Practically Classics Forum

Black is a swine to polish but when done properly looks great. I reckon a car like yours could look good in gunmetal.

http://bodybeautifulcarsltd.com/jaguar% ... 0metal.htm

Just before I read the last comment I thought that Gunmetal would be perfect.

That or Primrose yellow. -though I am sure that I will be in the minority for this idea.

mgb's look nice in primrose yellow, but so do primroses

A mighty response again folks, I thank you!

OneCarefulOwner wrote:I present for the group's entertainment, a study in colour:


My personal favourite is the bottom right one. Black also works well, but I think the green is overall a better choice.

Wow! Brilliant software there OneCarefulOwner! What did you use? Is there any chance that it's free??!! I'm completely rubbish at imagining how things will look, but if I can see the picture like that, I'm sorted!


To the gunmetal contingent, is that metallic? If so, would it also show-up all of my wobbly prep work, and would I be able to spray metallic at home? (first real spray job!)

Here's my friend Jean Francois' car:

I used PhotoShop, so "free" is right out; however, other software exists - thing is, without knowing what to change, you can end up with some mighty sickly looking pictures

Primrose sounds interesting but I don't know how that would sit with the green interior.

Not primrose

Not apple green either!

the top right green cream? 2 tone looks lovely..

Back in the 60's when I was an industrial paint chemist it was a tricky job to formulate and spray metallics as they were a single coat formula and the rate of evaporation of the solvent was critical in the colour as well as spray technique.
Then in the 70's the two coat system arrived with "Metalflake" where you spray a bright coloured high metal content base coat which gives a matt finish with no streaks and then overcoat with clear lacquer, which is the method still used and is easy.

Incidentally the first company to use this system was for Sparklets soda syphons.

Just make sure your primer coat is a sufficiently contrasting colour because spraying an aluminium base coat over a grey primer can cause difficulty in seeing where you have covered and clear lacquer on grey base coat is not very pretty.

mistertoad wrote:Back in the 60's when I was an industrial paint chemist it was a tricky job to formulate and spray metallics as they were a single coat formula and the rate of evaporation of the solvent was critical in the colour as well as spray technique.
Then in the 70's the two coat system arrived with "Metalflake" where you spray a bright coloured high metal content base coat which gives a matt finish with no streaks and then overcoat with clear lacquer, which is the method still used and is easy.

Incidentally the first company to use this system was for Sparklets soda syphons.

Just make sure your primer coat is a sufficiently contrasting colour because spraying an aluminium base coat over a grey primer can cause difficulty in seeing where you have covered and clear lacquer on grey base coat is not very pretty.

Fascinating stuff & great news mistertoad, thank you! That's the great thing about this forum and others, you get the priceless benefit of a vast range of experiences, knowledge and opinion. Every time someone replies to a thread, it's some new knowledge, or a new idea for me, well, most times anyway! I owe you all a beer, or ten! Perhaps some day I'll get roadworthy and encounter some of you at gatherings here or there and be able to settle my account