There are a variety of things you should take into consideration when selecting the color of your vehicle. Your car or truck’s color helps hide dirt, maintain resale value, and keep you visible in difficult driving conditions. Aside from the technical stuff, the color of your car is a great way to showcase your style and personality. So, It’s important to think about the color you want for your car and how it best suits your needs. Customizing your car doesn’t have to be expensive or intimidating. We wrote this article using examples of some work we’ve done over the years to help you figure out a few of the options you have for your vehicle’s color. You can always feel free to reach out and ask us questions.
Color Pop
Color pops are accents of color different from the body paint that stand out. They are used to create a strong complement on any colorway, but can have a huge impact on neutral tones. Neutral tones are the most popular paint colors like white, gray, silver, and black which can be quite dull on there own. However, neutral tones do have the highest re-sale value because they aren’t polarizing colors. So, customization like color pops add more character without changing the whole vehicles exterior and value.
These color pop paint accents are very easy to create if you’re keeping your car’s original paint. Using mods like powder coat finish wheels, replacing the wheels, painting the caliper, applying custom vinyl decals, and custom painting trim help make these changes.
The following are a few specific color pairings that work well for color pops:
1. White And Bronze
White and bronze is a highly underrated color scheme that we just don’t see enough! It can be done for a reasonable price with either powder coating or swapping the wheels. Followed by the application of some metallic vinyl graphics or custom painted lettering.
2. Gray And Orange
Orange is a warm and vibrant color that has loads of energy. Gray, on the opposite end, is a neutral color viewed as mechanical and when overused appears lackluster. The stark contrast of the dark gray body paint and bright orange rocker panel decal merge together to form an eye pleasing color scheme. Not to mention if you went to sell this car the orange rocker panel decal could be removed to help maintain re-sale value.
3. Blue And Bronze
Bronze on blue is another uncommon and powerful color pop. This works best with dark blues, but can look good on soft powder blues as well. This color scheme is most often seen on high-end sedans and SUVs. The pairing a rich satin dark blue with a contrasting shiny and powerful brass is eccentric and very high-end.
4. Blue And Black
Another great color combination we would recommend with blue is black trim. This works better on vehicles that have bright or electric blues which just don’t pair as well with the metallic brass. Instead adding black balances the sharp electric blue and evens out the color scheme for the vehicle.
5. Black And Any Color
Black Vehicles can be paired with nearly any color, but our personal favorites are probably red, yellow, or bronze. It’s best to use bright colors when creating a color pop on black since it provides a strong contrast, and really draws attention to the features being highlighted. Although you do want to be conscious with your color selection and the amount of trim pieces to paint. Doing so keeps the color pop from going overboard.
Gray Or Silver With Black Trim
The color gray’s rise to popularity is no surprise due to its versatile appeal and multiple shades. When paired with black trim it keeps a legible and clean look. This color scheme is a subtle and appealing style that has become a recent classic. Though it’s shown here on this 2022 GMC Yukon Denali these colors fit on all classes of vehicles well. In addition gray and silver are the best colors for hiding dirt, mud, and other grime making them the easiest colors to maintain. Overall, it tends to come across very modern and professional, so it’s a good look to keep in mind.
Creating all black trim is called a chrome delete, and can be done to boost the appearance of all vehicles. Mods like chrome deletes can be used to make your car come across more sophisticated as opposed to generic factory chrome trim. Of course if your a fan of the color black you’ll really enjoy this next option.
Blackout
Blackout vehicles are exactly as they sound. Every inch of the vehicle is painted black, so no sources of shimmering chrome or color of any kind are left. This style of paint job is usually accompanied by smoked headlights, emblems, and taillights as well as window tints. Darkening every aspect of vehicles like this 2022 Mazda3 creates a luxurious look and mischievous allure. To step your blackout up in style you could select a matte or satin wrap. This can also be painted, but these paint jobs are hard to maintain and are more costly.
