Johnny painted his old jalopy purple vs Johnny painted his old purple jalopy

[anhnha]

1.Johnny painted his old jalopy purple.
2.Johnny painted his old purple jalopy.
Is there any difference in meaning between #1 and #2?
Is #1 better than #2?

 

[JMurray]

1.Johnny painted his old jalopy purple.
2.Johnny painted his old purple jalopy.

These would normally be understood to have different meanings.
1) We don't know what colour his jalopy was before he painted it purple.
2) We know his jalopy was purple before he painted it, so he either painted it purple again or some other colour.

not a teacher

 

[anhnha]

Thanks,
Can I rewrite #1 as follows?
Johnny painted purple to his old jalopy.

 

[JMurray]

Can I rewrite #1 as follows?
Johnny painted purple to his old jalopy.

No. If Johnny is applying purple paint to his jalopy the most natural form is (1) as you first wrote it.
Or possibly, "Johnny put purple (paint) on his old jalopy", but unlike (1), this doesn't necessarily suggest that he painted the whole car.

not a teacher