diff --git a/src/lib/gl_format_color.js b/src/lib/gl_format_color.js
index 383f434a52a..35be62a2b7e 100644
--- a/src/lib/gl_format_color.js
+++ b/src/lib/gl_format_color.js
@@ -82,9 +82,13 @@ function formatColor(containerIn, opacityIn, len) {
     return colorOut;
 }
 
-function parseColorScale(colorscale, alpha) {
+function parseColorScale(cont, alpha) {
     if(alpha === undefined) alpha = 1;
 
+    var colorscale = cont.reversescale ?
+        Colorscale.flipScale(cont.colorscale) :
+        cont.colorscale;
+
     return colorscale.map(function(elem) {
         var index = elem[0];
         var color = tinycolor(elem[1]);
diff --git a/src/traces/cone/convert.js b/src/traces/cone/convert.js
index 8ef950d6bd1..ee74707a413 100644
--- a/src/traces/cone/convert.js
+++ b/src/traces/cone/convert.js
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ function convert(scene, trace) {
         trace._len
     );
 
-    coneOpts.colormap = parseColorScale(trace.colorscale);
+    coneOpts.colormap = parseColorScale(trace);
     coneOpts.vertexIntensityBounds = [trace.cmin / trace._normMax, trace.cmax / trace._normMax];
     coneOpts.coneOffset = anchor2coneOffset[trace.anchor];
 
diff --git a/src/traces/mesh3d/convert.js b/src/traces/mesh3d/convert.js
index 9b2c926f738..250c480b44e 100644
--- a/src/traces/mesh3d/convert.js
+++ b/src/traces/mesh3d/convert.js
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ proto.update = function(data) {
         this.color = '#fff';
         config.vertexIntensity = data.intensity;
         config.vertexIntensityBounds = [data.cmin, data.cmax];
-        config.colormap = parseColorScale(data.colorscale);
+        config.colormap = parseColorScale(data);
     } else if(data.vertexcolor) {
         this.color = data.vertexcolor[0];
         config.vertexColors = parseColorArray(data.vertexcolor);
diff --git a/src/traces/streamtube/convert.js b/src/traces/streamtube/convert.js
index 52488c1ea44..d663c262fb5 100644
--- a/src/traces/streamtube/convert.js
+++ b/src/traces/streamtube/convert.js
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ function convert(scene, trace) {
         tubeOpts.startingPositions = startingPositions;
     }
 
-    tubeOpts.colormap = parseColorScale(trace.colorscale);
+    tubeOpts.colormap = parseColorScale(trace);
     tubeOpts.tubeSize = trace.sizeref;
     tubeOpts.maxLength = trace.maxdisplayed;
 
diff --git a/src/traces/surface/convert.js b/src/traces/surface/convert.js
index a5f4147462e..74397d78ae5 100644
--- a/src/traces/surface/convert.js
+++ b/src/traces/surface/convert.js
@@ -364,7 +364,7 @@ proto.update = function(data) {
     var sceneLayout = scene.fullSceneLayout;
     var surface = this.surface;
     var alpha = data.opacity;
-    var colormap = parseColorScale(data.colorscale, alpha);
+    var colormap = parseColorScale(data, alpha);
     var scaleFactor = scene.dataScale;
     var xlen = data.z[0].length;
     var ylen = data._ylength;
diff --git a/src/traces/surface/defaults.js b/src/traces/surface/defaults.js
index 9bdad26a812..54c0ffc5033 100644
--- a/src/traces/surface/defaults.js
+++ b/src/traces/surface/defaults.js
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
 */
 
-
 'use strict';
 
 var Registry = require('../../registry');
@@ -15,7 +14,6 @@ var Lib = require('../../lib');
 var colorscaleDefaults = require('../../components/colorscale/defaults');
 var attributes = require('./attributes');
 
-
 module.exports = function supplyDefaults(traceIn, traceOut, defaultColor, layout) {
     var i, j;
 
@@ -61,8 +59,6 @@ module.exports = function supplyDefaults(traceIn, traceOut, defaultColor, layout
 
     var surfaceColor = coerce('surfacecolor');
 
