Ladies of DU, a question. What color should I paint my vintage car?

[Gold Metal Flake]

I will be stripping and painting my MG Midget. Looks like this:



I'm having a hard time deciding what color to paint it. I think of the usual colors like red, metalic red, metalic blue. White. Yellow. Duh.

I am looking for an entirely different point of view. Please take a moment to look at the car in the pix and maybe the colors at this link http://www.fibranautica.com/House_Of_Kolor/speedshapes_... and tell me what you like best. The car will have black interior and a black convertable top. Thanks!

[NMDemDist2]

1. british racing green

I've always wanted a little MG or Triumph in british racing green

[Gold Metal Flake]

6. I appreciate BRG, but it does not send me.

TR6s are cool.

[XemaSab]

2. Looks pretty sexy as is

[Gold Metal Flake]

5. I must be honest.

This is mine:



I'm not into the black too much. Or I guess I am tired of it.

[XemaSab]

7. Green with silver flames

[Gold Metal Flake]

9. Lets take the turbolift the the Google machine room.

[Brigid]

3. Repeat the red.

Somehow no other color seems right.

[Gold Metal Flake]

4. Well, red kinda scares me.

When I paint it I will also be installing a 2.0l Ford engine and a five speed. My plan is to build a highway car for weekend drives up & down the coast on highway 1. Longer trips than I would take on my motorcycle. Like up to Pismo or something, stay over and drive back the next day. I intend to have some fun, but I don't wanna have to plan on being stopped by to popo too many times.

Still, I do have a strong attraction to red cars.




Edit: stron and stron! What is stron?

Edit 2: can't spell paint very well.

[crim son]

8. My son and I saw one painted in a salmon-orange.

It may sound awful but it was seriously fantastic. Now Juergen wants me to paint my towncar the same color.

[Gold Metal Flake]

10. Kinda like this?

I like that. I also like this:

[Gold Metal Flake]

13. Oh, maybe this, which is a factory MG color...

[Tuesday Afternoon]

21. that works...or screaming yellow or classic British Racing Green

[crim son]

16. On my screen that looks pretty much like red so I'm not sure.

Here's a color chart. The color was about three shades in from the farthest right. Flat and very shiny.

The metallic blue is gorgeous even though i'm not a lover of blue shades.

[CC]

11. Kameleon Kolors: KF02 - Cyan to Purple

it would be different.

[Gold Metal Flake]

12. It would be different... depending on where you are standing.

Could be cool.

[flvegan]

14. Rosso corsa

Make a statement.

[Gold Metal Flake]

15. Keeps coming back to the red.

Might have to do it.

[flvegan]

18. Not just "red"

Italian exotica red. Big difference.

Nice Dino in your post, though.

[Gold Metal Flake]

19. I was trying to illustrate the color.

Being that it is a single stage paint, I might be able to shoot it myself. Build a plastic-sheet paint booth in the garage. I'll strip the car completely and have the shell media blasted, then mount it on a rotiserrie so after the bodywork I can paint all surfaces. Red, black interior, black cloth top. No front bumper, bumper guards only on the rear. Mini-lites. 2.0 Duratec, 5 speed, megasquirt EFI. Probably a shortened Miata rear. No more big V8s with big cams and big Holleys hooked to big Toploaders in big Ford bodies. 30+ MPG Vs. 8.

[flvegan]

25. A Ford engine and Miata rear in an MG?

What fun is a British sportscar if you're not pushing it half the time?

[Gold Metal Flake]

27. I'm getting older.

I don't like pushing cars as much as I used to.

[Captain Hilts]

17. With black interior, red is the way to go. Get Audi red. That's what I'm putting on my '74 Capri

with red interior.

It's not an authentic Capri color, but I see someone else did the same thing! The original colors sucked.

[Gold Metal Flake]

20. Ah, the sexy European!

V6 or 2.3?

[Captain Hilts]

22. 2.0 automatic with a dreadful C5 transmission, which is best suited for a bigger car.

The car's a tank, so I'll use it for in-town driving.

[Gold Metal Flake]

24. The C5 is a varient of the old C4.

A great trans in an old Mustang. Can be built to handle a lot of power for drag racing and it's light and compact. No doubt it's a terrible choice behind the little 2.0. But those Capris and damn good looking cars and a real treat these days as they are rarer on the SoCal streets than Midgets or Sprites.

[Captain Hilts]

28. It IS a great looking car. I plan, some time down the road, to drop a

VW engine in it. Fuel injection is one of those things that separates us from the apes.

These are the guys that will work on it:

http://www.abacusracing.com /

I have the Chitlins manual, the Haynes Manual and the Bentley for the car at all times!

