Register now to get rid of these ads!

Hot Rods What's yer thoughts on Earth tone colors on cars

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by da34guy, Jul 17, 2021.

  1. Atwater Mike
    Joined: May 31, 2002
    Posts: 11,625

    Atwater Mike
    Member

    My black primered F100 (avatar) was positively to be black when finished. But this thread has really shown some examples that have 'softened' my 'tones' a bit.
    Now, the ubiquitous Ebony Black seems...'harsh'.
    Holy crow...Hope I'm not getting... a 'side'... LOL
     
  2. I like earth tones on cars, greens, greys, muted blues, off whites....it's just like some factory colors. I'm not a true hot rodder as I don't like reds, yellows, oranges.....well anything bright.

    Also you have to be careful as earth tones get dangerously close to pastel colors of the 80s/90s and that is truly awful.
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2021
    belair likes this.
  3. HotRod33
    Joined: Oct 5, 2008
    Posts: 2,570

    HotRod33
    Member

    IMG_20210719_140232879_HDR.jpg

    Just painted mine Dodge Destroyer Gray
     
  4. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    Steve, Steve, Steve……I love you like a Brother….but taking the example to the farthest extreme is hardly a fair comparison……and reminds me of a trait of my girlfriend that drives me crazy…or at least to drink. :D

    But I do agree that color can adversely affect resale……it just depends on one’s priorities.

    Ray
     
    ekimneirbo likes this.
  5. goldmountain
    Joined: Jun 12, 2016
    Posts: 4,442

    goldmountain

    I think hot rods should appeal to the young kid still lurking within me.
     
    charleyw and Just Gary like this.
  6. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    As long as they are YOUR hot rods, can’t quarrel with that. But if you expect others to follow your standards with THEIR hot rods…..well……that’s pretty ‘ambitious’ o_O

    Ray
     
    hotrodjack33 likes this.
  7. Hemi Joel
    Joined: May 4, 2007
    Posts: 1,528

    Hemi Joel
    Member
    from Minnesota

    Not the worst, but every one of them would look better with a nicer color, imho. I'd never go to the work and expense of painting a car, but do it earthtone. I'd pick something more vibrant. But to each his own.
     
  8. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,628

    The37Kid
    Member


    That is one of the stops you in your tracks colors, well done, please post a few photos when it is all together. I happen to really like door jambs that are finished as well as the outer body parts, that truck is going to be a knockout.

    Bob
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2021
    HotRod33 and 57JoeFoMoPar like this.
  9. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    That was the color of my ‘Yacht’ back in ‘62 / ‘65….USS Preston DD-795 ……;)

    Ray
     
    302GMC, Just Gary, quick85 and 4 others like this.
  10. ...it all boils down to what someone's opinion is...
     
    -Brent-, little red 50 and da34guy like this.
  11. Ned Ludd
    Joined: May 15, 2009
    Posts: 5,025

    Ned Ludd
    Member

    Earth tones are a lot of factory colours from c. 1935 to c. 1952. A lot has been written on this, tying it to what was happening in economics, world events, etc. and comparing with fashions in clothing and such. There was much more in the way of bright and bold use of colour in the eras before 1935 and after 1952, in many design fields.

    You might say the same of the earth tones of the '70s, the candy root beer era, but I think there were additional factors, like the quaint pseudo-historical feel of sepiatone photographs and the popularity of country rock, and the way they and other influences fed into one another. I remember the '70s as a very "brown" time, just as the '80s were to me a "steel-grey" time, due to some mainly in the UK picking up the WWII aesthetic but cooling it down, polishing it, making it slick and clean.

    Earth tones — I'd say warmer hues from aquamarine through yellow to crimson, light or dark but at low saturations — can be done, can be combined, in different ways. If you want a late-'30s idiom, pick all earth tones close together e.g. beige and ecru with an ochre accent. Roaring-'20s high-end Deco and '50s Streamline/Googie are pretty much the same: pick one earth tone and combine it with emphatically different colours, e.g. dark chocolate + pale turquoise + earth-moving-equipment yellow. It depends on what you're trying to do.

    Hot rods reached South Africa during the Fad-T era, and the way my 7-year-old self experienced it wasn't so much a way to go fast on a budget, as a kind of outrageous, subversive, incongruous conceptual art which was all about juxtaposing things which didn't belong together, like a modern high-performance engine in a quaint historic car. In this perspective, where Fad-Ts were "hippy cars", hot rods absolutely needed to be bold, iconoclastic colours like bright orange, lime green, and especially purple. There was a magic about purple cars at the time. To this day there is a local tendency when choosing paint for a hot rod to reach for the purple. Local hot rods are garish. They are garish because a generation grew up believing that being garish was what they were all about.

    That is why I appreciate subdued paint on a hot rod. It represents a sort of deeper discovery of what the whole exercise is about.

