As far as I know, Joe Bailon invented "Candy Apple Red" paint color which then went on to develop the full line of "candy" paint colors and lines.
Thanks for adding this, and you're correct, here's the story...
Joe Bailon
At young age, Joe was impressed with the golden maroon sunset over the San Francisco Bay. He was so impressed in fact that red became his favorite color. When he later began mixing paints, he tried to achieve a color that was similar to that of a car's taillight reflected on a rainy street; real brilliant, almost with a glow from deep within itself.
He experimented with various ideas for a long time. His work lead into what became known as Candy Apple Colors. Candy Apple Red was of course the first.
What he wound up with after a lot of experimenting was a red-toned clear lacquer sprayed over a bright red dye, not a paint, which, in turn, had been put over a gold underbase. After inventing the paint Joe marketed the paint in several shades for a while.
Candy Apple wasn't any tangible product, but a method of application, so once a shop had ordered Joe's paint and read the instructions for applying it they could go right ahead and paint hundreds of cars without buying a drop of paint from Joe.
Before the Candy Apple came along Joe had tried to duplicate the coloring on the sides of a set of Slingerland or Ludwig drums. That rich, flaky, transparent color that is actually a sheeting of molded plastic. The sparkle in the stuff was given off by light rays reflecting from the facets of minute silvery particles.
He tried to match this by mixing salt into certain paints, and got a fair result. The he hit upon adding the silver flakes that people sprinkle on Christmas trees.
He had to rework a spray gun to get it through the nozzle. The car he used it on turned out real well. It was after this that he came up with Candy Apple.
Candy Apple became such a success that he forgot about the flake-like paint. Then before he knew it someone else came along and "discovered"
Metalflake.[2]
He's also a famous custom car builder, here's two he built...
The Barber Car
Pink Panther Car - I think this was a Bailon/Barris project
:xyxthumbs:
