nice pix wm!
ted, i really don't think it matters.......gotta love barn red, maybe lighten a bit with the white. it has been traditional for all to paint deep hive bodies in white or pastel colors, especially for those in southern climates so that the heat i guess is reflected, keeping the colony cooler. darker colors would be advantageous for us northerners in winter months, absorbing and retaining heat longer.
i typically use lighter colors just cuz that's what i was taught to do, ya know eons of older beeks. some of these older beeks about flipped or laughed at some of the colors of my oops painted medium boxes..... with that said, one or two years or more i had to scramble for deeps and used old deeps that had been painted a very dark purplish blue color. (i use these boxes for fall feeding with pails on). my hives are not in full sun, but can say i really didn't notice any problems associated with overheating. also, trees aren't exactly white, or wherever bees decide to swarm to in houses, and some areas, pretty hot. bees can do a pretty good job at heating and cooling their environment.
if you are concerned about it use the white and mix in the barn red til you get a lighter color? or maybe just use the barn red for medium boxes?
mine are all sorts of different colors.
perhaps keith will chime in, the guy is an encyclopedia on keeping bees!
