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Change of colour, would you?

Niels Svane

Niels Svane

Renault 4TL '83, 1B1 845cc engine, Ducellier diz
Messages
385
Location
Denmark
As the spring/summer creeps nearer I am going to blast, fill, prime and paint a whole lot of car.
The thing is: the car has its original beige colour, which in my opinion goes along with a lot of other colours: orange, light blue, dark green and more. In my opinion the beige is also a bit dull.

So would you guys keep the original color inside and outside, or would you go for a more vibrant/interesting color for the outside? Thus leaving the interior being beige.
I'm normally quite a sucker for originality but in this case I'm leaning towards a bit more lively look on the dear car :hug:
 
That's the trouble with the R4 - too many painted surfaces on the inside. I once painted a car with a different colour on the outside but was never really happy that it didn't match the inside. My inside was dark blue. Beige is a neutral colour so maybe you would get away with it.

It doesn't take long to strip or mask the inside and shouldn't take too long to the man with the spray gun to go over it.
 
Niels Svane said:
As the spring/summer creeps nearer I am going to blast, fill, prime and paint a whole lot of car.
The thing is: the car has its original beige colour, which in my opinion goes along with a lot of other colours: orange, light blue, dark green and more. In my opinion the beige is also a bit dull.

So would you guys keep the original color inside and outside, or would you go for a more vibrant/interesting color for the outside? Thus leaving the interior being beige.
I'm normally quite a sucker for originality but in this case I'm leaning towards a bit more lively look on the dear car :hug:
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I have grotty green, original colour but confess to being tempted, if we ever get round to tackling it propelry, converting to a light metalic hue - silver or similar, perhaps. So, in short, though beige is safe it's a bit, well.....beige.
 
Hello Niels, personally I would leave it as it is, with all its glorious patina. My view is unless a vehicle has had to have extensive body repairs it is best left alone with all its originality. The car I recently bought is like that, with just a few shiney embelishments. It was originally metallic grey, but it is now just grey, lovely. 20170117_162906.jpg
 
I can follow the arguments from both sides :) Sometimes clear coating in top of old scars also has its charm. Maybe its just the wintermood hitting me, giving the beige an even more ... beige ... look.
 
I love my beige R4..mine is Daim 111..I have some black stickers on the rear screen..sets off the beige a treat!..I vote stick with the original..here in France there's lots of white R4's..lots of blues but very few Beige!..very 1970's!
 
Hi Neil's

I think if you do decide to change colour it would need to be completely comprehensive or it won't look right. However I'm completely for both sides of the argument retaining natural patina if you have nice patina. And recolouring. R4s are happy cars in my view and often look good in catchy colours . Equally beige polished up with say burgundy seats would look amazing. So for me it's yes with colour change if it's everything change or retain current colour and 'lift ' it a little with other complimentary things - even black stickers as in Mellissa's case .
Maybe beige with an off white roof for a slightly more 'racy' look?!
 
It's comparable with having a few scuffs and dents. As with 2CVs, these cars are built with thin steel so scuffs and dents are inevitable. I think most panels on my car have these and I shall be keeping them as they are part of the car's history. Obviously if the dents are bad, it's an easyish job to change a panel or two. I shall paint the worst panels with aerosols and being a faded red car, I know that matching the colours won't be easy but you know what, I don't care. As long as she's mechanically sound and pretty rust free, the rest is just cosmetics. I did T-Cut the car when I bought her last summer and polish her every few weeks, and slowly slowly she is developing a shine although the paint is very thin in places.
 
Melissa said:
I love my beige R4..mine is Daim 111..I have some black stickers on the rear screen..sets off the beige a treat!..I vote stick with the original..here in France there's lots of white R4's..lots of blues but very few Beige!..very 1970's!
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Here in Charente, mostly white I see around. Agree, beige not nearly so common.
 
My opinion is always, nothing beats the real thing. I would never change color and never change the bodyshell looks. As Jonathan says, R4's are happy cars and they love to keep their natural patina, as long as the rust patina doesn't prevail :artist:
 
Yes its a fine line if patina is acceptable or not. Im an interior/exterior house/furniture designer so have to deal with these issues everyday. Little marks and scuffs which have occured in the natural run of things are usually very acceptable. But if a deliberate alteration has been made that upsets that and a repair made (no matter how good) it upsets the patina.

