I took part of a night school class in PhotoShop a couple of years ago and learned barely enough to put together my fake New Car Dealer sticker featuring my 57. I saw how the teacher could take and using a variety of options pick out different areas on a picture and change colors, tints and a myriad of other things. I'm sure that someone familiar with the program could do just about any kind of design work or paint scheme on a car. However, this is just not me. I've had to ask a friend to take a couple of photos I gave him and use his skills to PhotoShop different color schemes onto my car. He's not done yet and both my painter (Santini) and I are anxiously waiting to see what he's able to come up with. I will share these effort on our Club site and hopefully he can talk me through what he did to accomplish his renderings of my car. I've seen what he can do in placing a car into a photo and designing a racing poster for a historical Porsche car. That level of effort is not what I'm after, just putting different color combinations onto my car so I won't be surprised with how the car looks after it has been painted. I looked all through John Gamble's 1957 Fords site to see what others have done, but it just isn't the same as seeing your ideas on your car. I'll keep you all posted. Please wish me luck. Thanks.
Bob
57 AGIN
What colors are you thinking about? If I get some time today I can change some colors up.on it, just to see...let me know asap Bob......J
James:
Originally, it was going to be Pearlescent Turquoise over Pearlescent White. Now I'm leaning toward either a Candy Blue over Pearlescent Silver or Pearlescent White. But I'm not ruling a combination of warmer colors out, yet either. Decisions, decisions, decisions...
Bob
57 AGIN
Candy blue??? are you redoing youre interior also?
Bob, here is a little quickie 5 minute deal to see if the color is right. I have a friend in Michigan with a car these colors, and the look is amazing in the sun. Check it out...
James & Rich:
James, wow, very nice look on the blue/white version. How about a blue/silver? Also what program did you use to get the colors onto the photo of my 57? I tried printing a photo of the attached photo & couldn't do it. Can the photos be sent to me as jpg attachments on my home computer? (robertlee1143@aol.com)
Rich, when I made my choice to possibly change color schemes I realized it would definitely involve reupholstering, too. I have a shop about 1 mile from where I live that does amazing work for very, very reasonable prices. I'm having him develop some arm rests, which I found that I really missed from the door panels, a new type of trunk spring cover that will both look better and hold up better and some slightly more bucket seat type foam support for the Glide Engineering bench front seat (more lateral support & a plusher look). Also, since I generally show my 57 with the trunk open and a 10 foot Hap Jacobs surfboard inside, I'm having him design some upholstery to cover the factory sprayed cracked sound deadening in between the strengthening metal ribs that really looks ugly. I tried removing this stuff and found that it would probably mess up the thin metal on the outside of the trunk. Specifically too much working on the cracked material with any kind of tool would be seen on the trunk surface and media blasting would generate too much heat warping the thin metal. Any good suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated.
Bob
57 AGIN
Bob..when I did my trunk lid, the areas you are talking about were the same way...real heavy undercoat, lots of cracks, but stuck on solid. It ended up being the only surface on my car that wasn't stripped to bare metal. (I even stripped inside the cowl, door posts, doors, and backside of dash, etc). after stripping the rest of the trunk lid inside and out, and giving the undercoating a light sandblast to remove the paint, I masked off the metal around the metal support ribbing and went over the old undercoat with a layer of new rattlecan undercoat(paintable)..let it dry thoroughly and primed the entire trunk lid at the same time.
Glad to hear you're reupholstering also, not because I didn't like the turquoise,but I just couldn't picture it with a blue paint.
Hi All:
I've received my first set of renderings. I had him set it up so I could compare the original color combinations with the new ones. He thought it would be a good idea to have Rick's 57 in the background to give some continuity to the views. He cautioned me that the actual pop you can get with metallic, pearlescent or candy colors on a car are extremely difficult to duplicate in PhotoShop. However, his efforts have given me a good idea of what I want to do. I'll openthis up to a Photo Pole, but please don't be upset if I choose to go my own way regardless of how the turns Pole turns out.
Due to the size of each photo I'm going to place only one in this reply and each of the next four replies.
The first rendering is of a darker blue and silver combination with the gold annodized trim replaced with engine turned metal. Kind of different, but in a large rendering it looks much better than the gold (to me anyway).
Bob
57 AGIN
The next rendering shows the same dark blue and silver color combination with real fire trim replacing the gold annodizing. It pops but I'm not thrilled.
