BUICK
The preparation for all our work was the same. We began with a few coats of gesso which we then sanded down to a glass like finish. We would mix household gloss paint with Flamboyant Enamel (the paint used by fairground painters). This gave us a wide range of strong vibrant colours. The quality of finish was really evident on our next venture – customised cars. We didn’t expect anyone to take the risk of having their cars painted without first seeing an example, so, to set the ball rolling we decided to paint our own; this was a Convertible 60 Buick Electra . Nowadays, designers of contemporary customised cars, treat every side of the car two dimensionally, by dismantling the panels before working on them independently; like flat airbrushed artwork on a drawing board. In contrast we worked by hand directly onto the vehicle, paying respect to the lines and curves, so that the work would be seen as an integral part of the whole.
“According to American statements the decoration of car bodies was initiated there, painted cars were seen around London at least six months earlier with strident designs by Binder Edwards & Vaughan. Their car bodies tend to be more inventively adorned than those of their American counterparts, with designs used deliberately as an extension of the shape on which they are superimposed”.
Jasia Reichardt ‘Architectural Design’