Cobra color ideas

[Fisherj14]

Ok guys,

I think I’ve settled on soft top for my cobra and I’m changing the paint from yellow with black stripes which is not really my style. Here are the options I’m considering but if you have anything you think I should consider, please let me know:

1) Dark Carbon Matte Grey with black stripes and everything else blacked out on the car including windshield frame and mirrors. Black wheels. Goodyear racing white lettered tires.
2) Matte Deep Navy with darker navy ghost stripes. Everything blacked out. Same tires.
3) Polished aluminum. All black tires.

I am also thinking of putting numbers on the car as well, but would like to hear your thoughts. Cool? Gimmicky?

You guys are my experts so would love to hear your thoughts.

[JohnK]

My thought is that you should go with whatever you love and don't worry too much what others think. Between this forum and local get togethers I've seen pretty much every color combo imaginable. Each one of those is someone's idea of the coolest cobra ever. To me, some are cool while others are boring or ugly but they're not my car. Trying to make your choice based on what others think will just drive you crazy.

That said, if you foresee trying to sell it down the road, some of the more "traditional" color combos will attract a larger buyer pool while other more unique colors will limit the number of buyers and therefore possibly impact the price. Maybe that's a concern for you, and maybe not.

[Mike.Bray]

You should go with whatever color you wife likes:)

JohnK is 100% correct, do whatever you like. I would add try and settle on a basic color like blue for example and then look at every blue car you see when out driving. The OEM's are coming out with some amazing colors these days. You'll pretty much know it when you see it.

And unless you plan on keeping this car until you die and are buried in it you should consider what happens when you try to sell it. A blue Cobra will sell a lot faster and for more money than a yellow Cobra. As for the blacked out and black wheels, I personally hate it. But, I have no idea if I'm in the majority or minority. Or if it's an age thing. I just have to have a little bling lol

[Fisherj14]

My thought is that you should go with whatever you love and don't worry too much what others think. Between this forum and local get togethers I've seen pretty much every color combo imaginable. Each one of those is someone's idea of the coolest cobra ever. To me, some are cool while others are boring or ugly but they're not my car. Trying to make your choice based on what others think will just drive you crazy.

That said, if you foresee trying to sell it down the road, some of the more "traditional" color combos will attract a larger buyer pool while other more unique colors will limit the number of buyers and therefore possibly impact the price. Maybe that's a concern for you, and maybe not.

Thanks! Yeah, not planning on selling it. I lean more towards the first two with numbers on them.

[Jeff Kleiner]

3) Polished aluminum.



Curious about how you intend to do this with fiberglass.

Jeff

[Fisherj14]

There are special paints than give you a polished aluminum on fiberglass.

And yes, still plan to keep it for a long time. Our kids are at the age where they will be all out of the house in the next 5 years and I’ll be wanting to take trips to the mountains with my wife in it.

[Fisherj14]

This is the idea I am thinking about if you can imagine it matte instead of polished.

https://www.idealclassiccars.net/vehicles/1328/1965-shelby-cobra-backdraft-jack-roush-edition

[Its Bruce]

This is the idea I am thinking about if you can imagine it matte instead of polished.

https://www.idealclassiccars.net/vehicles/1328/1965-shelby-cobra-backdraft-jack-roush-edition

That is effectively what I planned with my car when it arrived in 2014, sans the black wheels. For various reasons my car has taken longer than most, and now I'm seeing many more gray/black combos. It almost makes me want to reconsider, but it just looks so good.

[egchewy79]

I say do what moves you. I looked at several colors but always came back to blue. Then I spent a couple of years finding the right shade. Automotive touch up paint companies with sell to a rattle can if you know the color and you can spray out a bunch of samples190810

[Jeff Kleiner]

This is the idea I am thinking about if you can imagine it matte instead of polished.


Kinda’ like mine.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=190811&d=1696370355

Jeff

190811

[RJD]

This is the idea I am thinking about if you can imagine it matte instead of polished.

https://www.idealclassiccars.net/vehicles/1328/1965-shelby-cobra-backdraft-jack-roush-edition

This is it! Go with your gut.

[Fisherj14]

That is exactly what I was thinking! Nice job!

[JasonD]

1. Matte Carbon- Most common interpretation of the matte type looks. For a reason, it looks good. But if you're trying to be ultra-unique this may not be it.

2. Matte Navy- A little more unique and looks classy, but I expect this would not age as well color wise. I think in 5ish years color trends will have moved on.

3. Polished aluminum- My opinion, you polish an aluminum car to emphasize that it is aluminum. To do that on a fiberglass car, you are making a major focal point of the car something that it is not. Hard no for me, feels gimmicky on a plastic car..

4. Numbers- Never thought of them as gimmicky, many of the original cars were raced. Personal opinion, I like with and without.

I don't know what your background is, but bear in mind that matte finishes are not as easy to maintain as you might expect. I work in the powersports manufacturing world, and in that setting it is a drawback that you can't polish a matte color to remove minor defects or damage from handling.

In the end though you need to go with YOUR vision of the car, or you will always have it in the back of your mind

[TBull]

As most people on here have said, and I couldn't agree more, Build and paint it for you. That's all that really matters. I tell everyone that FFR gave us a canvas for us to show the world our interpretation of these cars. My favorite colors are blue and orange, and no I'm neither a Florida Gators nor a Broncos fan. I just like the colors. I had plenty of people think I was nuts, but once it was done I've got nothing but compliments. If there were people speaking out against it, that'd be fine, but wouldn't have changed my choices. Build your car your way and let us know what you decide on. One thing I did that really helped me was I built a large scale model of a cobra and then used my top picks of blue to paint it with the orange stripes. I painted one side one color and the other a different shade. These cars have so many angles and curves and just seeing the different colors on that shape in both sunlight and shade helped solidify my options and at a fairly cheap cost too.