Blackouts can amplify the look on any class of vehicle, and are a sleek modification to make on your ride. The problem with blackouts is that they’re VERY dark, which makes their visibility at night or in stormy conditions worse. Furthermore, having an all-black car absorbs a massive amount of heat in the summer time. Be prepared to air it out or install a remote start system to cool off your car before you hop in. In the words of Henry Ford “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.”
Whiteout
Whiteouts are essentially the exact opposite of a blackout where every piece of trim is painted white to match the body. The biggest difference is that whiteouts tend to have black lettering which causes the make and model to stand out. Whiteouts are super clean and underrated paintjobs which give the vehicle a look that’s angelic, pure, and high-end. Just look at that bright white grille on this GMC Yukon Denali! It’s incredibly unique to what else is on the road and makes a big statement. White also does a great job hiding any water marks after a wash helping to keep it looking spotless.
White And Black “Stormtrooper” Color Scheme
White and black tends to be one of the most popular custom options which has been dubbed the “Stormtrooper” color scheme. What’s nice about these color schemes is they are both neutral colors so the re-sale value is safe. On top of that the white and black contrast against each other in a strong way delivering a great deal of clarity and emphasis to its features.
Monochromatic Color Schemes
Monochromatic color schemes, like the one on this 1984 Ford Ranger, use only one color with varying shades of darkness. They are a good way to style your vehicle while keeping it colorful and classy, so long as your shades are carefully selected. This style is great for people who enjoy a specific color and like more retro design elements. Blue, green, purple, and red are all some of the best colors to use with this style.
Color Flip Or Chameleon Wraps
Color flip or chameleon wraps are vinyl wraps applied over your vehicles entire paint job that change colors from different perspectives. These custom color options are very bold and not for everyone or every vehicle, but they are mesmerizing to look at. In particular, the one we applied on this 2021 Ford Bronco is very vivid and trippy. We suggest wrapping your car because when you want to sell it or try a different style later on it can be removed without damage making customization more hassle free. This new layer of vinyl wrap also adds a barrier of protection to your original paint against chips, scratches, and even rust, but that’s not all…
Using a vehicle wrap can be a lot cheaper than painting your whole car and it’s way easier to maintain. When a professional installs a vehicle wrap it can last for years, and look super clean on your vehicle.
Roof Wraps
Roof wraps are simpler method of changing your car’s appearance using vinyl, but also possible with a custom paint job. When wrapping the pillars and roof of a vehicle it makes it look more compressed and stylized. Roof wraps make great additions to SUVs or Trucks like this 2022 Toyota Tundra which has a satin black roof wrap that extends down the pillars.
Hood Wraps
Another great example of a vinyl wrap along with a silver and black color scheme is this wide body 2020 Dodge Challenger R/T. It features a black hood wrap and yellow color pop on the lower bumper. Hood wraps entice people to the hood of the car and can be used to hint at a vehicle’s performance. When you start to combine hood and roof wraps then it starts to lead toward something else…
Two-Tone Wraps
Two-tone wraps can appear differently based on the model of car. Most often, for muscle cars or sedans it covers sections of the hood, roof, and trunk like this 2021 Dodge Charger. While on SUVs and trucks it creates a hard mid-line shown on this 2020 dodge ram. Wraps in this style have a particular dynamic and streamlined appeal to them.
Vinyl Graphics And Decals
Creating awesome vinyl graphics for peoples rides is something we really enjoy doing. Aside from adding a complementary color to your design it also adds some creative imagery. For this bright green 2013 Wrangler build we applied a dark black topographic vinyl wrap. It provides a lot of character to the vehicle making it a great custom accessory.
Now It’s Up To You!
Hopefully these builds sparked an idea on how you can customize your car. There are near endless possibilities with thousands of colors and all sorts of equipment combinations for each vehicle. We are always thrilled to help people bring their creative custom vehicles to life! It’s what we do best.
Looking to customize your vehicle? We offer aftermarket accessories internationally and services across the contiguous U.S. to help you get your car exactly how you want it. Reach out if you’d like a quote for your vehicle!
