Sam Harmon was already a creative professional with a passion for classic cars when the idea for Prepaint Preview occurred to him. “I already had a home business as a graphic designer, and in fact, I have designed t-shirt graphics for car shows including the Grand National Roadster show, the Portland Roadster Show, and more.
Sam was familiar with the enthusiasm and passion of the hot rod and collector communities through his work with the car shows, a passion he found reignited in himself when he got an itch to repaint his ‘63 Ford Ranchero. He had the artistic skills to envision what the vehicle would look like, so he went ahead and tried it out.
“I’ve always drawn cars, even as a little boy, and this had a similar feel to it. I started playing around with different photo-artistic techniques, using approaches I’d developed from t-shirt art. A t-shirt has 9 or 10 colors that overlay so I’d created all of these techniques that suddenly applied to creating the perfect paint job.”
Harmon experimented with graphics and color until this personal curiosity evolved into a photo realistic depiction of a dream vehicle. He shared the results with friends and colleagues in the hot rod community, and they loved it. "I got a few orders from people to create a preview for their cars, and then I just kept going. I advertised a little and made a cottage business out of it."
The business is growing. In addition to creating a dream color scheme, Harmon can also create a depiction of what the custom will look like with other bodywork, lifted or lowered, chopped, as well as other mods. But the color preview is the most immediately useful for enthusiasts who need a better way to envision a new look.
Harmon has several examples on his website, Prepaint Preview, each chose for the way they represent the service. Among these is the featured ‘34 Ford. "The ‘34 is a good example because you can see how the personality of the car changes based on the color combinations. For example, the taupe colored Ford with simple lines feels much different to the 90’s inspired pink and teal which is a world away from the red and orange ripple effect. And they’re all the same car."
Harmon’s work is more than just clicking a button and offering a rough estimate of a color change. It offers a realistic depiction of a customer’s actual vehicle, one which can be altered instantly so the car ends up looking exactly like the owner’s vision. “Probably the coolest thing about this is that once I get the color areas and graphics set, adjustments can literally be made while on the phone with the client, and I can even show the changes to them as we are talking.”
Harmon also helps the customer work with their painter. "I include the PPG colors and the RBG or Pantone numbers for the breakdown, and send the painter an 8.5 x 11 jpg or a printed out version for reference. "This means that there’s no misinterpretation or miscommunication between the builder and the painter." Sam also offers the Prepaint Preview service directly to custom shops and painters so they can offer it to their clients.
And for hot rod enthusiasts, like Harmon himself, this service helps turn the hot rod dream into a reality.
Make Sure You Get EXACTLY What You Want With PREPAINT PREVIEW. This is your last chance to see your dreams come true before spending tons of money on the final paint job.