[JohnK]

I don't know what your background is, but bear in mind that matte finishes are not as easy to maintain as you might expect. I work in the powersports manufacturing world, and in that setting it is a drawback that you can't polish a matte color to remove minor defects or damage from handling.

This is actually a very good point worth considering. A friend bought a matte black G-Wagon a few years ago when they were all the rage here. The car looked awesome when he first got it. But it's impossible to clean off stuck-on dirt, bird droppings, etc. without burnishing the finish and leaving a shiny spot. After a couple of years his car looked terrible and the only way to correct it was to repaint it.

If you really want the matte look, consider a full body matte PPF. This way you get the matte look in an easier to maintain finish and if you ever get tired of the matte look you just peel it off to expose a nice shiny paint job underneath. Land Rover was actually offering a clear matte PPF over standard glossy paint as a factory installed option on the new Defenders when they first came out.

[Alan_C]

Given all the work you put into assembling the car, color becomes a very personal choice and one that you will agonize over for weeks or longer before deciding.
To me dark colors are best as they accentuate the lines of the car. Paints that have pearl and metallic content tend to flop more in light changes which adds interest when looking at the car. Going with a matt color is almost like Ford vs. Chevy with regards to a power plant. To me personally, matt finishes look unfinished, but it is not my car. The factor I would be concerned with would be caring for the paint as I would suspect you cannot wax it. I don't know if ceramic coating can be applied over the matt finish without adding sheen. Something I would want to know before I committed to such a finish. I say that because spending time cleaning, polishing, and waxing my car was therapeutic.
The polished aluminum look IMO just looks gaudy. I attended the 50th anniversary show at the NHRA museum in Pomona in 2012 or there abouts. I saw two cars fully polished, but I couldn't tell you if they were original or a replica with a aluminum body. Many who have had bright white stripes have noted that the glare off the dashboard area was a nuisance. Just imagine a polished aluminum body and potential for blinding yourself on the road. A friend has a fully polished vintage Air Stream trailer. Fully when camping one day the suns rays reflected and concentrated off the door started the mats they had outside the vehicle smoking, yikes.
Share you choice once you have selected and painted the vehicle. What others do give us idea as to what looks good on the cars.

[CraigS]

If you want numbers I recommend vinyl graphics. This way you can experiment if you want w/ color, size, font, or complete removal. I had them on mine for over a decade and they never had a problem on their own. I changed a couple times, but one set was on there for about 7 years.

[Avalanche325]

I agree with CraigS. Vinyl. You can take the off if you get tired of them. Vinyl low tack works best. I get my autocross numbers from izoom.com
Static cling is OK for smaller stuff like vintage sponsor "decals". ********** used to sell them. Good luck with that.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Although I have painted roundells AKA "meatballs" on some customer cars my own car has been wearing vinyl since 2008.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=190869&d=1696544268

Jeff

[Fisherj14]

Thanks for all the responses guys and I agree about the vinyl.

[NiceGuyEddie]

Dark colors like dark navy can look black at night. Matte colors are really tough to touch up and you WILL need them.

[gbranham]

When I started my build, I was dead set on a dark grey car with all the chrome blacked out. Since then (only a few months), I'm seeing more and more cars with this design element, and I now feel like it's too common, and I actually no longer like it. It works on some colors, but on lighter colors, all the chrome in black (especially the windshield frame) is kind of jarring to me, and feels like a short-lived fad. So, I'm back to leaving all the chrome alone. Still haven't settled on a color, but I know I don't want stripes. My MkIII was E4 Vermillion red, no stripes, and I loved it, but I'm leaning toward a darker, non-traditional color, whatever that ends up being. I realize this post in no way answers your question. Hah!

[Fisherj14]

When I started my build, I was dead set on a dark grey car with all the chrome blacked out. Since then (only a few months), I'm seeing more and more cars with this design element, and I now feel like it's too common, and I actually no longer like it. It works on some colors, but on lighter colors, all the chrome in black (especially the windshield frame) is kind of jarring to me, and feels like a short-lived fad. So, I'm back to leaving all the chrome alone. Still haven't settled on a color, but I know I don't want stripes. My MkIII was E4 Vermillion red, no stripes, and I loved it, but I'm leaning toward a darker, non-traditional color, whatever that ends up being. I realize this post in no way answers your question. Hah!

I definitely get that. If I had chrome pipes, I would probably go with a light gray with white stripes. Mine has black pipes. Everyone around me wants me to keep it yellow but I just can’t do it. I have had black cars all my life and probably always will.

[Theshandman]

Dark colors like dark navy can look black at night.

Absolutely! Think Antimatter Blue. :D

[Theshandman]

...my own car has been wearing vinyl since 2008.Jeff
JK, I'm curious. There is a 2 and an 8 in the year 2008. Just a coincidence with your 28 meatball? ;)

[Jeff Kleiner]

JK, I'm curious. There is a 2 and an 8 in the year 2008. Just a coincidence with your 28 meatball? ;)

Wife’s birthday is the 28th.

Jeff

[cnutting]

Wife’s birthday is the 28th.

Jeff

Seems like a common theme. My wife's birthday is the 13th...

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=113873&d=1567873796