Bob
57
agin
The next rendering shows the car with a solid silver top and upper part of the body with the darker blue lower body and engine turned trim. Neither my wife or I were in favor of this combination although it may appeal to some.
Bob
57 AGIN
The next rendering shows the car with a lighter blue (I was looking for a more candy blue) and silver combination again with the engine turned trim.
Bob
57 AGIN
The last one for today shows the 57 in the Darker blue with a white (it would be pearlescent white on the car) and the engine turned trim.
Well these are the five options so far. The last option is probably one that is closest to what was actually available in 1957 only in the Colonial White.
Bob
57 AGIN
The last one with the deep blue and white look great. The silver looks good too, just alittle too Dallas Cowboy- ish to me...
I like the first one also..except I'd try a darker gun metal grey for the inserts
I LIKE THE FIRST ONE
Quote from: 57AGIN on 2011-02-21 22:51
The next rendering shows the same dark blue and silver color combination with real fire trim replacing the gold annodizing. It pops but I'm not thrilled.
Bob
57
agin
Change the wheels. I think this is your best combination with the wheel change (17s & 18s) and black walls!
Guys:
Interesting comments and observations. I do thank you for the input and will consider them in making my decision. James, honestly I hadn't given the Dallas Cowboys a thought. I guess it is a good thing that I'm not looking at black & silver. I'm certainly not a part of the Raider Nation, although my god son wishes I were.
I'm going to share the images with Santini when he gets back from Oregon (doing a charity paint job on a semi-truck). I think he'd like to see some kind of champagne & gold or orange colors. But, those are too Chevyish to my way of thinking. Popular now, but just don't float my boat. He's also partial to greens, which I love on grass & hate on cars. Well, to each their own. Will keep you all posted.
By the way, I'm off to the Winternationals this Thursday & Friday, before they get rained out again. I love the smell of NITRO & burning rubber in the morning, it smells like RACING.
Bob
57 AGIN
Quote from: RICH MUISE on 2011-02-22 08:15
I like the first one also..except I'd try a darker gun metal grey for the inserts
Bob...a more contemporary look would be pic #1 again, but a darker tone of silver/gray(similar to the tone(lightness/darkness)of the third car in the pic.I think I remember seeing some late model Lincoln Towncars with the color I'm talking about. Rich
Bob,
Just remember with Candies and Pearls if your painter dies, nobody
else will have a chance at spot painting it. Just a thought.
Enjoy the races. You'll find Calvert there if you look.
Ron
BOB..YOU MENTIONED ARM RESTS TO BE ADDED TO THE DOOR PANELS..THIS IS WHAT i CAME UP WITH. (The door pull is going to be changed to a bulkier, more rounded design that'll flow a lottle better) (lol..."lottle" new word for the day. It's when you can't decide if it's a little or a lot...or it could be just a typo). The chev the panel is leaning against is the car color I have decided to paint mine instead of the torch red, except the nose of the '57 will be torch red flowing into a full flame job. Rich
almost forgot...I only have the drivers side done, and I'll be doing the passenger side down the road shortly. If anyone is interested I can take some photos as I go along and do a post on it. Rich
Quote from: RICH MUISE on 2011-02-24 21:55
If anyone is interested I can take some photos as I go along and do a post on it. Rich
As the boys from NIKE used to say JUST DO IT I'm sure some of us are interested.
Zap- :unitedstates:
Bob,
Change is good. I change my wheels periodically. Sometimes I run mags and sometimes I run white-walls and hub caps. But, I think the color of paint that goes on a car is more final. It's expensive changing it. Anything you paint the car will probably look nice. That said, You had the best looking 57 custom I've EVER seen with the color it was. Jim
I like the original color combo.
Guys:
Rich, like your idea on the door pull/arm rest. My upholsterer is developing a sample for me that he's done for a couple of other mid 50's cars. When I see it and if I like it, I'll share it with everyone. He says it will tie in the exterior trim with the interior side of the doors and should look cool (?).
As for the color combination, Ford didn't even have a Turquoise in 57. It is certainly period correct and really fits in with the the beach crowd (surfer) look. But, around here in So Cal there are so many tri-five Chevy's in the Turquoise/White combination and I keep getting told my Bel-Aire looks really cool. Most of the 57 Fords in the area tend to be in the more "stock" appearing colors, you know Red/White, Black/White, or a solid color. I really want mine to stand on it's own, but nothing gaudy. So I'm still searching for my combo and having a good time doing it, not that I don't think Jim's & Cool57's opinions aren't good ones and I
respect and thank them for giving their input.
