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Is It Time To Reintroduce 2-Tone Exteriors? - READ ONLY

22 messages,  Last post on Jun 14, 2010 at 6:38 PM

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What is this discussion about? Maybach, Coupe

Messages Page 1 of 3

#1 of 22 Is It Time To Reintroduce 2-Tone Exteriors? by hpmctorque

May 21, 2010 (7:49 am)

Two tone paint jobs (and sometimes even three) had their post-war hayday in the '50s. Arguably, the popularity of vinyl tops in the '60s and '70s kept the trend going longer, albeit in a different form.
 
With cars becoming more generic in appearance in recent years, would tastefully done two tone exteriors allow designers to add some positive visual interest to car styling? Could this complement recent improvements in interior designs of many models?
 
Take a look at drawings of the Maybach coupe (by Xenatec) that will be introduced. You can view it on the AutoWeek site. What do you think of its two tone styling?

#2 of 22 Re: Is It Time To Reintroduce 2-Tone Exteriors? [hpmctorque] by steve_ HOST

May 21, 2010 (10:10 am)

Replying to: hpmctorque (May 21, 2010 7:49 am)
My '97 Outback has that lower body cladding that's painted a neutral dark color. It works ok with the red sheetmetal.
 
I've always been fond of old VW Bugs with doors that contrast with the rest of the body. And don't forget the MINI roof treatments.
 
Works for me. I'm not quite ready for airbrushed van sides again though.

#3 of 22 I think it depends on the car... by andre1969

May 21, 2010 (11:36 am)

When two-toning made a bit of a comeback in the late 70's, I thought it worked really well on the angular cars of the time, because they had creases that gave a logical "break point" between the two colors. Even if the cars had a little bit of curviness to them, it still often worked. For instance, I had an '86 Monte Carlo that I thought looked great, with its 2-tone gray-over-silver.
 
Once the cars started getting more aerodynamic though, it seemed like two-toning really started limiting itself to the lower body, and was often accomplished with plastic cladding.
 
Nowadays though, cars are enough of a mix-and-match in styling, with re-hashes of styling themes that have come and gone before, that it might work on some of them. For instance, I think 2-toning would look good on something like a Chrysler 300. It's squared-off enough to pull it off.
 
That Maybach coupe manages to look rounded and slab-sided at the same time, and has strong enough creases to pull off that two-toning, IMO.

#4 of 22 Following the acceptance of Two toning, will by euphonium

May 21, 2010 (1:36 pm)

White Sidewall tires make a comeback as well? For those who park by Braile, not.

#5 of 22 Re: I think it depends on the car... [andre1969] by fintail

May 21, 2010 (1:55 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (May 21, 2010 11:36 am)
I think you're right. For me anyway, two toning looks a lot better on an angular car. For slightly rounder cars, it can only be pulled off with lower body differentiation, like on many 80s era MB.
 
I don't see it coming back...I bet the expense alone, especially on non-cladding setups, makes it prohibitive.

#6 of 22 Re: Following the acceptance of Two toning, will [euphonium] by explorerx4

May 21, 2010 (3:36 pm)

Replying to: euphonium (May 21, 2010 1:36 pm)
they make tires that have curb protection built in. i have a set.
one the best 70's cars for a two tone paint job was a mid/late monte carlo.

#7 of 22 Watch For A Tuner Trend by writer

May 30, 2010 (5:42 pm)

I think that if the "tuner" market sees an interest in two-tone paints then the manufacturers might put an effort into bringing them out. I do not think you could say that has been much sign of such a trend yet.
 
I was actually thinking about doing this to my last previous car, until I got it in an accident and had to replace it.

#8 of 22 two tone cars by davv62

Jun 12, 2010 (5:56 am)

I'd say no. I remember the ugly two-tone cars from the '70s and '80s.

#9 of 22 Apparently GM Things So! by smarty666

Jun 12, 2010 (7:39 am)

GM seems to be going to the two tone route. I mean, they first brought it back with the 08 Malibu with the light colored interior choices and I think the new LaCrosse does that a little bit in the gray and beige colored interiors, so does the Equinox, etc and they seem to be sticking with it!
 
What will be interesting to see, is if Honda, Nissan, and Toyota copy and have two tone options on their next round of redesigned models, Altima/Camry next year, followed by the Accord the year after!

#10 of 22 Silver-gray on black by xrunner2

Jun 12, 2010 (11:30 am)

I had a 1986 Chevy, er Chevrolet, Suburban for many years that was two-tone. There were a number of choices of two-tones. Mine looked pretty good until the silver-gray on the hood and the roof started to deteriorate.
 
The black on the sides was very rich and deep and shined up well. It took a lot of work to get a shine on the hood.
 
The roof was another story. In the later years, kept it till late 2003, I had to get up on a ladder (twice over time) with orbital sander and fine sandpaper to remove remnants of paint and very light rust. Roof never rusted through. I was lucky to find popular brand spray can paint (Rustoleum), masked off the sides and hood and used many cans to spray. It matched the original color very well. Unless you were a basketball player, you could not really see the top of roof, only a little bit of it.
 
I decided to refinish the roof by myself when I got some estimates from auto paint shops that quoted the work to be more than the value of the truck.

Messages Page 1 of 3

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