Although the R36s were later referred to as Redbirds, the cars were originally painted in different schemes when they were delivered. The "World's Fair" cars were painted in a light blue turquoise "Bluebird" scheme, while the "Main Line" cars were painted bright red like the R33s. These color schemes were used until 1977, when the cars were painted in the silver/blue MTA livery. Then, they were painted in a full white (roof, bonnets, sides were all painted white) "anti-graffiti" scheme from 1981 to 1982 to combat graffiti; since the white paint was a Teflon-based paint, the graffiti did not stick to it very well. The look was abandoned for the famous "Redbird" style, which was applied onto the cars when they were rebuilt.