My car Paint Poll

[Bill Hoffmann]

Since no one has mentioned this, I'd like to point out that for many reasons, keeping the original color is the best way to go:

1. Opel had many distinctive colors. Some may not have been my first choice, but you could always spot an Opel in a parking lot. Even Opel's worst color (which is subjective) I consider part of its charm.
2. Unless you paint the door jams and under the hood to match, it looks bad.
3. Without doing a huge amount of work, it's hard to do a good job of the under-hood work, meaning it's going to be more expensive, or it will peel and look really bad in a year or two.
4. For many buyers, your color choice will add nothing to the car's value over an original color, and in fact will probably lower it, all things being equal.
5. The car is unusual and distinctive in itself. We're not talking about a Honda Civic here. You don't need to set yourself apart with a trendy color.
6. Go to a west coast Opel meet. The world doesn't need another red GT.
7. Like clothing fashion, what you think looks good today may seem very dated in a couple of years. With an original color you can hold your head up high and proudly say, "It's the original color!" and no one will think bad of you.

Bill

[lewdawg]

My 72 GT is the original orange and I will be keeping it that color with the black stripe. Engine bay will be painted with POR 15 black and will use chevy orange to paint the engine. Black sure is a great color but very hot in the summer and hell to keep clean. It is the worst color for showing dirt,

[dreamix]

i also vote black but then metalic !!



mine turned out fine

[clmop3l]

Wait! don't base the color on our vote....

Car Paint Color

I wonder what color it would say for mine?
Doesn't really matter - Mine will be pearlescent pearl using the paint code from either Cadillac or Lexus.

[jordan]

As not to clutter the forums don't you think that one thread following the same idea of color preference be sufficient? http://www.opelgt.com/forums/general...ck-orange.html

[kwilford]

Originally Posted by opel kid well when you need advice ,use the forums and i'm sure 1 extra thred to at least 20 to 30 posts per day will not clutter up anything.

Um, when a Moderator makes a suggestion, it's a bit more like a "directive". As in, we can "suggest" what to do, or we can "tell" you. So I merged the threads, which is what Jordan was probably about to do. Word of advice? Watch the following:

Hi newbie, you want to post on a forum? this is what you need to know!

It's a funny, yet serious thread on the correct way to use these Forums.

HTH

[soybean]

Originally Posted by kwilford Um, when a Moderator makes a suggestion, it's a bit more like a "directive". As in, we can "suggest" what to do, or we can "tell" you. So I merged the threads, which is what Jordan was probably about to do. Word of advice? Watch the following: Hi newbie, you want to post on a forum? this is what you need to know! It's a funny, yet serious thread on the correct way to use these Forums. HTH

Please for all those getting Opels, or new to them, read the thread. Use the search function. When you find one or more threads you want to reread, subscribe to it.
It really makes the moderators job easier, rather than moving, merging, deleting posts. Thanks, Jarrell

[baz]

time to calm down a bit i think

[soybean]

My "Red" one was originally green. I didnt find that out until I pulled the gas tank out. Wish I'd seen that before the window areas etc were shot and new rubber put in. I still have a fondness for Jade Mist or British Racing Green.
Jarrell

[Bill Hoffmann]

Originally Posted by soybean My "Red" one was originally green. I didnt find that out until I pulled the gas tank out. Wish I'd seen that before the window areas etc were shot and new rubber put in. I still have a fondness for Jade Mist or British Racing Green. Jarrell

This illustrates one of my points very well. I made the same mistake of buying a car that someone had repainted a different color, and had done a poor job of at that. Fortunately I didn't pay much for the car, but it has still been a source of aggravation and in fact the project has been stalled for several years now.

Your problem reminds me of a local Opeler with a black GT that has red wheel arch accents. It turns out that the red is from where some stick-on moldings were on the arches when it was painted black. It's a look.

In your case, you have to make choices including repainting your car red again or restoring it to it's original jade mist, which would probably make you happier but be much more difficult. These situations are what inspire me to comment, and hopefully save some future Opel owner some grief.

So I say go for the metallic orange if you want, and maybe consider a V8 transplant too, but just consider all the possible effects down the road.

[crliwa]

I voted for Black .. I have both a Black and a Red GT as well as green and orange. The Black must be really done to perfection... most other colors allow for MINOR mistakes in Prep. If you go w/Orange you should look at the the Saleen "Parneilli Jones edition" Mustang. It looks great w/flat black stripes.
As far as the original I've had 1 british racing green w/saddle interior and that is one of the best if not the best original color combo. The "metallic" green which was what my Black GT was originally is very rare and the GT looks great in that color. At the time I chose to change it to Black I was not at all concerned with kepping it original... Had I known then that I would own more than 1 GT I would have left it alone. My personal observation is that the Orange and yellow GT's were mainly purchased by females.. 2 teachers I knew had those color GT's, one w/AC (she offered to sell it to me years ago when she retired but I couldn't afford it and had no place to garage it.. I've since gone soft in the head and don't make such sensible decisions). I associate those with the new VW beetles that get covered w/Flower stickers.

[Motor Mouth]

I'm yet to have a black GT, but have had numerous black cars.....when they're polished they look awesome as long as the lines are clean.

Some of the other guys one here have said that you have to do it right, door jams, under bonnet etc otherwise it will look terrible, I've seen a lot of 'blow over' paint jobs and these area's look naff when they're not matched.

