Competing against vehicles from across the country, two Ohio residents saw their cars take the “PPG Dream Car” award at the 16th annual Goodguys PPG Nationals, held July 12-14 at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus.
The cars were a 1964 Impala Sport Coupe and a 1964 Pontiac GTO, owned respectively by David Llanes of Sheffield Village and Barry Penfound of Elyria.
The PPG Dream Car awards are presented to the two cars or trucks at the national event that best demonstrate outstanding use of color, design, gloss and execution in a paint job. Llanes’ and Penfound’s cars were colorful and clear standouts, according to PPG.
Llanes’ Impala attracted an enthusiastic Goodguys crowd with its gleaming white-over-orange finish. He received the car from his uncle and began restoring it himself, working on it evenings and weekends in his garage. The project took six years to complete, with the paint job as the final step.
Llanes wanted an eye-catching finish. He spotted an orange tone he liked on a Corvette in a dealer showroom and duplicated it with PPG’s DELTRON brand DBC2002 basecoat, DP90 and K36 primers, DAS3025 sealer and DITZLER Atomic Orange and Super White colors. Llanes, 29, has been painting cars since he was in high school and uses PPG products exclusively.
Penfound, owner of Penfound Design and a custom car builder who uses only PPG products, bought his 1964 GTO – named “Sabertooth” – more than 10 years ago. It was so dilapidated that the hood, firewall and roof were the only original parts that could be reused.
The car had to be completely rebuilt. Once it was ready for its finish, Penfound wanted the GTO’s appearance to be intense and worked with Frank Jemiola at the PPG Color Styling Studio in Cleveland, Ohio, to create the color; Brian Stitt of B.S. Creations in Mansfield, Ohio, painted the car. Stitt did the job using PPG Deltron brand DBC basecoat and DMD and DMX toners to apply the super-blue shade dubbed “PPGTO Blue.”
PPG is the official paint supplier to the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association, one of the world’s largest rod and custom associations with more than 70,000 active members around the globe. The association promotes and produces some of the world’s most dynamic automotive events including the annual national show in Columbus, Ohio. PPG exhibits at every national and many regional Goodguys events displaying the hot colors, unique pigments, special-effect finishes and custom colors showcased in the VIBRANCE COLLECTION, Deltron and other PPG brands.