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Cove Paint Color Ideas

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bj8bn2

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I have a BN2 in Colorado Red with a red leather interior. Red/red is a little too much red so I'd like to paint the coves but need some ideas for a cool color. I don't want black or white. English white is a consideration but so is a metal flake gunmetal gray. I'm leaning toward something more exciting that the typical and originality is not a consideration. I would appreciate other color ideas. A picture would be appreciated.
 
BN2 cove colours other than white, black and red are difficult to find. The only other I can find is the black and pink BN2 Earl’s Court Motor Show model. The closest I could come up with to your idea of metallic grey is reversed but may give you an idea of how the two combine. Here is a link to a BN2 in gunmetal grey with red coves. I would think that when reversed this would be a tasteful combination. Click on the main photo and a whole reel of further photos will open up….

rmsothebys.com

1956 Austin-Healey 100 BN2 'Le Mans' | Fort Lauderdale 2019 | RM Sotheby's

1956 Austin-Healey 100 BN2 'Le Mans' for sale at RM Sotheby's Fort Lauderdale
rmsothebys.com
 
Dick Lunney in North Carolina has a red BN2 with medium blue coves. I'm not often a fan of non-original colors, but I like the red-blue combo that Dick picked. His contact is in the AHCA Membership Directory. I don't have any photos of it myself.
 
I agree with RT on originality, and blue coves would look sharp...I might also consider a dark blue, like midnight blue. You can probably find some side view illustrations of a BN2 and experiment using Photoshop to create some images to help with the decision. I believe the Moss catalog site has a side view illustration of a red 100 that might work.
 
You can also consider having the color done with a wrap rather than paint. That way, if you don't like it, you can change.
 
PHulst said:
You can also consider having the color done with a wrap rather than paint. That way, if you don't like it, you can change.
Click to expand...

That's a great suggestion. A wrap of the "coves" should not be expensive - maybe a few hundred $$$ ? - and they are pretty durable and of course easy to change. If my Healey wasn't already two-toned, I'd do that for sure.
 
Thanks for the help, guys. Dick Lunney sent me a picture of his 100, looks very cool. The wrap is a great idea, not sure what the color options are - I'll look into it and let the group know.
 
If you decide on a wrap and narrow it down to two but can't make up your mind, you could always have each side done in the two selected colors and then think on it for a while before making a final decision.
 
Maybe its own topic, but how were coves painted? Were they noted on BMIHT sheets? I believe my BJ8 was originally Colorado Red (only), but black coves were either added by the dealer or at one of its repaints--it was metallic bronze(!) for a while--and there is a noticeable edge along the cove where it was applied after-the-fact (won't a wrap do this too?). I once saw described a technique for painting coves such that they blended together, leaving little/no edge. IIRC, it involved painting the coves first, then masking the coves and edges before applying the main color, then removing the masking at exactly the right drying state so that the main color paint could just barely flow into the cove edge, leaving no discernible edge between the two (or possibly a minuscule overlap). 'Two-Tone' paint was popular for American cars in the 50s and 60s but, usually, a trim strip was added over the border as doing a perfect blend would be too labor ($$$) intensive. Off-the-top-of-my-head I can't think of any modern cars with two-tone paint (they only seem to come in black, silver or white).

My opinion, worth absolutely nothing, is that only red or white with black coves or white with some other colors--BRG, Florida Green, Healey Blue, etc.--looks good. Owners are free to choose, of course, but like yellow cars it may affect resale (if that matters). Note metallic bronze, while a popular 'hot rod' color back when got painted 'resale red' over black. But resale may be a non-issue for most of us I suspect. I believe most all 100Ms were OEW, and came with black coves.
 
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