I saw one of these in a parkinglot recently:



I've always wanted a red Datsun Fairlady.

[Gold Metal Flake]

31. Those Datsuns are still affordable.

I played with VW diesels a while back. I still think about a Caddy with a turbo diesel. Low-mileage import engines are still available.

[travelingtypist]

23. Burple.

:swoon:

[Gold Metal Flake]

26. Burple is a very compelling color.

I do have a thing for deep blue metallics, and I have never had that color on any of my cars so it's a real neck & neck race with red.

[Eyerish]

29. I'd say this one...

Or a nice silver...

[travelingtypist]

30. I have a thing for those deep primary colors, too.

My critter in all of her rusted glory.

[Gold Metal Flake]

32. I just sold this...

That's a Ford color called Thistle.

[Eyerish]

33. Yeah, the dark metallic blues have always been a favorite of mine...

If I ever have $450,000 just lying around, I'm getting one of these painted that color...the Ascari KZ1. Come to Mama...

[keroro gunsou]

71. that one

or if it can be done with the racing green.

[merh]

34. I would go with this color

It's yummy!

[Heidi]

35. Pearlescent cream, like this 2007 Lexus.

http://www.gotbroken.com/2007-lexus-sc-pebble-beach-edi...

[merh]

53. Hey that looks like my car

Okay, so not really, but sorta

[elana i am]

36. ok standard on those cars

was matte colors right?

chartreuse, periwinkle or yellow-orange look good as a matte finish.

from the site you linked i like the lime gold, the spanish gold or the tangerine. the oriental blue is ok too. a quirky car needs a quirky color. bright colors also contrast well with black interior/top.

if it was mine i'd do it a sparkly magenta or a matte lavender, but those aren't really guy colors.

most the other colors on the page you linked are dark and look more like what i would expect to see on a 4 door sedan. and i think red and black are both blah for car colors

[omega minimo]

37. Blackwatch Green or Midnight Blue

[omega minimo]

38. Blackwatch Green or Midnight Blue

[NV Whino]

39. Teal, tangerine or wild cherry

not necessarily in order of preference. It'll be good whichever color you choose.

[Captain Hilts]

46. Teal is a VERY interesting suggestion...nt

[hobbit709]

40. Cobalt Blue Firemist

http://www.tcpglobal.com/restorationshop/rsp2917.aspx

[sarge43]

41. Looks fine as is.

Sports car plus red equals sexy.

[Captain Hilts]

42. In summary, go get some Audi red. Your car will look like a polished fingernail going down the road

Women won't be able to resist that.

Friend of mine started the MG club of Va. Beach.

[seemunkee]

43. Keep it the original color

[schmuls]

44. A luscious metallic cobalt blue or sexy metallic cherry red

[HopeHoops]

45. Gold metal flake, of course.

Either that or mauve.

[woo me with science]

47. I like sherbet colors on funky little cars.

This marvelous peachy-pink won't show on DU, but here is the link: http://www.digital-photo.com.au/2008/01/04/pink-fj-hold...

[GardeningGal]

48. Jaguar had a color called black cherry.

Here's the best picture I've been able to find. Unfortunately, it doesn't show that it's a metallic color so it doesn't really give you a good picture of the color. I always said that if I ever had enough money I'd get a car in that color. Still don't have it.

[woo me with science]

49. I have seen the black cherry.

You are right....It's delicious.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

50. paint it the color of Call Me Wesley's typewriter.

[Blue_Tires]

51. burgundy or brown

[MissMillie]

52. Burnt Sienna

Since Crayola took it out of the box of 64 colors, we just don't see it enough anymore.

[JoDog]

54. First off,

sweet ride! Second, could you do something with the Organic Green to create a British Racing Green shade? I think it's an underused classic.

If you really want something different, try the Pagan Gold. That would turn heads--including mine!

[Gold Metal Flake]

55. I am going to give some serious consideration to Pagan Gold.

I do love the GMF, as my usedname suggests, but I was thinking I would save GMF for a future hot rod. But I'm thinking about Pagan Gold, black interior, black top/toneau/top cover and it just clicks. The size of the car precludes some colors in my mind, Candy Tangerine, for example.

But why "save" a color for later for a car I don't own? Pagan Gold might be the one.

[DevonRex]

59. It is beautiful. Absolutely luscious and rich. It's bold but not over the top.

[tonekat]

56. My dad had a 1963 MG Midget in BRG...

...and talked about putting it away for me! But no, all I got was the crappy Impalas!!!

Re: the newer Orange midget...reminds me of a bimbette that worked at the place I did out of college who had one of those (with the three window wipers) and I always disliked it.

I like the Burple.

But, ya know, silver is the easiest to keep clean looking.

Your car looks good in the picture, do you really need to paint it?

