Panel Paint Job

Larry Watson's 1958 Ford Thunderbird. Larry bought the Thunderbird brand new in 1958, and he told a seller at Downey Ford to give him a call as soon as the first car with a tuck n' roll interior arrived. Larry brought it almost directly to Barris Kustoms for a mild job before he gave it a burgundy and silver panel paint job. Larry's Thunderbird was known as "Vino Pasiano" and "The Burgundy Bird," and the first iteration was completed in 1958.

Delmar McCutcheon's 1955 Buick of Bakersfield, California. Known as The Kandy Kane, the car received a panel paint job by Larry Watson at Watson's House of Style in 1958. The upholstery was done in Mexico.

The second iteration of Larry Watson's 1958 Ford Thunderbird was completed circa 1958-1959.

Ron Dulin's 1956 Plymouth Fury of Long Beach, California. Dulin was a member of the Cut Outs of Long Beach car club, and his Plymouth went through seven iterations between 1956 and 1962. This photo shows the car as it appeared early in 1959, after Larry Watson had given it a Candy Magneta and Pearl White panel paint job.

Terry Browning's 1958 Ford Ranchero of Neptune City, New Jersey. Terry was a founding member of the Haulin' Gents, and the panel painted "The Ruby Ranch" version of his Ranchero was completed in 1959.

Ed Biggs' 1959 Chevrolet El Camino of Davenport, Iowa. Ed was a member of the Idlers of Davenport car club and he ran Biggs Automotive Service with his father. In the Summer of 1959, Ed decided to turn a brand new El Camino into a shop truck and rolling advertisement. He wanted to give it a custom paint job, so he ordered the car and had it delivered to a Gardena, California dealer so Joe Andersen of Joe Andersen's Custom Shop could pick it up and give it a panel paint job. Ed joined the US Air Force in September of 1959. He was stationed at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, and decided to have his custom shipped with him to Europe.

Ron Dulin's 1956 Plymouth Fury of Long Beach, California. Dulin was a member of the Cut Outs of Long Beach car club, and his Plymouth went through seven iterations between 1956 and 1962. This photo shows the car as it appeared late 1959 or early 1960, after Larry Watson had given it a fogged panel paint job.

Vern LaCoursiere's 1953 Mercury of Tacoma, Washington. Vern was a member of the Tacoma Toppers, and the Merc was his third car. Dressed up with an all-white Mexico Upholstery, Vern gave the car a Candy Purple Panel Paint Job in 1960 when he was 23 years old.

Dell Chandler's 1960 Pontiac Ventura of a Lansing, Michigan. Dell's Pontiac received a scallop and panel paint job by Jerry Drake and Larry Cooper in 1960.

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Kent Lee's 1954 Mercury four-door of Salt Lake City, Utah. Kent was a custom body and paint guy, and his Mercury, named "One Step Beyond", was a showcase creation. This photo shows the car as it sat around 1960 - 1961.

Gary Glenn's 1957 Ford of Lansing, Michigan. The Hyde Brothers gave the car a panel paint job in 1961.

Leon Kendrick's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe of Houston, Texas. Featuring stacked dual headlights and a panel paint job, the "Wild Deuce" iteration of the coupe started appearing in magazine in 1963.

Bill Haddad's 1951 Chevrolet. Bill bought the car car from Richard Torres of Lawndale, California. After buying it, Bill had Larry Watson of Watson House of Style give it a panel paint job. Named "The Blue Ribbon," this iteration of the car was featured in Popular Customs Winter Issue 1963.

Gary "The Local Brush" Kupfer's 1963 Chevrolet Corvette of Roosevelt, New York. For more than six decades, Larry Watson of Watson's House of Style has been recognized as the inventor of the Lace Paint Job, as he debuted Doug Carney's 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix at an indoor car show in April 1967. Five months before this great event, in November 1966, Gary "The Local Brush" Kupfer of Roosevelt, New York, showed his panel and lace painted 1963 Chevrolet Corvette at the ISCA New York Coliseum Show. The lace paint job was applied late in 1965. Photo courtesy of Gary "The Local Brush" Kupfer.

