Here is a question for all you paint experts? What is the brightest red out there. I am talking about retina searing, spontaneous combustion, RED.

Is there such a thing a base red? Is that the brightest? From 73-75 Pontiac offered Bucaneer Red on Trans Am's. That was pretty bright, but I am sure there is an even brighter red. Rosso Red, Viper Red, Nuclear Red???? Pics, opinions, favorites all welcome.

[This message has been edited by Rick 88 (edited 08-02-2012).]

PPG 75250 Rosso Corsa
PPG 905389 Rosso Scuderia

Rosso Scuderia applied over a PINK primer coat should give you the "eye searing" RED you're looking for.

NEITHER color should be applied over a gray primer, (only white or pink tinted)

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I like Porsche Guards Red over a white primer.

but how long before they turn to tomato soup red.. like so many reds

As mentioned above, Porsche Guards Red.

The new Mazda Volcanic Red is pretty close to the Guards Red. In person, this color is amazing. It is almost blinding in the sun.

quote Originally posted by E.Furgal: but how long before they turn to tomato soup red.. like so many reds

Good question. Are there any UV inhibitiors available to inhibit color fade over time? The car is red and I don't want to do a complete color change.

[This message has been edited by Rick 88 (edited 08-02-2012).]

Red is one of the worse colors for fade.
I mentioned doing a red/gold combo, but I was shown what happens to red after a few years of UV exposure.
Even some other paints fade quite rapidly with UV, so the better brands are recommended.
Storing your car in a garage is fine, but if you drive yours like I drive mine, it would be out during the day.

I have been bouncing back and forth on reds for the last couple years for my charger. The mazda volcanic red is an awesome color, a guy that lives in my building has a speed3 in this color and I think it is what I'm going to go with. BASF straight red is a wonderful color too, D&D Classic (where I worked off and on for the past 4 years) has painted about a half dozen cars in this straight red and it is a beautiful solid red. As for "eye searing" I've seen brandywine on top of liquid gold on top of a metalic pink base and that is pretty intense!

I decided on the volcanic red about a year ago. I still haven't gotten the car painted yet, but that is for sure the color I will do when the time comes.

quote Originally posted by IMSA GT: As mentioned above, Porsche Guards Red. The new Mazda Volcanic Red is pretty close to the Guards Red. In person, this color is amazing. It is almost blinding in the sun.

Lildevil on here has a very nice red on his car:

[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 08-03-2012).]

Honestly one of the best reds I've seen on a Fiero is the factory 88 Bright Red.
You so rarely see one in "as new" condition you don't realize just how brilliant of a red it is. I'd want to compare it side by side with any other colors before making a decision. It would have to be in person. Photographs can't really capture the color, at least not reliably to make a true comparison.

Paint Code 81
GM Code WA8774
Ditzler PPG 3794



Rick;
What do you mean by "bright" red? A pure red with no hint of orange in it? A red with some orange mixed in, like Carousel Red, could be considered brighter but IMO it's not as "red."

[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 08-03-2012).]

quote Originally posted by Formula88: Honestly one of the best reds I've seen on a Fiero is the factory 88 Bright Red. You so rarely see one in "as new" condition you don't realize just how brilliant of a red it is. I'd want to compare it side by side with any other colors before making a decision. It would have to be in person. Photographs can't really capture the color, at least not reliably to make a true comparison. Paint Code 81 GM Code WA8774 Ditzler PPG 3794

I would agree.
My 88 Formula had a factory red on it that was so intense that people would frequently come up and comment on the color.
I've had several red cars, but nothing like that. It is something I will never forget.

