My Peco kits made it over the pond and are all assembled.  Now for some painting.  Are there specific colors used to denote type of van/wagon or were these more determined by the company that owned them?  I am basically doing late 50's early 60's so everything will be weathered and faded. 

After a bit of poking around online I have started with the following colors.

Livestock - red brown with a white roof
Standard wagon - dark grey with a white roof

Refrigerator Box Van - Planning off white with a black roof
Conflat - not sure yet, probably a dark grey or maybe a scale black

Future kits will be

Open wagons wood plank sides
Open wagons metal sides

Thanks guys,

James

James worth investigating https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/magento/model-railways/railmatch-brand5.html   and      here https://www.phoenix-paints.co.uk/products/precisionrailway      Look at era 4/:5 . Chris

In BR days there were two basic colours used for wagons: grey and bauxite/brown.

Grey was used for wagons without an automatic train brake (hand brake only). Any basic mid grey works well. I often use just a grey primer.

Bauxite was used for wagons with an automatic train brake (mostly vacuum in the UK until the 1970s). You need a slightly red shade of brown.

Roof colour would depend on construction method. Dark grey for felt based covering, lighter grey if its something like canvas over painted with a lead based paint.

Steven B

In addition to Steven B's notes, refrigerated vans and containers were originally white, usually very dirty; around 1964, this changed to 'ice blue', a very pale blue.

By around 1960, unfitted, ie grey, vans were becoming increasingly unusual as most had been fitted with vacuum brakes and changed to bauxite livery.

Conflats again bauxite by this time.

Wooden opens-if fitted with handbrake only, these were often left unpainted, with metalwork picked out in black. Numbering was white over a black paint patch. Metal opens were grey or bauxite, depending if they had hand brake only or were fitted with vacuum brake.

I also use grey primer for unfitted; Railmatch or Phoenix (and probably others) make bauxite.

Martyn

I wouldn't do anything with a white roof. Unlike passenger stock which was cleaned, generally freight stock was pretty dirty and, in the English weather, you can only imagine how long a white roof would have remained white ( unless it was snow!) Some freight stock owned by companies may have had sides cleaned every now and then (you do want folks to see your adverts) but not the rooves, methinks.