What colour for my B20

[B20B24]

Beige is a great colour. I wish I'd painted my spyder beige now, rather than opting for the original grigio (white).

That swatch picture of the spyders is fantastic, Ade

[williamcorke]

I vote black.

Was always told the real issue with black paint is the quality of the bodywork - if it's not perfect it's very unforgiving.

Dirt is another thing.  A lifestyle choice!

[B20B24]

Yes, black is supposed to be the most unforgiving of colours - but can look fantastic.

[GG]

Another issue is how you intend to use the car. Maybe this isn't an issue in Merry England, but here, the summers are quite hot, and a dark car can be really tough. I had a B20 in dark brown and there is about a 10º difference between being in that car in the hot summer sun and the light tan one.

First question: originality or not. If so, then no questions or doubts. A tough call. The other way out is to use an original color, regardless. That turns out to be trickier to ID than one might imagine, but recommended.

Good luck!

PS - another vote for the soft 1950s pastels. Really sweet. Although the darks (green, blue, black and amaranto) have a charm of their own.   

[chriswgawne]

IMHO the pastel colours used on the earlier B20s really suit the lines of the car as can be clearly seen on Adrian Donovans pale blue car shown earlier.
The 4th Series B20 which we have owned since 1978 is beige and this was certainly not a popular colour for a B20 in the 80's and 90's - look at how B20s were painted varying shades of silver metallic around this time. Funnily enough the pastel colours have come back into fashion now and I cant wait to see my latest 4th Series B20 project painted pastel grey in a year or so - its original colour.
For maximum resale value, any dealer would say  you should keep the car the original colour (and black is certainly a colour which needs a very straight body to look its best) but it is your car and therefore your choice.
Jacky's B24S Convertible was originally silver metallic with a bright red leather/leathercloth interior which she really disliked and when the time came to choose the colour to repaint the shell, she chose Newmarket Grey (a sort of metallic gunmetal grey with a hint of green in it and an original B20 6th Series colour ) exactly as Geoff Hewittson's late B20 (who had the ICI paint recipe) with a green leather interior. Some purists were appalled but over time they have  grudgingly admitted it is a lovely understated combination.

[Parisien]

Agree Chris....the 50s pastels were so right for the cars of the period, plus they seem so of the time they are hard to fault, even the grey for your car, which looks so wrong on many cars of many eras, will look spot on for yours. Got a pic of the proposed colour on a sample B20?

Not a fan of metallics in that period, don't ask me why! But for certain combos, they do look ok.


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[Sliding Pillar]

Is this the pale grey you are talking about?

[ColinMarr]

There is something else to consider when choosing colour. As Geoff and Chris say, B20s look lovely in light pastel shades, but they look great in the darker ones too. My car was a very pale blue “Celeste Pininfarina”, which I thought was lovely and I wanted it that way, but light shades like this show up any deficiencies in door shuts and gaps around bonnet and boot. I have seen darker shaded cars that looked good from a distance but on closer inspection the gaps and shuts were less than wonderful.

Colin

[Parisien]

Is this the pale grey you are talking about?

Thats more blue grey SP.......nice......but not sure


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[Sliding Pillar]

Same car, but pictured outside, does this look better.

[Parisien]

I imagine it to be quite a bit lighter, will wait to see if photo turns up


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[GreenB20]

Personally, if you like the maroon, I would go for an original Amaranto, there are too many B20's in silver, grey, black and blue!

Mine is going to be green........when it gets finished.

[Sebastien]

I cannot resist, after previous post, to show this photo, to highlight the interest of dark colors.
Colour choice is always difficult, I had no choice: my B20 was black, its original colour!

As regards the cosmetic maintenance of dark cars:
If my car is dirty, really dirty, it only means I have used it as it should be used, driven many kilometers, and enjoyed it on the road.
When I wash it, after such a long trip, always by hand, I can enjoy and rediscover its curves, and shapes. What an experience...

[johnturner]

Take care with Amaranto.  What is called 'Amaranto' by a number of paint manufacturers bears no resemblance to the colour of the B20s I recall encountering in the 50s and 60s.  This is very dark indeed and very similar to a standard colour for the Lambda which I am having some difficulty replicating for the Weymann. Lukas Huni's recently restored Lambda is right (see below)and the (glorious) Ferrari at http://www.fantasyjunction.com/cars/826-Ferrari-375%20America-4%20Litre%20V12 looks like Amaranto to me.

[chriswgawne]

Thats interesting John.
I always thought Roberto Pozzi's Amaranto 3rd Series B20 was the 'correct' Lancia Amaranto (and it is a lovely colour). I dont have a photo of it handy - maybe someone else does? It is nothing like the Ferrari colour being much lighter.