Ive found the 8774 GM red is very transparent and takes extra coats to cover. All automotive paints now have UV prohibitors. Reds dont go bad like they used to. The bad colors now for fading are silvers and golds. You can get clear coat delamination though if you dont apply it right...but that will take a number of years. My personal choices for bright reds are Ferrari RossaCorsa like mentioned, and Mercedes & Porsche Signal red (Benz code 548). I painted my 450SL that color and it screams at you. A lot of reds to me are just too orangey.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 08-03-2012).]

quote Originally posted by Formula88: Honestly one of the best reds I've seen on a Fiero is the factory 88 Bright Red. You so rarely see one in "as new" condition you don't realize just how brilliant of a red it is. I'd want to compare it side by side with any other colors before making a decision. It would have to be in person. Photographs can't really capture the color, at least not reliably to make a true comparison. Paint Code 81 GM Code WA8774 Ditzler PPG 3794

I agree. When I had my GT even Fiero people would aways come up an ask me what color I painted it. I would telll them the original Bright Red and they would not believe me. It is a very bright red. I had 3 coats of clear on it but that was only thing different from the original GM color. With the Fiero people that would argue with me, I would walk over to a darker original red Fiero and lift the hood to show them the color at the top of the fenders under the hood without color fad. They would be amazed.

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Red 88 GT T-Top 3800 INTERCOOLED SUPERCHARGED


Click here to read the History of Skitimes Car

I want to find a nice color to go with my 77 corvette yellow c-10.. if I keep it that colour when I respray..
I hav a weakness to med metalic blues...
the problem I'm seeing is some clears are so glossy they look like crap... looks like someone armoralled the whole car..
not so bad on vehicles with chrome bumpers/etc .but on monochrome cars it looks like garbage
I saw a new camaro.. not sure if it was a 2010/11/12 bu it was a marroon metalic that popped, but wasn't so in your face..
good luck,, I'm not a fan or retna red.. I.E. ticket magnet

quote Originally posted by Formula88: Honestly one of the best reds I've seen on a Fiero is the factory 88 Bright Red. You so rarely see one in "as new" condition you don't realize just how brilliant of a red it is. I'd want to compare it side by side with any other colors before making a decision. It would have to be in person. Photographs can't really capture the color, at least not reliably to make a true comparison. Paint Code 81 GM Code WA8774 Ditzler PPG 3794 Rick; What do you mean by "bright" red? A pure red with no hint of orange in it? A red with some orange mixed in, like Carousel Red, could be considered brighter but IMO it's not as "red."

I am after a true red. the Carousel Red on the 69 Judge was also used on the 76 Trans Am. It's a great color, but not what I want for my car. The current Corvette "Torch Red" is pretty bright too. The original Fiero red is a nice color too, but tended to fade quickly and suffer from clear coat failure. I wonder if a single stage red would be a better choice here in the sunny southwest? Do some paints have better UV inhibitors than others?

quote Originally posted by Rick 88: I wonder if a single stage red would be a better choice here in the sunny southwest? Do some paints have better UV inhibitors than others?

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: Ive found the 8774 GM red is very transparent and takes extra coats to cover. All automotive paints now have UV prohibitors. Reds dont go bad like they used to. The bad colors now for fading are silvers and golds. You can get clear coat delamination though if you dont apply it right...but that will take a number of years. My personal choices for bright reds are Ferrari RossaCorsa like mentioned, and Mercedes & Porsche Signal red (Benz code 548). I painted my 450SL that color and it screams at you. A lot of reds to me are just too orangey.

I doubt you would find a better answer then from Roger. He has a body shop. It was the old orginal paint the had the fade to dark problem.

By oldlar at 2012-08-03

That's so red the roof melted!

Actually that picture of the stock red GT furthur up in the thread looks very red to me. I am sure the lighting conditons make a difference.

you be the judge ! but factory 88 gt red when wet sanded and clay bar buffed looks pretty sharp did this with my car looks great !
PIP is not working >???

[This message has been edited by RULOOKIN (edited 08-03-2012).]

Rulookin, your paint is amazing. How much clear did you put on, and then sand off, to get that finish? What kind of paint did you use?

