This week : simply planning-out, even further, how to physically & monetarily go about the body color & utility of various other coatings on my own FJ40.
Wanting to repaint the dissembled body components prior to rebuilding the rest of the vehicle. Although it's merely been a money-issue, here at my end, the mental process of selecting a best-fit color, for me, has been a multi-year endeavor. I've gone back & fourth, back & fourth, back & fourth on different schemes. The main problem, for me, is the ethics of deviating from an OEM color, native to the 40-series. Ethically, if to be an OEM color, I can't envision going outside the vehicle's natural, factory Sly Blue; which, was repainted to a metallic blue-green color by the vehicle's previous owner, more than 20 years ago. Unfortunately, I won't be going with Sky Blue. And I've yet to settle on a different factory color, let alone one correct for my 1979. My rebuilt vehicle will need to be a restomod; although, the engine & most of the used components throughout the vehicle will be original from the factory. Most of the other components will be of the OEM type, but mixed with some aftermarket components (exhaust headers, distributor, carburetor, modified rear sill & tailgate, etc.).
I've previously presented my idea of color within this thread, a handful of pages back, but here is yet another one of my images of the color I envision my '40 become - as it reveals its conceived color yet further. I'm believing this will look good with the Cygnus White roof & front bezel, and looks good with black & stainless too. Virtually any color will go with it well (jerry cans, 4x4 jack, bungee cords, etc). The particular paint for this color is an expensive one, as in $400/gallon. It's the industrial, Imron Elite line from DuPont/Axalta, will be the line's 2K Single Stage coating, and is formerly called 'Gray Black.' However, while recently doing research on the color code of this specific color, the same code refers to the color as having been called 'Aircraft Green.' At least within the military & American govt. It had been a military hue of color used somewhat frequently on AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters from the mid 60's, until the end of the 70's. Interesting to me, the color indeed becomes a true shade of green. But it also becomes a taupe, a bronze, or even a bronze-copper (I'm guessing because of pearls within the paint formula ? - although is not at all metallic or pearl looking when seen up close. It looks like a common, solid color.). And it transcends from fairly light in its hue under hard sunlight to really dark. It's basically black, at night. Below is a unique image of mine of this color (and helicopter) under diffused sunlight due to the overcast clouds above it :
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And below here is my own concept of my rebuilt '40 (to be used regularly as my own dogger-car, trail rig), with an OEM styled soft top (preferably dark brown canvas or denim material), with the vehicle's paint in the 'Gray Black / 'Aircraft Green' paint scheme of Cobra 826. Incidentally, my wheels will be the exact same color & appearance as that shown below - as I've already long ago painted them, and they appear precisely the same. The image below was extracted, by me, from eBay, of a Dune Beige '78 recently sold; and, is a vehicle no doubt familiar by others here on MUD. I simply altered its appearance via Photoshop. - - My own vehicle will need the black rear wheel flare (which I added here), as my vehicle's previous owner had trimmed its rear wheel-well for the application of a white flare. Although I now have on-hand a brand new pair of white flares, they'll now be out of place, as I'll naturally be inclined to go with the black ones for this paint scheme. And the black seen in the area of the rocker panel would be that of black Raptor bedliner.
Its kick vent will be painted Sky Blue (my vehicle's native color); and on top of that, I'll hand-paint a winged dog, which is & has been my logo. I'll do this exact same for the top of the vehicle's gear shift knob.
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Thanks,
~Skydog