HOT ROD FLATZ PEARLS

Sent a PM to a fellow HAMBER complimenting the paint on his car and asking what it was. Hot Rod Flatz Burgundy Pearl is the color and paint type. Single stage with flatteners mixed into the base coat.

Turns out they make a Hot Rod Flatz in Purple Pearl as well. Hmmmm.

AN UNUSUAL COLOR COMBO

  
I was looking at eggplant color references on Google when I happened upon this image of a restaurant interior in Arizona. My first thought was how much I liked the deep eggplant color. Then my eye went to the pistachio color table clothes and I realized I  had come across a truly unusual color combo and one I quite like. Seeing as how the interior of the T is quite small, I'd always assumed I'd use traditional white. But in seeing this, I realize a real light value of pistachio/sea foam would be quite interesting and a lot more unusual than white. I do believe Lily Munster would approve. Hmmm.

JEFF MYERS' RECIPE FOR SUEDE SUCCESS

Regarding my prior post, I just received a PM from Jeff Myers ( FINKd on the HAMB)

"The color was a kustom mix kinda maroon but with some purple. The sheen is Sikkens matte clear with about 50% more matte paste added, then hardened , reduced and sprayed. It holds up well but you can't rub on it much or it will turn shiny. I use Sikkens paint only, except on kandy jobs then i use House of Kolor.
Sikkens' matte clears have worked better for me then any others."

Thanks, Jeff.

THE PERFECT SHEEN

I came across the perfect sheen and a color pretty close to what I have in mind for the T.

It started with a photo in the March 2010 issue of R&C (and it's still '09). Anyhow, the shot was of a '38 Plymouth owned by a guy named Shoe Nyegaard. I did a post on the HAMB asking for any info and was led to a HAMBer whose handle is FINKD. His HAMB gallery has these two shots of the very car I was loooking at in R&C. I sent a private message to him and am hoping to get the details. This is precisely the texture I want to achieve on Lily. More on this when I know more...

MORE ABOUT LILY'S COLORS

Really digging the Eggplant exterior color idea. I'm also liking the idea of going pearl white vinyl or pearl white glitter vinyl tuck and roll for the interior with Eggplant colored carpets. Picture a pearl white restored 60's wheel and it's starting to feel very sixties. This wagon is a pretty good example of the direction I'm heading in.

THE STONER/CONDER T

Found a little more inspiration for my T. A car I'd seen before that is being built for Dan Stoner out of Conder Customs. Here's a killer sketch and some snaps of the build in progress form Conder's site.

Note that the car has had vertical sections removed to accentuate the tall un-chopped vibe.

Ballsy move, fellas.  Not to mention very cool.

TBD

tbd

WHAT WOULD YVONNE DE CARLO DO?

Long before I start a build, I think about what I really wanna to get out of it and why I'm doing it in the first place. So...why a Tall T?  Well, one of the practical reasons is that I'm tall (6'5"). But let's forego the intellectual alibis. This isn't about being logical. This is about trying to emulate something I love -Mercury Charlie's old T--but doing it a different enough so that it isn't just rip-off of his concept. I starting asking myself why my vision for the Hot Rod Shift Knob Tall T always begins and ends with Mercury Charlie's old T. I think that answer lies in the fact that it dared to be different. Really different.
It didn't look like anyone else's T in its day, or even now. Maybe it was the flat black paint with the wild-ass purple Von Franco tribal flames. Maybe it was the lavendar and white interior or the pearl white engine and frame. At the end of the day, it was just different. Which got me thinking about the Munster's car, which I've loved since I was a gawky kid in Glendale, California. It was so different. The fact that my T is definitely not going to be chopped has made me realize that what I want to build is also influenced by The Munster's. But not just the show. But that period in time, as well. So I've decided the T's name is going to be named Lily, named after Yvonne De Carlos's character in the Munster's. I'm going to start screening my ideas through a "Lily Munster filter". An odd thought? Perhaps. But a sure-fire way to build a car that has a unique POV. And perhaps some inherently feminine colors.
So from now on, this car will be built thinking about that oddly sexy, goth goddess. Would Lily pick Dark purple suede paint? I believe that she would. A Crushed velvet headliner? Absolutely.
Perhaps some pearl vinyl? Why not? Suddenly it's all beginning to make sense in a very strange way.

TBD

TBD

THE COLOR PURPLE

Okay, it's been a week now and the idea of purple is sticking. I had an idea for the car's name. Lily, as in Lilly Munster. She was an odd one, indeed, but kinda sexy in a goth way. Not unlike a Tall T would be painted Washington Square Purple. As far as interior, violet has always been of interest to me and one can never go too wrong with Pearl White Vinyl.