[This message has been edited by Rick 88 (edited 08-03-2012).]

You get the look by how well you finish it, sanding and polishing. You only see that finish on the top layer...whether its on top of 10 coats or one coat of clear. Less is more durable. You can get a single stage color to be just as reflective and brite as any clearcoat one. In fact black single stage done right is darker and deeper than clear ever makes it. Clear gives it a milky or 'off black' look.

NEVER figure on what a color looks like on your computer or even a photo...Colors rarely come out as digital media shows them campared to in person. Red and oranges are the worse to image. Take floresent orange like used to be on Hooters #7 or Gordons Dupont original paint job....They were never even close on a photo to the the real car unless they were photo edited.

What i like about red besides the look also yellow black is it can be touched up. I painted my car metallic and since i moulded my guards i have to paint whole thing on one go. With solid colors with perhaps and exception to silver it can be blended metallics are always to hard to match the colour mix right again.

quote Originally posted by Formula88: Honestly one of the best reds I've seen on a Fiero is the factory 88 Bright Red. You so rarely see one in "as new" condition you don't realize just how brilliant of a red it is. Paint Code 81 GM Code WA8774 Ditzler PPG 3794

I also have a 88 Bright Red Formula. I've recently been rubbing and buffing it. I am AMAZED at how awesome that shade of red is! I would have never thought of painting my project red but now I'm torn right down the middle between red and black! So if I decide to go with this red, is the above information all I need at the paint store to match it? Can any store make up a copy of this red with this info?

Thanks,

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Jonathan
23K mile '85 notchie w/ 88 cradle, '87 2.8/Getrag, Air, PW, PDL, PM - Still under construction
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/121056.html
I'm not a mechanic but I play one in my garage - me
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Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not - Thomas Jefferson
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quote Originally posted by Rick 88: The original Fiero red is a nice color too, but tended to fade quickly and suffer from clear coat failure. I wonder if a single stage red would be a better choice here in the sunny southwest? Do some paints have better UV inhibitors than others?

Original shade doesn't mean original chemistry. I'm sure a modern base coat / clear coat with built in UV protection in the same shade wouldn't have the fade and clear coat problems.
When I paint my Fiero, if I keep it red, it'll be 88 Bright Red, no question. I just can't decide if I want to change color or not.

quote Originally posted by Formula88: Original shade doesn't mean original chemistry. I'm sure a modern base coat / clear coat with built in UV protection in the same shade wouldn't have the fade and clear coat problems. When I paint my Fiero, if I keep it red, it'll be 88 Bright Red, no question. I just can't decide if I want to change color or not.

The intense sun here in the southwest tends to fry clearcoats, even on later model cars. Do the single stage paints have the same UV inhibitors as the base/clear paints. If I was smart, I would just paint my car bright white....... It would probabaly last the longest here. I really don't want to do a complete color change. Am I being too picky on a Fiero?

Yes single stage has it too. If you use hardener, you can sand and buff out single stage just the same as clearcoat. I did my last SL in single stage. It turned out gorgeous and still is a show car 20 years later. Its got almost 300,000 miles on it now. I painted it in about 1992/93. Any automotive paint store can mix the paint from the formula. GMs old codes were the 2 numbers and a U or L (upper/lower) and the newer code is WA-XXXX. I prefer using the WA number because I have seen the same 2 number code repeated on different colors/ years.

quote Originally posted by crashyoung: Red is one of the worse colors for fade. I mentioned doing a red/gold combo, but I was shown what happens to red after a few years of UV exposure. Even some other paints fade quite rapidly with UV, so the better brands are recommended. Storing your car in a garage is fine, but if you drive yours like I drive mine, it would be out during the day.