Bob
57 AGIN
Quote from: 57AGIN on 2011-02-25 23:15
Guys:
Rich, like your idea on the door pull/arm rest. My upholsterer is developing a sample for me that he's done for a couple of other mid 50's cars. When I see it and if I like it, I'll share it with everyone. He says it will tie in the exterior trim with the interior side of the doors and should look cool (?).
As for the color combination, Ford didn't even have a Turquoise in 57. It is certainly period correct and really fits in with the the beach crowd (surfer) look. But, around here in So Cal there are so many tri-five Chevy's in the Turquoise/White combination and I keep getting told my Bel-Aire looks really cool. Most of the 57 Fords in the area tend to be in the more "stock" appearing colors, you know Red/White, Black/White, or a solid color. I really want mine to stand on it's own, but nothing gaudy. So I'm still searching for my combo and having a good time doing it, not that I don't think Jim's & Cool57's opinions aren't good ones and I
respect and thank them for giving their input.
Bob
57 AGIN
That is enough to require a repaint! :003:
So Bob...how long you gonna keep us in suspense??
Rich:
Re your question of How long? I'm much closer to a final decision on the color combinations. Pete Santini gave me samples of 10 different combinations of blues & silver/grays on Friday. The samples were painted on tin flashing's used for repairs on house roofs, so it is much better than looking at paint chips. I've eyeballed them in bright sunlight, shade & night time, but still looking for what suits me. The photo was taken a couple of days ago and shows them working on the top. The metal had to be shrunk slightly and the top brace in the middle had to have some additional support material added, as the metal on top was entirely too flexible (technology well beyond my metal working knowledge). Rick and I are working on cleaning up and polishing the engine (me) and repairing all the window moldings and vent windows (Rick). I've gathered all the required rubber and other trim pieces from Dennis Carpenter (great source) The final stainless pieces (front window and vent window) are at the polishing shop. The bumpers, bumper guards,grill and miscellaneous other steel & pot metal pieces are due back from the Chrome plating shop early next week. So things are coming together nicely. I still haven't finalized anything re the TKO 600 and related clutch, pressure plate & flywheel replacements yet and that is starting to bugggg me. But as soon as I make up my mind on the colors and Pete lays the colors on I should have everything ready for reassembly, or not. lol
Bob
57 AGIN
interesing with the roof problem...was it "tin canning" too easily? hadn't heard of that on '57' roof before, especially on a car as virgin as yours was.
I swear it is so freakin' hard to decide on a paint color..I thought about mine for 4 years..was pretty sure I was going Torch red, couldn't decide whether or not to 2 tone it with something else. Guess I thought about the red so long I got tired of it before it even got on my car. After I decided to go gray I went out and bought the basecoat so I couldn't change my mind or at least think about it anymore. Rich
Its funny how much time is spent on a color choice. I've been building a 57 in my head for 30+ years and always saw it as a deep bright yellow. Then a couple years back was going down the road and headed straight at me was a 2008 Shelby Mustang, 2days later he was following me and pulled in at my grand daughters pre-school and parked a couple spots away. Now its going to be Hugger Orange, not sure if that's the ford or chev name but its that same beautiful orange found on late 60s mustangs and early camaros. For me the Custom series vehicles look best in single bold colors. However if I was going to two tone it Wimbledon White would be my choice for white.
Zap- :unitedstates:
Rich:
I too had never heard of the roof being to flexible, but apparently it is something paint shops run into on occasion, I've attached a photo of the roof after using the electric welding gun (if that is what it is), I also took a photo of the electric gun. Maybe one of the more knowledgeable about body work will recognize it. It took them a couple of hours in one afternoon. As you can see from the other shot of the roof with the skim coat applied, you can't tell anything was done. However, when you push down on the top now it doesn't flop up and down nearly as much as it did before. I think Pete indicated that with too much flex eventually it can lead to adhesion problems. He doesn't want preventable problems on the cars he paints s he depends on word of mouth for referrals and repeat business.
