PPG Industries’ automotive refinish business presented its “Best Use of Color” awards to three customized cars at the 46th Annual Street Rod Nationals Plus event of the NATIONAL STREET ROD ASSOCIATION (NSRA). The event was held Aug. 6-9 in Louisville at the Kentucky Exposition Center.

The three cars, each sporting a distinctive paint job, were a 1934 Chevy built by Mark Giambalvo, owner of Creative Rod & Kustom in Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania; a 1931 Ford Model A from Dave Tucci at Tucci Hot Rods, Marcy, New York; and a 1965 Mustang convertible from Dustin Foust’s Classic Restorations of Southern Indiana LLC in Floyds Knobs.

The ’34 Chevy is owned by Jack Maloney of Highland, Maryland. Giambalvo called on his paint technician Jason Dunkelberger to give the car its rich and deep two-tone burgundy-and-black finish. Dunkelberger applied a variety of DELTRON products by PPG such as DPS3055 V-PRIME Acrylic Urethane Surfacer, DBC9700 2000 Black Basecoat, DBC 2000 Basecoat, Garnet Red (code 926174) and CONCEPT 2021 Urethane Clear to produce the standout look.

Dave Tucci’s winning entry started as a stock 1931 Ford Model A two-door sedan. He rebuilt it as a street rod for owner Dean Lombardo of Bronxville, New York. Then John Ramsey of John’s Auto Restoration in Rome, New York, turned to Deltron coatings and used DBC 2000 Basecoat, Tigereye (code 911865) and DC4000 Velocity Premium Clearcoat flattened with ONECHOICE SU4985 Universal Matting Agent to produce the dramatic flat brownish finish.

Todd and Stephanie Foust of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, entrusted their Mustang, “Black Diamond,” to cousin Dustin Foust for customizing. Once Dustin remade the Mustang, his team went to work on the finish. They chose the Deltron line’s DPX171 Non-Chrome Self Etching Primer, K38 High Build Primer Surfacer, DCC9300 Concept Acrylic Urethane single-stage gloss black with no clear. The accent color (center of hood, tail light panel, etc.) is DBC Tuxedo Black (code 918644) with DCU 2060 FLEXED “N” FLAT Clear.

An estimated 70,000 enthusiasts attended the four-day event. The PPG award-winning cars were part of a field of more than 11,000 entries comprising street rods, classics, custom cars and trucks manufactured no later than 1985. While the judges faced a daunting task in evaluating so many cars, the quality of the winners’ paint jobs stood out.

The NSRA Street Rod Nationals Plus is the world’s largest automotive participant event and is complemented with 10 NSRA divisional nationals. NSRA gatherings are a combination of games, activities, exhibits and shopping opportunities with everything geared to family entertainment. PPG has a long-term association with the NSRA.