash, jambs, trunk, everything. When you have an idea how much, add at the very least 20% more. If one gallon is enough, buy another quart. Buy all the paint you will need before you start painting anything. Get a few extra gallon cans and use them to intermix ALL the paint. You then have all the paint you need, no mismatched parts, no running out, you are set to go. If you have a that quart left over when you are done, so what? Running out of paint is NOT pretty, it is a disaster in many cases. Now, why intermix? This is a VERY painful lesson you don’t want to learn the hard way. This is it in a nutshell, if you were to go to the paint store and have three gallons of the same formula mixed you would end up with three different colors! I will bet you a dollar, here is why. Some toners are very strong, just a drip will change the color. A couple of different people could mix them, some people mix better than others. There are other variables such as one toner used gets emptied and the next toner used has more solvent in it because it is new and has less strength. Now, these colors may not be “that” different. If you were to paint three different cars with those gallons you may not even see it. But if you were to paint your hood, fenders, and quarters with the three different gallons you sure would! I repeat, this is a VERY painful lesson you don’t want to have to learn the hard way, BUY ALL YOUR PAINT UP FRONT.

Tip 6. If you follow tip #5 you can skip this one. It is something that comes up once and a while. When you have chosen BC/CC, SS, Lacquer, enamel, what ever, paint the WHOLE car the same. Don’t paint the jambs SS and the outside BC/CC or something like that. Yes, it “can” work, but seldom does. The formula for the SS and BC of the same color is NOT (usually) the same. The SS paint is not just the BC that you don’t put clear over. For that matter just clearing a color will change it.

I could bore you with example after example of how I learned this information. Follow these simple tips and you will have fun doing your car, instead of experiencing the pain on your own. These are lessons that are very painful, believe me.

Let me also say that I love color. It has been a big part of my life for over 35 years. I can appreciate just about any color as long as it is done nice. That does not mean that any color belongs on any car. It also doesn’t mean that because I would like a car a particular color that I would paint it that color. It has to “work” or it was a waste of time and money. There are many cars that you have seen grace the front cover of a magazine that would be a big ZERO if it were painted another color. And likewise there are many cars that just don’t get the attention they deserve because they were painted the “wrong” color.

This may be the only car you ever restore, or at the very least one of only a few. The time you take to pick the color is time very well spent, that I guarantee you.

[dsraven]

nice write up Brian. I have borne the brunt of several of those hard earned lessons myself. also the viscosity thing. pay attention to how you mix the reducer, hardener etc in. it's gotta be the same each time or the paint can lay out differently. I like the idea of spraying a test panel. do all the coats. then you will see how the second and later coats will "melt in" to the base. pay attention to the time between coats and the shop temp etc. read the can for the proper reducer. if you are spraying coat 2 and it seems to be peely/not smooth, so you give it some more and carry on, you can come back to the area and find that "little more" made it run. great, more work. good to find that out on a test panel. the kids wagon won't mind if there is a run on it.
long story short, if you are first timing your paint job, practice on something first. get used to the gun and what each knob does. how you can change the fan pattern etc. a lot of paint supplies places have mistints. they work good for practice and you probably have something in the shop that needs paint anyway, haha. if you are getting the paint done for you, disregard the previous, haha.

[MARTINSR]

Here's one on painting in pieces or not too.

