To understand early Fender custom colors you have to know what the colors are based on. The answer, of course, is automobiles. Cars in the United States had more social influence than just about anything at the time (even more than Elvis). Fender's only in-house paint mixes during the 50's and 60's were Sunburst and Blond. All other colors originated directly from the cars of the time, and most of these colors were from General Motor's cars. For instance Shell Pink was derived from a 1954 DeSoto color, like the '62 Duosonic relic shown here. Matching headstocks can be added for an additional $75!