I've owned numerous red GT's, silver, blue, orange, gold and black and although my pride and joy is red I would never choose this as a colour (just my opinion, my choice would have to be some form of silver, probably an Aston Martin silver).

If you go for black, spend that bit extra and go for metallic and why not mix in a slight huey of blue?

What every you choose, you'll love it and almost everyone will notice it and appreciate the effort if it's done well.

Good Luck with the poll.

[baz]

Originally Posted by opel kid Sorry my thred was mixed with your thred!!!

what from your feet or your tyres ?

[sawdust]

Baz, that's nasty

[namba209]

Originally Posted by soybean My "Red" one was originally green. I didnt find that out until I pulled the gas tank out. Wish I'd seen that before the window areas etc were shot and new rubber put in. I still have a fondness for Jade Mist or British Racing Green. Jarrell

I guess I can jump in here as far as this part of the thread is going. Willit? had originally yellow/orange paint, hard to tell, but one of those two colors, with a chocolate metallic brown repaint. It looked good until you opened the hood and the glaring yellow jumped right out at you. When it came time for the restore and the silver color was chosen, I opted to totally strip the car and do it the way Opel did. Yeah it was a lot of work, taking everything out, fixing and painting it all before it went back in, and I cheated. I used POR-15 Silver on everything that could not or would not be seen when it all went back together. There were a few places I couldn't get the paint into, but I sure tried, just so the whole car was as close to one color as I could make it. I've got the wheel wells painted black and the cowl in front of the windshield needs to be done again in black, but I personally feel it was well worth the time and effort doing it that way. JMTCW.

[Richard117]

I have a solid black 72 GT--I wouldn't change the color. Richard117

[Phoenix]

Bright, attention grabbing colors are a very good thing if you want to decrease your chances of an accident. Although you can't help stupidity. Bright colors is a concept used in motorcycles to help in visability. Yellow, orange, bright blue, and red all stand out and help to this affect. The same goes for loud exhausts for motorcycles. Even when you can't be seen, you can be heard.

At any rate, I think it would be nice to find colors that would make YOUR car YOURS. If that means black, then paint it black. If that means pink, paint it pink. Personally, I'd like to see more opels painted in modern colors. Like Corvette yellow, Dodge Inferno, Suburu Blue, etc.

[newman27]

Originally Posted by Phoenix Bright, attention grabbing colors are a very good thing if you want to decrease your chances of an accident.

To your point, I read somewhere that, per capita, orange cars are involved in the fewest accidents per year. That must be why all the DOT equipment is orange right down to the water thermos on the back of the truck...

[Gumby]

That makes me happy to have a bright orange GT. I had considered repainting it metallic blue or possibly a metallic green, but now I think I want to stick with the original color.

[OPELFIEND]

Does anyone out there own a lime green GT? (paint code L303) I am beginning to think I have the only one. I've seen a couple of pictures of green GTs with vinyl tops, but not one like I have.

[automata3.0turbo]

my vote is for black. its my opinion that dark colors make the car stand out more, but i dunno. mines silver, probably oxidized though. im gonna clean it up, if possible, and see how it looks. both my fiance and i have agreed to look inot gettin it painted a metalic blue, but i dunno.

[First opel 1981]

Originally Posted by automata3.0turbo my vote is for black. its my opinion that dark colors make the car stand out more, but i dunno. mines silver, probably oxidized though. im gonna clean it up, if possible, and see how it looks. both my fiance and i have agreed to look inot gettin it painted a metalic blue, but i dunno.

#2 son just paid off his GT and we were discussing paint tonight. He's going black with red pinstriping.
He's a body and paint guy for a living so it should look really hot when its done. Going to be a while to get it done though because he's doing it in his spare time.

[Johnvan]

I prefer the red of your two choices. The last two Healeys I painted were black and they look good but constantly have to be dusted or polished even after a short trip. The finer the paint finish the more sesative to dust.Black is popular and does win shows but I prefer a brighter color on a sports car as it projects fun and still looks good after a road trip without a lot of work. Metallics also look good as they show off the shape and give a richer classy look to the car.Everything works on an Opel!

[Johnvan]

Originally Posted by First opel 1981 #2 son just paid off his GT and we were discussing paint tonight. He's going black with red pinstriping. He's a body and paint guy for a living so it should look really hot when its done. Going to be a while to get it done though because he's doing it in his spare time.

I am doing a Healey right now which is going black with red coves and a red hardtop and it is a very striking combination. My own cars tend to sit a long time to get done as well which can be frustrating .

[kwilford]

Originally Posted by Johnvan I am doing a Healey right now which is going black with red coves and a red hardtop and it is a very striking combination. My own cars tend to sit a long time to get done as well which can be frustrating .

That's the colour combination of my brother Laurie's '65 AH 3000 BJ8 (well not the hardtop), while his '61 BT7 is red on white. I prefer the former. He's doing up a '56 ?) AH 100 now but I don't think he has picked the colours yet.

The photo below is from his AH Club trip (he's the Prez of the Southern Ontario AH Club) to Scotland for an AH gathering last summer. They shipped (him and six other Canadian AH'ers) their cars via Baltimore to Liverpool and then picked them up and drove around England and Scotland for a month. Nice holiday, n'est pas?