"Basics of Basics" Painting in pieces

By Brian Martin

One decision that must be made during your cars restoration will be if it should be painted in pieces, with the doors, fenders, trunk lid and hood off the car, or with all the body panels on at once. There are many reasons to do it one way or the other and it should be well thought out prior to laying the paint on.
What is the “best” or the “right” way is very different to most anyone asked. It really depends on your expectations, skills and passions. Do you want the car accurately restored? Do you want the easiest way? Do you want the highest quality result? The “best” is not always the way to accurately restore it. Many times the factory did things that are far from “show quality”. They were simply building a car for the masses, not building a classic. Most ever car built has the doors installed on it when it’s being painted. Yesterday, today and tomorrow, new cars being built have the doors and trunk lids hung on them. In some cases such as sixties GM and Ford cars, not only were the doors and trunk lids installed on them, so were the latches and strikers! Yep, they painted right over the latches, strikers and the bolts that held them on many cars made in those days. This is the practice with many manufacturers up to today with strikers, they do usually leave the latches out though. That is certainly not very “show quality”. Some cars in those days had their front fenders, hood and cowl top (if it used one) painted on a rack out in front of the cars body. I started in the autobody and paint industry in the 1970s and I have to tell you, it was common to see a GM car where the fenders didn’t match the doors because of this practice of painting the body/doors and fenders and hood separate. These were single stage lacquers and a little difference in distance or pressure could change a metallic color pretty fast. There were sometimes bare spots under the lip of a trunk or the bottom of the door inner jamb (especially in the corner up at the hinge area) where the paint and primer was very thin and there would be a minor rust forming when the car was still only a year or two old. So, this is “correct” for restoring many cars, but it certainly isn’t the “best” way to do it.

Most cars today are painted in an interesting way. They are painted with robots, some are painted in a “shower” like booth. It is actually kinda freeky to see them painted. They sort of just “change color” like a computer special effect. They are painted with the doors, trunks, hoods all on as they always have been. But now often they will shoot a base that is similar to the final color. Then they shut the hood (and sometimes the trunk) and paint the outside of the car and door jambs with the final color and clear it. Under the hood, and the trunk in many cases gets no clear or final color! And to throw another odd trivia bit out there, this is interesting. Toyota, probably the most effective manufacturing company in the world paints their cars this way. But after painting the car they remove the doors, for the cars component assemblies to be installed and then the doors are reinstalled as one of the very last steps! Now, if Toyota and all their amazing manufacturing processes do this to ensure that all the parts are the same color, I think it is safe to say painting the car together is a good idea.

Have you ever looked close at the cars you see at shows? Do you see the ones that are painted apart (or at least look like they were) compared to the ones painted together? Do you know the difference? Most of us check out these cars and never even look close enough to see if they are that well detailed. Only you know for sure if you want nothing but the best and are willing to spend the extra time to paint it apart, then do it. If you have seen at shows that cars look good to you even if they have those small tape lines in the jambs, then painting it together may be the way to go.

The benefits to painting it in pieces are there, first off, a super detail job. You can spend all the time you want prepping all those nooks and crannies for a super nice paint job. No tape lines, it just looks awesome, however is it practical for you and your car? Bolting newly painted parts on is pretty taxing. If you do go this route, be sure everything fits first. Read my “Basic of Basics” on trial fitting parts. It is very important that all these parts fit if you are going to paint them off the car. If you have any doubt, any doubt at all, paint it together. I have seen many, many cars where the guy thought the parts fit, he was certain that the parts fit. After the car was painted he had very poor fitting panels when installed. I don’t care if they are NOS, I don’t care if they fit well before the body work on the adjacent panel was done, what ever, you must trial fit them. If you are going to toss the dice and you lose, you lose big. If you want to save the time of trial fitting, just bolt it together and paint it that way.

First, do you have room to shoot it in pieces? Now, this can be a great way to shoot something when you don’t have the room as well, depending on if you are shooting it all at once or in pieces over days or weeks. If you feel that you can paint it in pieces (IF you can will be covered later) this can work out great. You paint your fenders, then put them away somewhere and paint the doors and so on until the car is done. If you plan on painting it all at once while in pieces, than you better have a big booth to spread it all out.

Painting cars in pieces can be a little easier in that you have a number of small projects that are easier to handle. Painting a complete can be overwhelming to a newbe, the many smaller steps make it more manageable. But you must be sure that you are not learning on your car. If you start painting parts as “practice” you will most certainly not be painting the same by the time you get to the last pieces, and they will likely look different. If you have some help putting it together it is not that difficult to do with it painted. It just takes care, lots of it.

If you do paint it in pieces, you must have the parts (especially with a metallic, but with solids colors as well, more on this later) hanging in the same “attitude” as it is on the car. In other words, you don’t lay the doors down on their back to paint them. You want them hanging vertically just as they are on the car.