A detail shot of the lace paint on Gary "The Local Brush" Kupfer's 1963 Chevrolet Corvette dated October 1965. "No one knew what it was," Gary told Kustomrama late in 2022. "Everyone there was saying, "Did you see the paisley paint job?" The following year almost half the cars at that show had lace paint jobs." Photo courtesy of Gary "The Local Brush" Kupfer.

Raymond Patricco's 1934 Ford Roadster of Irvington, New Jersey. Patricco didn't build the car, he supposedly bought it in the 1960 or the 1970s. He planned to restore it. That never happened, and it stayed in storage until he passed away in 2018. Rumor has the car was built in the 1950s. Back then it is believed to have run a DuVall Windshield. The car had a panel paint job and pinstriping when Patricco bought it.

Steve Arnold's 1965 Chevrolet Malibu of Gardena, California. Steve was a member of the Tridents of Southern California car club. In 1967 Steve installed lifts on the Malibu.

Jim Robertson's 1961 Ford of Simi Valley, California was originally restyled in 1969. In 1970 it received a panel paint job by the Animal of Canoga Park.

Raymond Öström's 1937 Ford Coupe of Sweden. Built by Christer Lundberg in the early 1960s, an early iteration of the coupe was shown at the 1965 Hot Rod Show in Marmorhallarna in Stockholm. By 1973 the car had been sold to Raymon Öström, and it had been given a fade and panel paint job by Frittes Billack.

Gian Paolo Tagliatti's 1958 Plymouth Savoy of Modena, Italy. Gianpy was born in Lugano, Switzerland, and his journey with the Plymouth spans over two decades, showcasing his dedication and passion for the Mopar brand. Gian is a member of the Rumblers of Milano. His Plymouth is known as Bad58, and around 2010 he gave it a Watson-inspired panel paint job.

Casey Martin's 1958 Plymouth Savoy. Kyle Martin at Martin Kolor & Style gave Caey's Savoy a panel and scallop paint job in 2012.

Glenn Chalifoux's 1960 Ford Thunderbird of Coventry, Rhode Island. Featuring a mild custom job and a panel paint job, the build was completed in 2012.

Johan Eriksson's 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 of Nyköping, Sweden. Johan is a founding member of the Undertakers of Sweden car club, and the restyled version of his Galaxie, featuring a panel paint job, hit the streets during the spring of 2013.

Pontus Karlsson's 1959 Buick of Stigtomta, Sweden. Pontus is a member of the Undertakers of Sweden car club, and his Buick received a panel paint job by Johan Eriksson in 2013.

Jeff Bruns' 1959 Ford of Vacaville, California. Named "Green With Envy," Jeff's Ford was completed in 2013 featuring a scallop and panel paint job by Kyle Martin of Martin Kolor & Style.

Tommy O'Connor's 1960 Ford Thunderbird of Concord, California. In 2015 Kyle Martin of Martin Kolor & Style laid a faded panel paint job on Tommy's Thunderbird. The car is also known as the Toadbird.

Josie Celeste's 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air of Oakland, California. Named "Angel Lust," the panel painted version of Josie's Chevrolet was completed in 2016.

Eric and Anna Bulle's 1962 Ford Econoline panel van received a panel paint job by Kyle Martin of Martin Kolor & Style in 2017.

Roger Miret's 1954 Chevrolet 210 of Scottsdale, Arizona. Known as "Morphine," the build was started in 2010 and completed in 2018. Eric Rowland gave the car a traditional panel and flame paint job.

Trisha Turner's 1962 Mercury Comet 4 Door Sedan. In 2018 Kyle Martin of Martin Kolor & Style gave the car a faded panel paint job.

Henrik Forss' 1966 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 of Sacramento, California. The build was completed in October of 2018, featuring a panel and flame custom paint job by Kyle Martin of Martin Kolor & Style. Gold Metallic panels, frosted in Dark Gold Metallic were added. These were outlined in Dark Gold Metallic 1 shot with body color seaweed flames stretching all the way down her side.

