Photoshop questions... Need guidance

[Richio1]

I recently purchased PS Elements 7 on eBay (for only $16.00 which I thought was a good deal) and have been playing with it but am having trouble.

All I want to do is change the color of my car to get a visual on a couple different colors I am considering. I have watched more than a dozen YouTube videos and if I wanted to change eye or hair color I'd be a pro... Even the car color change videos don't help as I can't get the colors I want from changing the hue or saturation. I have also searched the threads here and on Lat G with no success.

I have tried by going to enhance, adjust color then change color but using the paint brush hides all the body lines and the color selection isn't what I want.

So how can I:
1- use a color off another picture. Say I find a color I like can I take it off another picture and use it in PSE?

2- how can I simply change a red car blue? Again, using an automotive paint color not a paint brush pallette color? There has to be a way to select the red and replace with a blue, for example.

3- once I figure that out I would like guidance on how to black/Greg out the bumpers and wheel centers to determine which shade to go with. Maybe add a stripe on the hood/decklid.

I have a sample picture that I am using. It is the silver Kenny Davis 69' Camaro with the Rushforth Rated-x wheels since that is what my project will have. I would like to change the color to a dark grey and the black cowl/trunk stripe to the light silver. Seems easy enough but I have burned atleast 8-10 hours trying to figure it out with no success.

Thanks for the help and guidance!

[DarkBuddha]

Have you checked this yet?: https://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?16001-Photochop-tips-and-tricks

Hue/saturation is the way the best way to do color changes, but you might find you need to use brightness/contrast too to get it closer. Some colors are nearly impossible to get quite right, but you can at least get a good idea. I've yet to find a good way to use the actual color off another car other than to do my best to visually match it with hue/saturation & brightness/contrast.

BTW, to change black & grey to silver, try using the brightness/contrast tool rather than hue/saturation tool. I've found that it's necessary to turn up the contrast to get a good silver, but turn down the contrast to get a good grey. Then just turn up the brightness.

Hope this helps.