-    coerce('colorscale');
-
     var dims = ['x', 'y', 'z'];
     for(i = 0; i < 3; ++i) {
 
diff --git a/test/image/baselines/gl3d_reversescale.png b/test/image/baselines/gl3d_reversescale.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9cfb4378f6b
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/image/baselines/gl3d_reversescale.png differ
diff --git a/test/image/mocks/gl3d_reversescale.json b/test/image/mocks/gl3d_reversescale.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..95e0ff09274
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/image/mocks/gl3d_reversescale.json
@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+{
+  "data": [{
+    "type": "surface",
+    "z": [
+      [8.41, 3, 4],
+      [1, 2, 3],
+      [2, 43, 1]
+    ],
+    "reversescale": true,
+    "colorbar": {
+      "title": {"text": "surface"},
+      "x": -0.15,
+      "len": 0.3,
+      "y": 0.7
+    }
+  }, {
+    "type":"mesh3d",
+    "name": "colorscale + intensity",
+    "x":[0, 1, 2, 0],
+    "y":[0, 0, 1, 2],
+    "z":[0, 2, 0, 1],
+    "i":[0, 0, 0, 1],
+    "j":[1, 2, 3, 2],
+    "k":[2, 3, 1, 3],
+    "colorscale": [
+      [0, "rgb(0, 0, 0)"],
+      [0.33, "rgb(255, 0, 0)"],
+      [0.66, "rgb(0, 255, 0)"],
+      [1, "rgb(0, 0, 255)"]
+    ],
+    "intensity": [0, 0.33, 0.66, 1],
+    "reversescale": true,
+    "colorbar": {
+      "title": {"text": "mesh3d"},
+      "x": -0.15,
+      "len": 0.3,
+      "y": 0.4
+    }
+  }, {
+    "type": "streamtube",
+    "x": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2],
+    "y": [0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2],
+    "z": [0, 1, 2, 0, 1, 2, 0, 1, 2, 0, 1, 2, 0, 1, 2, 0, 1, 2, 0, 1, 2, 0, 1, 2, 0, 1, 2],
+    "u": [
+      1,
+      1,
+      1,
+      1,
+      1,
+      1,
+      1,
+      1,
+      1,
+      1.8414709848078965,
+      1.8414709848078965,
+      1.8414709848078965,
+      1.8414709848078965,
+      1.8414709848078965,
+      1.8414709848078965,
+      1.8414709848078965,
+      1.8414709848078965,
+      1.8414709848078965,
+      1.9092974268256817,
+      1.9092974268256817,
+      1.9092974268256817,
+      1.9092974268256817,
+      1.9092974268256817,
+      1.9092974268256817,
+      1.9092974268256817,
+      1.9092974268256817,
+      1.9092974268256817
+    ],
+    "v": [
+      1,
+      1,
+      1,
+      0.5403023058681398,
+      0.5403023058681398,
+      0.5403023058681398,
+      -0.4161468365471424,
+      -0.4161468365471424,
+      -0.4161468365471424,
+      1,
+      1,
+      1,
+      0.5403023058681398,
+      0.5403023058681398,
+      0.5403023058681398,
+      -0.4161468365471424,
+      -0.4161468365471424,
+      -0.4161468365471424,
+      1,
+      1,
+      1,
+      0.5403023058681398,
+      0.5403023058681398,
+      0.5403023058681398,
+      -0.4161468365471424,
+      -0.4161468365471424,
+      -0.4161468365471424
+    ],
+    "w": [
+      0,
+      0.08865606199840186,
+      0.1693927420185106,
+      0,
+      0.08865606199840186,
+      0.1693927420185106,
+      0,
+      0.08865606199840186,
+      0.1693927420185106,
+      0,
+      0.08865606199840186,
+      0.1693927420185106,
+      0,
+      0.08865606199840186,
+      0.1693927420185106,
+      0,
+      0.08865606199840186,
+      0.1693927420185106,
+      0,
+      0.08865606199840186,
+      0.1693927420185106,
+      0,
+      0.08865606199840186,
+      0.1693927420185106,
+      0,
+      0.08865606199840186,
+      0.1693927420185106
+    ],
+    "reversescale": true,
+    "colorbar": {
+      "title": {"text": "streamtube"},
+      "x": -0.15,
+      "len": 0.3,
+      "y": 0,
+      "yanchor": "bottom"
+    }
+  }],
+  "layout": {
+    "title": {"text": "gl3d trace with reversescale:true"},
+    "scene": {
+      "camera": {
+        "eye": {"x": -2, "y": -0.35, "z": 0.34}
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}