    One more local tangent: VW Beetles were generally sold here in dusty earth tones (often the same colours as the polyester "safari suits" worn by farmers and apartheid-era mid-ranking bureaucrats) and a lot of those VWs were still on the road by the time I was a student in the '80s. There was one colour they came in generally known as kapoen, an Afrikaans portmanteau of shit and pumpkin, a sort of dull ochre-orange. Now I shall accept any challenge to come up with a paint job involving kapoen, but I shall never just paint a car kapoen. That is more earth-tone than I am willing to go.
     
    Just Gary, rod1 and Hnstray like this.
  12. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    The term "earthtone" is simply a way to catagorize something. The truth is that no matter what you label ANY type of color, it contributes to" the look "that the builder thinks is right for his vision of a car . Some people like plain colors, some like flat, some like glitz, and some like various artwork embedded into the panels. Its just like the "stance" of a vehicle...........different people have different visions. I think its great that not everyone sees things exactly the same way...........

    Within that concept, I do believe that choice of color can make a vehicle...........or break a vehicle. Just like the choice of wheels and tires, things either compliment or detract. I don't feel that I can say that ANY color always looks great (except Black) on every car. There are too many different hues within each color to say they all look good or bad. Myself, I have preferences and tend to have certain areas of the hobby that I tend to avoid. That being said, I find that there are some well done paint jobs within the group I avoid, that I truly like. I don't take the mindset that everything outside my normal preference will be bad..........or that everything within my preference will always be good.

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as someone once said........:)
     
    Just Gary and Hnstray like this.
  13. BrandonB
    Joined: Feb 24, 2006
    Posts: 3,434

    BrandonB
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from nor cal

    Somebody liked them, AMBR 2016
    AMBR 2016.jpg
     
  14. earlymopar
    Joined: Feb 26, 2007
    Posts: 1,608

    earlymopar
    Member

  15. DDDenny
    Joined: Feb 6, 2015
    Posts: 19,139

    DDDenny
    Member
    from oregon

    Hey Greg how you been?
    I had a feeling you might be in the vote "For" earth tone painted cars group.
     
  16. Keep in mind that there's two types of 'earth tones'; there's the 'warm' type where brown is the dominate or added color that produces those awful poop colors. And the other is 'cool' where the added color is gray or black. The post directly above features 'cool' tones, a quite different look.

    I think a lot of this is an attempt to have something 'different'.
     
  17. Dogberg
    Joined: Dec 30, 2017
    Posts: 18

    Dogberg
    Member

    I like, my Caddy's gonna get some.
     

    Attached Files:

    302GMC likes this.
  18. earlymopar
    Joined: Feb 26, 2007
    Posts: 1,608

    earlymopar
    Member

    Hey Doug. Doin OK but still very busy with estate stuff. How about you? Any free time to get out to some events? Yes, I'm heavily into non-metallic earth tones and always have been. I actually have a folder on my laptop with cars in that color range because I was looking to paint my 37' that way. I had also read a few years ago that the body shapes and lines of 30's and 40's era cars in particular show much better with the less flashy colors. That was from an industrial designer who are trained in cosmetic design amongst other things.
     
    Last edited: Jul 21, 2021
    olscrounger likes this.
  19. Fortunateson
    Joined: Apr 30, 2012
    Posts: 5,331

    Fortunateson
    Member

    Well I've always loved your avatar!

    As far as the earth tone thing goes I think that work best on full fendered cars, better on sedans, and look rather OEM style (Reston rod?). However, I think there's may be an element of militarism/GI Joe on some applications which is a huge turn off for me.
     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2021
  20. spanners
    Joined: Feb 24, 2009
    Posts: 2,073

    spanners
    Member

    I paint them to suit myself. Probably the wrong way to think but I don't do it with resale in mind.
     
    Hnstray and ekimneirbo like this.
  21. Big mike 1968
    Joined: Jul 17, 2021
    Posts: 187

    Big mike 1968
    Member

    I usually only like hearthstone colors on my work trucks, but um kinda digging some of these cars with the earth tones. It really makes them more classy to me.
     
    HotRod33 likes this.
  22. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 4,216

    ekimneirbo

    Guys...............I think a new fad has quietly asserted itself into our hobby. Maybe some of us have mellowed...........:p
     
    Hnstray likes this.
  23. earlymopar
    Joined: Feb 26, 2007
    Posts: 1,608

    earlymopar
    Member


    No we really don't know. "Sleeper" (hot rods) by default and intent are not obvious. Hence some of the appeal of OEM earth tone colors to further conceal their real mission. Many an obvious (brightly colored) hot rod have been thoroughly trounced by more "mundane" colored cars.

    - EM
     
    Just Gary and Hnstray like this.
  24. 302GMC
    Joined: Dec 15, 2005
    Posts: 7,856

    302GMC
    Member
    from Idaho

    I don't really think it makes much difference if you like the outfit ... here's a couple - three I liked. HPIM4334.JPG HPIM4341.JPG HPIM4342.JPG HPIM4349.JPG HPIM4350.JPG
     
    e z i and Hnstray like this.
  25. jnaki
    Joined: Jan 1, 2015
    Posts: 9,291

    jnaki

    https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/friday-art-show-7-9-21.1235014/
    (post #11)


    upload_2021-7-22_3-49-22.png
    Hello,

    Recently, I drew my version of a favorite restaurant/deli in the Westside of Long Beach. The earth tone color did the GMC Panel Van justice. It reminded me of one cool looking hot rod. We had seen it once, but then, not at all.