For example a house interior wall may have old lime plaster walls with fine cracks dents and scratches. Painted with limewash all these little marks show as well as the varying porosity of the surface giving a wonderful and characterful look. But where a light switch has been chased in for example with a straight line of infill behind it. It looks terrible!

So its very subjective. A little titivation could have an original patina looking great - hiding the modern repairs and leaving the time aquired ones. Then clear lacquer over the whole lot would/could look amazing.

But (Neils) the addition of something to 'lift' the overall look would compliment - A bit more Chrome? An off white roof? etc
 
I am in exactly the same predicament.... my car is a white gtl clan. It has a fair few dents and scrapes which are picking up rust even though I live in a warm country. I think I may have a leaking oil pump and the car came with a clutch kit so it's looking like the engine is going to come out soon anyway so if I was going to paint it now would be the time but..... keep it original or go matt black or silver or lime green or you get the point.

Question is does it hold more value when it comes to resale time if it's original ? Then again will I ever sell it.
 
And or look at photos of Thenay with lots of R4s lined up in all sorts of colours
 
My R4 is currently in a full rebuild and will get a respray in the original color code at the end inspite the current fine patina.

The only thing I'll never do is converting a R4 to early specs!
 
I agree with all arguments but as I havent got time/facilities (or money to throw around), I'll keep the old paint and supplement it with the aerosol cans I allready have. Its a nearly 100 % match between the aerosols and the original paint. Then I'll have to see how the 'new' beige performs under a cool Danish spring sun.
All dents are there to stay, rest assured. I'll only fix rust and tear, either be new panels or by filler.

Adding 'bling' is not my something I'm into. Just adding practical stuff like a towbar, a roofrack, boyer ignition, a 12V outlet, foglights etc. and then keeping it in sound running condition is my aim :)

Then, if another R4 comes along in another colour who knows, I might buy it! ... For now most of the motorcycle/car money is going into exchanging the Bmw-ferry to a Norton ES2 if everything goes to plan :)
 
A Norton ES2? Wow. Niels, I have a BMW R100/7 and an R100GS-Paris Dakar, a Honda GL1000 and one or two MZ ETZ250s ;-) Plus a Lomax 223, a BMW 118d and a Renault 4GTL. And this morning when buying a rubber exhaust bobbins, the man asked my the Renault's registration number. As if I can remember !!!!
 
mine's got lots of dents & scrapes..but my 1st priority is she runs well & I use her as much as possible. The paint's wearing thin & rust is starting to come through in places..I'm just in two minds whether or not to aerosol these places this summer as I am dreadful at spraying..she's totally original..no one has ever retouched her anywhere! or just ignore them..I mull on..
 
Hi Melissa I think it would be a god idea to find a professional who is prepared to give it a sensitive repaint. Adding new colour is likely going to be brighter so no matter how good or bad your spraying is it will look patchy, A professional who knows his or her stuff will know how to blend it all together. And no or thin paint can only mean rust!
 
I'm looking forward to the work on the car when the weather approves. And it's a fun discussion to read - the pros and cons of repainting and messing with originality :)
Yes Paul its a mint condition 1954 ES2, which is one of the bikes I've always wanted (from before I got my license 10 years ago). At 4000 £ its even sensibly priced.The alternative is a more tatty velocette mss at 4200 £. I am really awful at keeping my bikes as I want to try as much as possible... At this point I have had 17 different (nsu max w. sidecar, moto guzzi V7 850cc, 3x CB400F, xl250r, cx500, triumph daytona 500, klr250, pegaso 660 trail, cb750f, cb350t, africa twin 650, ural 650, cb400n). Then the R4 is my first car, and last weekend I collected a Fiat panda as long term daily driver.

Link for ES2 ad:
http://www.veteranposten.dk/visAnn.asp?Id=246117
Velocette ad:
http://velocette.dk/køb&salg/Sælges.html

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