Thread: Custom Paint

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Hi! I'm looking for some custom paint ideas. I've got an 81 Turbo Trans Am in original Burgandy/Maroon color. I'm looking for some hot variations on the original color and also want to have someone do big beautiful custom bird on the hood and fenders. Any thoughts, contacts etc. would be appreciated...photos would be fantatsic or links to websites with ideas. Thanks!!! See my photo below!

Just trying to add a pic of the T/A

That looks good now why paint till it needs it?looks kinda like my buddies old silverbird, wish i never let that go!

Oh yeah, you're right, the paint is awesome! But it's stock Pontiac. Most people probably will want to shoot me for changing it...all of the Trans Am clubs i've found talk about keeping them original and rebuilding a car to it's "original glory"...but i'm not a stock kinda person...want the car to be really mine...LOL maybe i'm nuts!

Keep the original hood bird desine but get some pearl mixed with the original color and then have the people at the paint counter lighten the paint up just a little. I coulda bought an '81 Trans Am with the bigger motor, all it needed was paint but I was more interested in the '51 Chevy which I now have.

I like the idea of adding the pearl...and lightening it up a bit...that would be really sharp...OK, here's a basic basic question...I know where to find house paint chips...where do ya go for car paint?

Paint is available at Napa and other Auto stores but, I don't think they can mix custom paint, you can look in the local phone book for automotive paint stores, the local body shop will also tell you.

Hey Streets,
Thanks for all of that info...Holy Cow REAL gold???? Oh my gosh!!! Well, this car is gorgeous just as it is...premo mint example of an 81 Turbo T/A with less than 14K miles on it...I plan to keep it forever, it's my dream car...shoot, I literally want to invest in custom seats with my friggin name on the drivers side ha ha! I have so many big and little things that I want to change/customize...but I also want to learn about the car...See I don't even know what an F-body is...i don't want to be some dumb dork that just has a cool car...I don't know anything about it now, but I want to learn...do you have any suggestions about where I can learn about the engine, tranny, and other etc. that someone who doesn't work on cars can learn about??? Attatched is a pic of what's under the hood...

Hey Jerily, do what you want to the car, have fun with it. Cars are supposed to be personalized. Restoring is boring, build what ya want. BTW, once on a Mustang, I found a T-Shirt shop that had like a CNC embroidery machine, had them do up a snake (Cobra of course) and my upholstery guy stitched them into the seat backs. Way kewl.

You guys are awesome! Good Grief Streets...where do ya pull up all that stuff???? I had Hitman & Gary Lisks website bookmarked when I was researching which year t/a I wanted to get...took me months to find all the info ha ha, you get it in 5 minutes!!!! Anyhow, this'll give me somethin to chew on for at least a week ha ha!

1 more ?? for you experienced custom hot rodders....
I need to find a local hot rod business to walk me through the choices...how do I know if i'm dealin with someone who knows their stuff? Right now everyone knows more than me... Are there a few basic ? I can ask or stuff to look for in the shop? I visited a couple places in my town and they both showed me some fantastic examples of their work, but I don't know what i'm lookin at...pretty colors ha ha that's about as far as I got.

DAVE!!! Thanks for the encouragement!!! I was going to buy a beautiful NASCAR Edition Turbo T/A...but it didn't seem right b/c I started thinkin...what the heck am I going to do with this car besides maintain it??? When the carpet is worn...i'd just replace it with the same stuff???? BORINGGGGGG!!!! When I saw this burgandy Turbo T/A I thought...here's something that I wouldn't feel guilty about changin...it's gorgeous as is = instant gratification...but about 100 things I could do to make it "mine" over the years = long term interest. I love your motto...anybody can restore a classic...takes a man to cut one up...did i get that right? LOL...it's perfect...

Like Streets said custom mix pearl paint is quite a process to fix if its ever damaged !
Adding pearls and mica to the factory color can change it dramatically, and if it isnt formulated on a scale and recorded ,when done it will never be matched if needed.Its not something you just throw in it .
If it were me , I would refinish it back to factory color , then find a guy /girl that does outstanding air brush work and have them air brush a bird on the hood . Might search around and ask people in your area that does motorcycle stuff or custom work, as some of these guys/girls have some real talent.
It doesnt have to be a factory looking bird , just let them do a few sketches of their idea of a firebird, and choose the one you like to have done on the hood.
SprayTech