Closing in on needing to be certain on a color for my truck.
Torn between red and blue.

Either way I want a white/cream grille and black bumpers. As well as red emblems
If red I plan on red running boards. If blue then black running boards.

The 56 to me tends to be different as to what color works best on it. Every year before it prefer blue or green. My truck was red when I bought it (not factory) and I wonder how much that effects what I associate with the year.

Red would be a vermillion


Blue would be a medium blue




Thoughts?
I'm looking to keep a 50s factory feel with it. I've debated green but I'm very use to it being a forest ranger color that it would have to be a jade green or so which is more 70s than 50s. I personally like both for different reasons

 

I just like the blue better. They both would look awesome though.

 

Yeah I'm starting to really lean towards it. I just found it odd that I prefer every other vehicle in the world in blue, but a 56 in red.
Makes me wonder if it's just a mental association like Ferraris are red, Kawasakis are green, Yamahas are blue, Harleys are black, 66 mustang's are red, 67 mustang's are blue, 68 mustang's are dark green. That sort of thing.

One thing I do really like about colors other than red is the emblems and tail lights make the truck look better. On a red one they just get lost because everything is red.

 

My favorite colour after Meadow green is the Sheridan Blue or Banner Blue, depending on the year.

 

A lotta Red F100s out there. Dare to be different.

 

Anyone have any pictures off hand of known factory blue trucks?
I've noticed the Sheridan blue 56s I'm seeing look a lot darker than some earlier years, hard to tell what's lighting or mislabeled.

Sheridan and Banner look a lot alike in the photos I'm seeing. Maybe Banner slightly more dark or purple, but it's hard to judge off a few pictures. Nocturnal blue looks pretty nice too, though a bit lighter and more cyan.

After going through paint codes it seems Noctual blue was a first in 56, Banner blue was used in 56 and 55, and Sheridan blue 54 and 53. Sheridan blue also changed its paint code in 53, so the earlier years are different. Meadow Green remained the same through all the years on this forum. (Least concluded from paint codes)

 

 

 

It's a lot less work to keep it red than to do a color change to blue. It's hard to cover every inch of red with blue without a complete tear down and strip to bare metal. If your plan is to do that anyway, then the point is moot. As for which color to prefer, I could go either way, but I have always been drawn to red cars/trucks. Perhaps I'm just boring. It really depends on what you want and how much work are you willing to put into it to get it.

 

What he said...Changing a color like that is a TON of work. But if you're going to do it anyway, I do like that Sheridan blue. You were wondering why you like blue on this truck, but not other stuff, some things do a color more justice than others because of their shape. These trucks have lots of round features that really showcase the depth of a color, especially a metal flake with clear, candy, etc. I love these things red, but that blue truck you were showing appears to be a metal finish, or it's awfully sparkly in any case. Round curved surfaces that extend in different directions (such as the fenders that have vertical and horizontal surfaces with curves, as opposed to modern vehicles that essentially go vertical and horizontal only) will really make dark and deep finishes to really pop. It's also part of the reason these things are so difficult to finish!

On a side note, if you chose a metal flake red, it would also look pretty awesome. Of the two blue ones you show, I think the smaller photo is a stock blue, the larger one is the same or similar color with some flake in it. You could do the same with the red, and it would pop a lot more too.

It's not stock, but I do like the second of those two blue trucks that has the wheels painted the same color as the body. With the beauty rings, there's not a lot of exposed paint, but it's a little detail that really makes a difference.

I'm sure it will look great no matter what you do, pick a color that you like and you'll be happy with it.

 

i am like 52 merc,i also like red.that has always been my favorite color.i think that it would look great in red.i had a 1964 ford galaxie 2 door hard top that was candy apple red when i bought it.i really liked it.

 

Thanks for the photos, those help a lot.

The truck is going to be fully stripped, so same amount of work regardless. As it sits the interior paint is green.
I think I need to decide if I want any flake in it or not, of all the things paint changes the feel of the build more than anything. Most of the time I prefer flake, but colors like Sheridan blue work without it. A bonus of paint without flake is an easier touch up, which is nice on a truck.

Well, I have a lot to consider, thanks for the help guys.

 

1954 Glacier Blue

 

We'll, if the original color was meadow green, then you must paint it meadow green!

 

Lol how come I knew you would say that?

It was originally meadowmist green, then repainted meadow green before leaving the factory. (No paper work, was told this by the PO.) Its dark green inside the cab, yet the firewall, both inside and out of the cab, is the light green. It was then repainted all red on the outside by the mine company it originally worked at. Not sure when that was done, maybe the 80s.