    It was probably a shop truck for deliveries and warehouse pickup for supplies. Back then, if anyone painted a business on the side of any car or truck, a business tax write off, always helped in April of the tax year. Then around 1986, the FEDs stopped all tax write offs for signs/registration of cars. Despite how large or big the design was and eventhough it was not magnetic for easy removal, the tax write offs disappeared.
    upload_2021-7-22_3-49-57.png
    The 74 year old Santa Fe Importer Deli/Restaurant was painted almost the same color for all of the years that we knew where and what it was/is. So, the truck was painted to match the subtle colors of the store. Popularity of the store was evident and the panel truck just fit right into the image.

    Subtlety is a good advertisement. The idea of getting the name out there for publicity is good. But, there is no need for a fancy color and fancy design for the business. This beige panel truck looked good enough for a second, closer look and listening to the sound.

    Jnaki

    If a choice between the two GMC panel trucks was for ours to make, we would select the beige one for the style and looks. After our red hot rod phase and bright color cars until the present pandemic era, white or silver keeps the car looking clean for quite some time.
    upload_2021-7-22_3-51-44.png
    Loaded with Italian food goodies and supplies, the GMC Panel Van would ride a little lower to the ground.

    The lighter colors help maintain the clean look for longer periods of time versus a black or dark colors, that require daily upkeep for keeping the paint looking good. The time spent on upkeep for our pristine, black 58 Impala was very time consuming and began to get tedious.

    But, as teenagers, the dark colors made each of our Chevy sedans have an attitude. Upkeep, that was just part of the game, then. Today, with water shortages, upkeep is at a minimum with dry washes taking over the water hose car washes. The earth tones help in that case.


    For advertisements or businesses, a beige color does the job. But, it is not necessarily the best interests that the panel truck get repainted orange with colorful flames. Unless that is your thing…YRMV
    upload_2021-7-22_3-54-37.png
     

    Attached Files:

    i.rant and Hnstray like this.
  26. Works for me,:):cool:
     
    da34guy likes this.
  27. jnaki
    Joined: Jan 1, 2015
    Posts: 9,291

    jnaki

    upload_2021-8-10_4-18-51.png

    Hello,
    Take a look at what a 1951 Oldsmobile two door sedan looked like in 1956. At 15, my brother had his mind set on a 1951 Olds two door sedan. Despite being told that he was too young, it was hard for our parents to argue with a teenager and his bank account. He had saved up enough money to buy his first car. Upon buying it, he cut the coils to lower it in front and used blocks in back. That was the going style for those old sedans.

    When the 51 Oldsmobile rolled into the driveway of our Westside of Long Beach home, it was a pale yellow.
    upload_2021-8-10_4-19-48.png
    The original color from the factory at purchase time as a used car. Despite the oldsmobile sedan being the only non-black car, other than a two toned 56 Chevy in his group of friends at the time.
    upload_2021-8-10_4-27-42.png


    The big problem was how low the Olds Cal Rake stance would be. The first round of cutting coils looked good, but was impractical. So, a different set with less taken out worked fine. Even with 4 teenagers in their cruising seating arrangement, the Olds sedan was on the border of illegal.

    Since he added Traction Master Bars, those were the ground scrapers. His Olds was originally yellow and the Moon Discs and the lowered Cal Rake stance made the big sedan just right for teenage adventures in Bixby Knolls and as a daily driver to school/jobs.
    upload_2021-8-10_4-30-54.png 1957

    Jnaki

    By late 1957, the Olds was painted a Lime Green and sold to a good friend that lived a block over from us, in the Westside of Long Beach. That friend drove it painted a Lime Green for many years and today as an 80+ year old guy, has no recollection of where it went, when he sold it.

    Pastel colors were fine for the average teenager's budget. It was the style of the car and what it represented that was the most important. Besides, a Yellow Oldsmobile Sedan with Moon Discs looked cool going down the street. Even when my brother got it painted a Lime Green, it still looked cool.


    1951 Oldsmobile with cruising teenagers… check out :08-:09 sec

     
  28. Earth tones???
    I like them.
    Chappy
    20190425_145359.jpg
     
  29. Binkman
    Joined: Nov 4, 2017
    Posts: 378

    Binkman
    Member

    Attached Files:

    mcsfabrication and olscrounger like this.
  30. HotRod33
    Joined: Oct 5, 2008
    Posts: 2,570

    HotRod33
    Member

    IMG_20210809_162015990_HDR.jpg IMG_20210809_161945991.jpg Dodge destroyer grey
     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2021
    clem and olscrounger like this.

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.