It has something to do with the pigments that Red seems to fade fast but for a garage kept show car it should not be a problem. While I like the color, Red cars statistically are also the most ticketed cars. When I had my Red Monte Carlo a few years back I was being pulled over constantly. Now that I drive a Silver Chrysler I never get pulled over. Point is that flashly colors look great but stand out. IMO you are better off with a white, cream, black, gray, gunmetal and subdued colors on a daily driver.
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[This message has been edited by Dennis LaGrua (edited 08-09-2012).]

quote Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua: It has something to do with the pigments that Red seems to fade fast but for a garage kept show car it should not be a problem. While I like the color, Red cars statistically are also the most ticketed cars. When I had my Red Monte Carlo a few years back I was being pulled over constantly. Now that I drive a Silver Chrysler I never get pulled over. Point is that flashly colors look great but stand out. IMO you are better off with a white, cream, black, gray, gunmetal and subdued colors on a daily driver.

I guess I have been the exception. My first red car was a Buccaneer Red 75 Trans Am I installed a Ram Air III 400 into. Then a bright red 87 Trans Am GTA with a 5-speed manual and TPI V8 I purchased new. For some reason (probably dumb luck) I never got a ticket in either car, even though I should of.

My current red car (the one I want to paint "arrest me red") is an 88 Mera 5-speed. i have not gotten a ticket in that one either (whew). I did get stopped in our white CRV, go figure.........

looking for the reddest red or the brightest?
Heres the formula for WA8774 in NEXA... notice how theres red tint plus white violet and black....

Heres the Formula for Torch Red, probably the brightest GM red....

Heres the color swatches of the two together...


My car uses just the 980 tint...just red no black white or what ever.
heres how the tint alone compares to Torch Red...

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Unless I am colorblind the Torch Red is brighter than the Bright Red, and the tint only is even brighter. Can you post some pictures of your car in different lighting? To me, your car is "Arrest Me Red".

Right....Torch is brighter then Bright Red and jus the tint 980 is brighter still. Since it has nothing added to it to darken it. Or white to make it go pink or yellow to make it go orange. I can try to take some tommorrow if the sun is out but red is a difficult color to take a pic of. The color looks different in person. This pic is probably the best i have that shows its actual hue....



This one is close

Thanks for the pictures. Your car looks great. I just saw a Viper in our parking lot that was red. It was an older model coupe but the color was intense. It was much brighter than a new red Camaro, or a red Solstice in the same lot. Do you know if Viper red is similar to the base tint red you have?

quote Originally posted by lildevil: My car uses just the 980 tint...just red no black white or what ever.

To my thinking, that would be, by definition, the reddest you can get.
Anything "brighter" would simply be a lighter shade of that.

But the next question is, are there different "tints" of the basic red basecoat other than the 980?

Back in the day, I purchased a new 1991 Lumina Eurosport that was TORCH RED. If I ever have my 88 GT painted, that's what it will get. Had the Lumina for over 200,000 miles and it looked great the day that I got rid of it (donated it to GoodWill Industries).

Have to check on the Viper red. I'll look it up tomorrow on the computer. Our paint line had three red tints. The 980 is the brightest. The other is a more tomato red and the other a darker red. And yes by definition this would be the brightest red you could get.

to the o/p
fyi digital cameras don't do red well at all. the red you are see'n in photo's are not the red on the car..
even the best digital cameras 9000.00+ still haven't got it down..
never mind your computer screen..
rogers little beef with some reds and it taking tons of coats.. in a production shop thats a pain.. as it's take time and time is money, and product.. thats not cheap..
for you.. it can be a GODSEND.. here is why.. you can "SEE" the red change and can get to a color you'd like that might be lighter than or darker than the chip you looked at thats close but not quite right..
transparent colors allow the base sealer to show through. and CAN be used to TINT the top coat colour.. think of it as a poor mans candy paint.. going a step father, if you add shadowing to the base. you can really make the car pop. without being eye burning bright..
transparent top coats are disliked by production shops.. as it eats time and money.. they really hate peril whites.. some factory colours of that have 10+ alt. chip formulas..