When you spray them, you need to maintain the exact same distance, pressure, surface/shop temp, solvent temp, amount of coats, reduction, etc. This is very important, the consistency is key when painting a car apart. When spraying a panel off the car you want to “pretend” that the next panel is there and take each pass well off the panel you are painting onto this imaginary panel. This will keep you from stopping right at the end of the panel and creating more or less (depending on exactly your trigger technique) film build at the end than in the middle. This can create a different color in those areas. Metallic colors being different because of air pressure is a given, most understand that. But solid colors can change with a little varying of distance and pressure as well. It is simply because of film build. Today’s lead free paints don’t cover nearly as well as years ago. Where you think a few coats have covered, it may not have. Sure, if you have applied those four coats uniformly over a single color substrate like a completely gray primed door, it is a uniform color. But apply one more coat and you have a different color. Therefore if you don’t run the gun off the panel onto the adjacent imaginary panel, and apply exactly the same amount of coats you could put a little more or less material at the edge creating a different color there. If you do it a little different on the REAL adjacent part, the two won’t match. This is very common on something like the back of the door to the quarter panel. You are painting the quarter totally different because you have the jamb to paint as well. So right at the edge of the quarter you are going to have more material applied being you coat the jamb as well as the quarter with a little overlap at the edge. On the door, you don’t paint it that way because the jamb side is painted from the back. So if you were to stop the gun short right at the edge, you are going to have a little different film build. You could very well have a color that is slightly different from the quarter.

One VERY important thing is that ALL the parts have the exact same primer color. Even colors that cover well are going to have a hard time over a gray primered body and a black urethane bumper! You WILL have different colors when finished. Be sure everthing, including substrate color along with pressure, solvent, distance, etc.

Another very important issue is that you must be sure that you have all the paint you will need. Buy at least 30-50% more than you think, that is my personal target. I want to have a quart or more unreduced paint left over. I’m sorry, when it comes to paint problems, and redos the price of a quart of paint is not a big deal. If you need it, it is priceless. So, buy your paint and get a couple of gallon cans and intermix them. Stir them well, being sure to get everything off the bottom of the can. If you can have the paint store shake them, that’s good too. I like to scrape the bottom of the can with the stir stick and then run the very bottom of the stick on the inner edge of the can and look close to be sure there is not toner on the bottom of the can that isn’t stirred up. Pour the paint back and forth until they are thoroughly intermixed. Let me explain, you have two one-gallon cans, with lets say a gallon and a half of paint, one gallon can full, the other half full. Pour about a quart or so out of the full one into the half full one, then stir it up. Now, pour a quart or so back, then stir that up, do this a few times back and fourth until you are certain to have the cans intermixed. You do this because there may be a slight difference between the two mixes. After all they were mixed by a human being. Now, after using one can you can go to the next knowing they are exactly the same color. If you should run out and go back for another quart, you could find yourself with a much different color! This is a very hard learned lesson, avoid it, simply buy enough and intermix it right from the start. This practice should always be followed, be it painting the car in pieces or not. But it is particularly important if you are.

Another alternative is to do both, paint it together but like the factory with the doors and trunk and maybe even the hood hung. Again, there are lots of choices. Many cars were painted with the hoods hung, hinges and all got painted, you could do the same. I have never actually done this, but seen many painters do so. They open and close the panels (leaving the latches out so they swing freely) with every coat. Painting inside and outside at the same time. You need a lot of room to pull this off, but it can be done.

You can also do things like bolting parts on like fender extensions with washers behind them to space them out so paint gets behind them. This is a favorite trick of mine. That way you jamb behind the extension first, then with it spaced out a quarter inch or so, it gets painted just like it was bolted on. Works like a charm even with a metallic color. The washers are removed after the painting is complete and the extension is bolted on properly.

Now, painting it together, what are the benefits? Well first off, you know the parts fit. You know that it all works and after unmasking you are going to have a nice fun time bolting on all the chrome and trim. Half the work is already done, you are home free. You will have some tape lines, it may not be the ultimate show car, but it still can be darn nice.