Bob
57 AGIN
looks to me like one of those stud welding guns used to temporarily weld a stud that can be used for dent pulling. I guess anything that applies a high localized heat would work...very clever of them if that's what it is. lol..you may be giving away one of his trade secrets. Sure beats the walnut shells you get with a torch/hammer/dolly for shrinking metal. Rich
Zapato,hugger orange is a GM color,it came out on the 69 camaros and a few other GM body styles after that.Ford also had an orange that came out on the 69 mustangs that was just a shade darker than the hugger orange.Ford called theirs Grabber orange.Ford is using this same Grabber orange and also a Grabber blue on some of the new mustangs now.I agree with you they both are beautiful colors and would look great on a 57 ford. Tarheel57 :unitedstates:
Could not for the life of me remember which color was the ford or chev, and I have to agree either color would be great on a 57
Zap- :unitedstates:
65 Mustang Poppy Red was a great color and it was heavy on the orange side.
Well Everyone:
I'm going in later today to pick up some more paint samples to choose from. The car should be going into primer later this week. His metal man has been working for several days on the two front fenders. Apparently over the years as people looked at the engine bay or were working on the engine there was lots of contact with the fenders and when all the paint is removed and you run your hand across the fender you can feel lots of slight depressions. These are being worked out and not just skim coated over. I find it comforting to think that this kind of workmanship is going into the car.
Meanwhile, Rick and I are working on all the miscellaneous pieces that we can. The 57 steering box was rebuild by ABS Brakes. The steering wheel was refurbished by Koch's Steering wheels. All the stainless and chrome has been redone and we are working on the window felts, mechanisms and door lock hardware at his house. Rick being a bachelor has really helped out at his home, check out the photos and see what I mean.
Bob
57 AGIN
Good thing Rick's not married. My wife would shoot me, Bob, and not even think about it, lol. Let us see some samples
Yea, I would say Rick is a big help :003:Next time don't put elbows
or forearms on front fenders. Look'n good
Well, I've finally settel ed on a color combination for my 57.
It is going to be a House of Colors Tru Blue (75%) and House of Colors Majik Blue (25%) with lots of pearlescent over an 08-10 Scion Pewter. I refer to the Scion's as "Clown Cars" as they remind me of the little boxy cars that clowns used to get into and out of at the circus, some of my friends refer to them as "Toasters." But the colors seem to go very well together Pete Santini and I both like the combination. Hopefully we'll soon see. His 10 hp compressor motor took a dump after 28 years of painting cars and he's scrambling to get back to the paint booth. Meanwhile my 57 is still being skim coated and blocked, it's not quite ready to shot with primer. But, I've been told, very soon. It looks like I'll miss the first several months of the car show season this year, but that will make the wife happy. lol
Bob
57 AGIN
Quote from: 57AGIN on 2011-03-28 12:59
Well Everyone:
I'm going in later today to pick up some more paint samples to choose from. The car should be going into primer later this week. His metal man has been working for several days on the two front fenders. Apparently over the years as people looked at the engine bay or were working on the engine there was lots of contact with the fenders and when all the paint is removed and you run your hand across the fender you can feel lots of slight depressions. These are being worked out and not just skim coated over. I find it comforting to think that this kind of workmanship is going into the car.
Meanwhile, Rick and I are working on all the miscellaneous pieces that we can. The 57 steering box was rebuild by ABS Brakes. The steering wheel was refurbished by Koch's Steering wheels. All the stainless and chrome has been redone and we are working on the window felts, mechanisms and door lock hardware at his house. Rick being a bachelor has really helped out at his home, check out the photos and see what I mean.
Bob
57 AGIN
What a way to live! :o......I love it!!!!!!
Quote from: RICH MUISE on 2011-02-23 06:54
Bob...a more contemporary look would be pic #1 again, but a darker tone of silver/gray(similar to the tone(lightness/darkness)of the third car in the pic.I think I remember seeing some late model Lincoln Towncars with the color I'm talking about. Rich
:001:Sounds like you are going pretty close to what I was talking about..lol...what's the door prize? It's gonna look awesome!! another thing to think about...Is there such a thing as TOO shiney on a car like ours? I was discussing clears with my friend at the restoration shop and he uses Sherman Williams #950 (@$300 a gallon) for his 'show car' finishes...won't use anything else. He showed me a Camaro he painted 4 years ago and the stuff is awesome. It has an incredibly deep shiney finish to it, but it got me to wondering if I
wanted my car to be that shiney. My friend asked me if there was such a thing as too shiney..maybe there isn't for most folks, but I have definetly seen some cars that were too shiney imho. I'm thinking comments made by the announcers at Barrett Jackson may be filtering into my thought process, and I do realize that a car being restored to factory specs can easily be too shiney, but I'm just talking about customs. I'll be making the decision in the next week or so, but right now I'm leaning towards Matrix #42 (244. gal.) because I've had great sucess with it in the past...looks good, is run resitant (really good feature for minimal experienced painters) and is very durable. Bob, do you know what Santini uses? Rich
Quote from: 57AGIN on 2011-03-21 15:51
Rich:
I too had never heard of the roof being to flexible, but apparently it is something paint shops run into on occasion, I've attached a photo of the roof after using the electric welding gun (if that is what it is), I also took a photo of the electric gun. .
