When it comes to car modding, it’s not just about performance, the visual styling of your car matters just as much. For our core customer base of Ford fanatics, the engine bay isn’t just about performance tuning, it’s also about aesthetics and self-expression.
At Paintmodz, we know that upgrading your engine bay dress-up parts is about more than just replacing tired standard black plastics with like for like, it’s about making a statement.
But with the huge range of colours available to choose for our car parts, how do you choose the right ones for your car and exactly where should you start?
Whether you're going bold with vibrant hues or prefer a more refined and coordinated look, understanding a bit of colour theory can help you achieve a show-stopping finish under the bonnet.
Why Colour Matters
Let’s face it, a clean, brightly coloured engine bay grabs attention at meets, shows, and even when you’re just popping the bonnet for a quick service. Matching your engine bay to your exterior bodywork, wheel accents, or interior trim gives a custom, cohesive feel that sets your car apart.
But when choosing parts and deciding on colours, there’s more to it than just choosing your favourite colour.
The Basics of Colour Theory
Understanding the colour wheel is a great place to start. The colour wheel is a visual tool that shows how colours relate to one another. When choosing colours for your engine bay, here are three popular approaches that use basic colour wheel theory:
1. Monochromatic Harmony
This means sticking to different shades of the same colour. For example, pairing gloss red parts with deeper crimson or matte cherry tones. This creates a sleek, unified look that feels intentional and clean.
Alternatively, you can play it even safer and simply mix matt, gloss and pearl finishes of the same shade to add some subtle variance.
If your car is already one solid colour, using a few tones within that same range can elevate the overall appearance without clashing or distracting.
2. Complementary Colours
Complementary colours are opposite each other on the colour wheel. Think blue and orange, red and green, or yellow and purple. These pairings create high contrast and really stand out.
For example, If your Fiesta ST is Ford Performance Blue, pairing it with orange accents in the engine bay will make the colours pop dramatically. It’s a bold move, but one that’s popular at shows for good reason - it screams for attention!
3. Analogous Colours
These are colours that sit next to each other on the wheel, for instance, blue, teal and green, or red, pink and orange. Using analogous shades in your engine bay can create a subtle gradient or ombre effect and a more ‘blended’ look. It’s great if you want something with a bit more variation than monochrome but don’t want full-on contrast.
Matching or Contrasting With Your Car Exterior?
If your car already has a strong exterior colour and internally has a black, dark or a solid upholstery colour, you can either match your engine bay and interior accessories with your exterior for a seamless look.
- If you’re seeking greater contrast and want to make a bigger statement, then choosing instead to contrast your colours is the bolder option.
- Red bodywork tends to work best with black accessories.
- A white car can act as a blank canvas, go wild with ultimate green, tangerine scream or even purple pearl.
- Electric blue bodywork pairs beautifully with both cool tones (like silver or grey) and hot contrasts (like electric orange).
It all depends on how subtle or bold you want to go.
Finish It Off
Of course colour is only part of the story, the all-important finish matters too. Our expertly gloss painted finishes give a modern look whilst hydrodipped finishes can provide additional interest in terms of colours, patterns and even textured effect finishes like our deluxe carbon fibre.
Many Paintmodz parts are offered in a vast array of different colours and finishes, so you can customise your look to suit your vision.
Proform Pro Tips
- Using the body colour of your car as your guide can make a big statement, providing cohesion, when the bonnet pops or you open your door.
- If you do choose to stick with one strong colour based on your bodywork, we recommend breaking it up by choosing something like our deluxe carbon fibre effect on surrounds.
- Don't forget the little things, cap covers, decals and stickers can elevate and perfectly finish off the look.
- Think about contrast by using pops of colour that ensures maximum impact whilst giving a highly planned and well thought out overall impression.
- Black tends to make the most sense as a base colour as many engine bay and interior components are already this colour, providing a great starting point.
- We'd generally recommend that 3 is the golden number in terms of different colours to choose and that one of these should be black, for example black, blue and white.
Make It Your Own
At the end of the day, modifying your engine bay, car interior or any aspect of your car, is a personal choice. Whether you're showing at a meet or just want something more exciting to look at when you’re driving or when you open the bonnet, by considering simple colour theory rules, you can’t go wrong when adding a bit of colour to your car!
Feeling inspired? Explore the full range of dress up kits and parts at Paintmodz and let the interior of your car reflect your personal vibe.