One thing to do when painting the jambs first and the body complete is to be sure that all the body work and priming is done before you do the jambs. There is nothing that will send the quality of your work going down the drain faster than painting the jambs and then having to apply primer on the panels and mess build up more of a line, get overspray on the jambs, etc. Do all the blocking, all the priming, all the panel and trim fitting before you paint the jambs.

When painting the jambs, mask off the surrounding outer panel. Don’t let the overspray fall out onto the panel thinking you are going to be sanding it anyway, what is the harm? There are a number of reasons why you don’t want to do this. First, you want the body do have a uniform substrate color. Second, it will take a lot of sanding to feather this out and you can damage the blocking you did to get the body straight. Third, if you don’t feather it out completely you have a very thin film there at the edge of the overspray where solvents when you paint the outside can get under and lift it. To avoid a lot of problems, just don’t let the overspray out onto the outside. Mask it right up almost to the corner of the outer panel, leave about a sixteenth inch of primer around the corner into the jamb.

After painting and assembling the panels back on the car, when you are sanding the car for paint, pay close attention to those edges of the paint in the jambs at the primer on the outside. For detailed tips on this read the “Basics of Basics” on taping jambs. Basically, you want to carefully sand those edges away. Mask the jambs off by back taping to allow the paint to fall over the edge onto the painted jamb about an eighth inch or so. That means that only about a sixteenth inch or so of the paint in the jamb is exposed when masked. That little edge can be sanded and buffed out leaving an almost invisible seam.

To the guy who wants to make his car as flawless as humanly possible and paints his car apart to the guy who paints it together and gets out on the road with a smile on his face driving it, you have my respect. It is your car after all, make the decision with as much information you can get on the subject. Don’t take it lightly, it is an important decision to make on the restoration of your car.

And last but most certainly least, One VERY important thing is that ALL the parts have the exact same primer color. Even colors that cover well are going to have a hard time over multiple color primered parts. You WILL have different colors when finished. Be sure everthing, including substrate color along with pressure, solvent, distance, etc.

So either have the every single part primed in the same color, ready to paint. Or, seal the every single part in the same sealer before printing. But you must have all parts the same color prior to painting. Even when applying many coats, it would blow you away how much the substrate color (the color you are painting on top of) can change the final color. You don’t want to “ask the paint to do to much”. If you have all the panels the same color prior to painting, you have a MUCH better change that all the panels will be the same color when you are through.

[Speedbumpauto]

Put me down as the only guy, I guess, who thinks the firewall and inner fenders should not be body color. To me, it's too much of the same color and boring. Guess I'm old school. I smoothed the inner fenders and had them and the core support/cowl powder coated gloss black to match the frame. Had body color follow the firewall to the body parting line, the same with the fenders. body color to the part where the inners bolt on. To me, that shows attention to detail. I used polished aluminum plates for the lower firewall flat parts to complement the polished hinges and painted the 5" engine recess with gloss black and hardener. You can't really see it but I tried to match the powder black. I agree it's a personal choice and the beauty of this forum is you get to see what others have done to help you decide what you want to do. The only picture I have doesn't do justice because of the "assembly" tape but it shows a different vision for you to consider.

[b00sted]

I like how it is painted now... But het I don't really care for the real shinny please don't touch my fragile truck paint jobs.

[Advanced Design]

Brian, very good articles about color choice and painting process. The links I had to your other articles are missing. Would you mind sharing them again?

Also, is there a reference you could suggest for those of us with limited paint experience to learn to paint? A basic 1, 2, 3 maybe...thanks Brian.

[MARTINSR]

I don't know about a "1-2-3" as they would come at different times to different people.

But the one on paint technology and then on gun set up are the most important beginner stuff.
Thanks for the kind words.
Here are a few links to a few different sites that have posted a lot of them, you will find one has something another missed so all are good I guess. All I know is I have been honored from the first time someone put something like this on their site with my info, very honored.

http://www.autobody101.com/content/a...ics-of-basics/

http://www.autobodystore.com/martinsr.shtml

http://www.camaros.net/forums/12-bod...ributions.html



Brian