Mike Maurice's 1963 Chevrolet Bel Air of Biddeford, Maine. Known as "Spill the Wine," Mike wanted to create an alternative to the cliche lowrider of today when he set out to restyle the Bel Air in 2017. "My goal was to bring back forgotten trends in books like Popular Customs." Featuring a panel paint job by Richie Borrelli, the build was completed in 2019.

Dave and Sue Wright's 1959 Chevrolet Brookwood Station Wagon of Poole, United Kingdom. Known as "The Headhunter," Dave and Sue found the car at the Pomona Swapmeet in 2001. It underwent a transformative journey, starting with a green paint and a Metalflake roof. It later received an Air Ride kit and a striking panel paint job by Stylecraft Coachworks. The build was completed in 2023.

Panel Paint Job is a painting style invented by Larry Watson. Upon graduating from school in September 1957, Larry opened his first shop Watson's House of Style in north Long Beach, California on Artesia Boulevard. Larry decided that he wanted to start a new trend: customizing with paint. In order to promote his new trend, Larry bought a brand new 1958 Ford Thunderbird that he took to Barris Kustoms for some mild modifications. Bill Hines and Bill DeCarr that worked at Barris Kustoms nosed and decked the car, shaved the handles and rounded the corners. After that Larry painted the car with six coats of pearl over a fine metallic silver base. Larry didn't tint the pearl with transparent mixing black toner that eliminated the cloudiness and he thought the car turned out too bright. Larry thought the bright look made the car look way too large, so in order to fix it up, Larry taped the panel lines of the bird with 1-3/4 inch tape and shot candy apple burgundy over it. With this paint job many think that Larry invented the Panel Paint Job. The Thunderbird was the first car featuring a silver pearl and candy burgundy paint job, but before he painted panels on his own car he had already paneled Zeno Stephens' 1955 Mercury. Zeno wanted something different, no scallops or flames, so Larry body paneled it. Larry painted the car in Tahitian Red and striped it in gold. After painting the car Larry never saw it again, not in a magazine, or at a car show, nowhere.

Panel Painted Cars

Leon Kendrick's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe - Wild Deuce
Raymond Patricco's 1934 Ford Roadster
Raymond Öström's 1937 Ford Coupe
Bill Haddad's 1951 Chevrolet - The Blue Ribbon
Pete Angress' 1952 Ford
Vern LaCoursiere's 1953 Mercury
Roger Miret's 1954 Chevrolet - "Morphine"
Kent Lee's 1954 Mercury Four-Door - One Step Beyond
Delmar McCutcheon's 1955 Buick - The Kandy Kane
Ron Dulin's 1956 Plymouth Fury
Josie Celeste's 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air - Angel Lust
Gary Glenn's 1957 Ford
Larry Watson's 1958 Ford Thunderbird - Vino Pasiano / The Burgundy Bird
Terry Browning's 1958 Ford Ranchero - "The Ruby Ranch"
Casey Martin's 1958 Plymouth Savoy
Gian Paolo Tagliatti's 1958 Plymouth Savoy
Pontus Karlsson's 1959 Buick
Dave and Sue Wright's 1959 Chevrolet Brookwood Station Wagon - The Headhunter
Ed Biggs' 1959 Chevrolet El Camino
Glenn Chalifoux's 1960 Ford Thunderbird
Jeff Bruns' 1959 Ford - Green With Envy
Kirk Jones' 1960 Ford Starliner
Tommy O'Connor's 1960 Ford Thunderbird - Toadbird
Dell Chandler's 1960 Pontiac Ventura
Jim Robertson's 1961 Ford
Eric and Anna Bulle's 1962 Ford Econoline Panel Van
Trisha Turner's 1962 Mercury Comet 4 Door Sedan
Gary "The Local Brush" Kupfer's 1963 Chevrolet Corvette
Mike Maurice's 1963 Chevrolet Bel Air - "Spill the Wine"
Johan Eriksson's 1964 Ford Galaxie 500
Steve Arnold's 1965 Chevrolet Malibu
Henrik Forss' 1966 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88