[Gold Metal Flake]

57. Does it need paint? Let me put it this way...

[DevonRex]

58. Tangerine or Pagan Gold. I also like them combined with other things

like on top of the grey.

[hippywife]

60. Is there a reason

you're just directing this question to the ladies?

[Gold Metal Flake]

61. Yes. I talk cars with guys all of the time.

I wanted a different point of view for this. I wanted to be taken away from my usual preferences. Even if I don't care for a suggestion, thinking about what it might look like would move me away from my usual fav colors.

So, I wanted to have my imagination stirred a bit. I'm not gonna be painting it for months, so the suggestions from this thread are gonna rattle around in my bean a while.

[omega minimo]

67. Did you know a high percentage of men are colorblind?

[Gold Metal Flake]

68. I do not know the percentage, although "high" is not very specific.

My BIL is profoundly colorblind. I do not discuss automobile colors with him Anyways, what is your point?

[omega minimo]

74. All that jockeying

and you didn't answer the question.

[Gold Metal Flake]

75. What question?

Do I know some unspecific allegation that you will not quantify? Nice try. You seem to make a hobby of this sort of thing.
But let me repeat my response to your, uh, question. "I do not know the percentage, although "high" is not very specific."

Now, assuming you managed to read my response this time, instead of rushing ahead to claim your little mental doggie treat, perhaps you could come up with some specifics to prove your claim. Then, you could answer my question that you ignored: "what is your point?"

I assume there will be some gender bashing at the end of your little menta coaster journey, but I don't wanna get too far ahead. Proceed.

[omega minimo]

78. Did you know A LOT of men are colorblind?

I don't know what other kind of blinders you've got on, but let's forget about it. What a load of shite.

BTW Candy colors are tacky. I was trying to interject some subtlety but again, not your cup of transmission fluid.

Sorry your prejudgements affect even a damn LOUNGE color thread.

Good luck pickin up the CHICKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gold Metal Flake]

79. LOL! uh, whatever.

Your posts are just as nutty in the Lounge as they are in GD.

Overall prevalence of colorblindness in men is 7 to 10 percent which is not a large number. Next time check your facts before you have a neurotic trollspasm in someone elses thread. Also, when posting it good to have a point.

Good luck pickin up your MARBLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AwakeAtLast]

62. The Wild Cherry catches my eye

And I'm not really a fan of red - purple is my favorite color.

[Gold Metal Flake]

64. I've seen wild cherry on a small car and it works.

It's a very tasty color and really goes with black trim.

[S n o w b a l l]

63. Persimmon

Or anything in the orangish family.

[Gold Metal Flake]

65. In the 80s I had an orange Sunbeam Alpine.

It was a brite slightly red orange. But orange metalic brings me to Candy Tangerine, which I luuuuurve in an enormous and irrational manner. Not sure I am ready to commit to it here.

[omega minimo]

66. "Oriental Blue"

[Gold Metal Flake]

69. It is lovely.

Similar to Guardsman Blue used on many Cobras of the 1960s, but I like it better.

[Gold Metal Flake]

81. Oh, and it's a candy color.

I guess you have some sort of visual problem that prevents you from seeing that.

"Urethane Kandys"

[Jacobair]

70. Ladies of DU?

LOL

[Gold Metal Flake]

76. You are sweet.

Poutrage harder, dear.

[Jacobair]

77. Is that car your chick magnet or something?

LOL

[Gold Metal Flake]

80. Oh, the ability of the MG Midget to attact women is well known.

In fact in general sexyness it ranks right up there with the two great Fiats, the 850 and the X19. Only the Carmen Ghia could be considered it's better.

I didn't realize Omega Minimo had a sockpuppet.

[wovenpaint]

72. #1 Pagan Gold

#2 Oriental Blue
#3 Root Beer

I saw a brown car the other day for the first time in a while and thought it looked gorgeous...plus it reminded me of chocolate

[Turbineguy]

73. I used to drive a blue one.

didn't seem to have much of an effect on women though.

[Gold Metal Flake]

82. Thanks for all of the suggestions.

I can't make a decision, but I have figured out why. I'm not really emotionally moved by the design of this car. I never was excited by any MG after the MGA. It's a great car to drive, I can make it better, it has a rust-free body with minimal dents and I am familiar with it. All of that will make the rebuild easier. It's also a running car so I can enjoy it until I start the teardown. But it's not a visually exciting car, not like our 1968 Cougar so when I imagine a color on it I just have a sort of a "meh" response. I guess I'll put my fav suggestions into a hat and pick one.

[greatauntoftriplets]

83. The OP has asked that this thread be locked.

We are honoring his request.

greatauntoftriplets
DU moderator