Bob
57 AGIN
In the late 60's, early 70's era of acid dipped pro stock cars they used to spray the inside of doors and quarters with spray in foam insulation. It added strength without weight. Not sure what you could do with a roof though.
Rich & Bossguy:
I really don't know anything about the clears. I'll talk to Santini. I think the guys announcing at Barrett-Jackson may be referring to restoring a car to stock and having too "shiny" a finish. Sinci mine isn't by any stretch of the imagination mistaken for a restored stock vehicle. I'm not too worried about too shiny. Pete knows I'm not looking for a Grand National Show vehicle, it'n not a daily driver either, but it will be driven as much as I can, probablly not to ad from the super-market, but to the beach. I'll show it, but it won't be a "garage queen." I just decided that since I probably won't have enough time or money left after my complete retirement, this will probably be the only time to have a car totally what I want, so I did far more than I thought I would at first.
I really don't think Santini was worried about roof strength, but if the roof flexes too much it could possibly cause the paint to separate from the roof. He's seen some weird things in past years.
Bob
57 AGIN
Quote from: bossguy on 2011-04-02 12:01
In the late 60's, early 70's era of acid dipped pro stock cars they used to spray the inside of doors and quarters with spray in foam insulation. It added strength without weight. Not sure what you could do with a roof though.
This is great, reminds me of a story about Mark Donohue when he drove for Penske. They as is usual for Penske they were dominating in the then very early Trans-Am series. At one point they were given a complete Camaro body from Chevrolet and seeking what they called "advantage" the body was sent to be acid dipped. Shave a few pounds and the weight /horsepower ratio gains a bit. Unfortunately the roof ended up seriously thin with many pinholes. No time to do another body and wiyhout a fix they would have been caught cheating. So the Penske team decided to throw on a vinyl roof and run that way while they proceeded to prep the next body. They won that race and put out the line that they did it for aerodynamics. Well they got away with the trick and since Penske set the pace other teams copied them and soon a few other cars were sporting vynil tops.
Have to wonder what ever happened to the thin roofed Camaro.
Quote from: Zapato on 2011-04-02 22:46
This is great, reminds me of a story about Mark Donohue when he drove for Penske. Then as is usual for Penske were dominating in the then very early Trans-Am series. At one point they were given a complete Camaro body from Chevrolet and seeking what they called "advantage" the body was sent to be acid dipped. Shave a few pounds and the weight /horsepower ratio gains a bit. Unfortunately the roof ended up seriously thin with many pinholes. No time to do another body and without a fix they would have been caught cheating. So the Penske team decided to throw on a vinyl roof and run that way while they proceeded to prep the next body. They won that race and put out the line that they did it for aerodynamics. Well they got away with the trick and since Penske set the pace other teams copied them and soon a few other cars were sporting vinyltops.
Have to wonder what ever happened to the thin roofed Camaro.
Zap, I don't want to hijack this thread but 3M makes a film that looks like the surface of a golf ball its used on planes to improve drag resistance and fuel economy. The hull of Americas cup yachts also sports that finish. It helps them slip through the water quicker. I don't follow Nascar too much anymore buy I saw a Roush car in a film clip when they were putting the hood pins in. It also appeared to have that finish? Penske may have been on to something!
I referred to my 57 having just received it's first coat of primer in another post. Well, here it is, in all it's de-bondo'd, rust removed, pounded out, skim coated and finally primered state. Santini indicated there will probably be at least two more coats of primer, blocked between each coat before the first color goes onto the car. With the car show season in full swing, I'm really getting anxious to see how it's going to turn out. Oh well, reassembly followed by re-upholstery, maybe by August.
Bob
57 AGIN
Looking great, and while some could care less what our underwear looks like on our cars it truly makes a difference. Good bones are needed for a great looking body and it sure looks like you're assuring that.
Zap-
A long time ago a fellow told me (as I was learning body and paint) any monkey can throw paint on a car, the art is under the paint!