MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGA - Paint question

Can someone tell me if the inside of the fenders on a MGA Coupe are the same color as the body? Some say they should be some say they should be black. I would appreaciate any info.
Thanks
Bud W
S.A. White

Bud, they are the same colour on the roadster. Don't see why the coupe should be different.
Art Pearse

Hi Bud....Inside the fenders is body colour...I think some owners have difficulty matching the body colour when touching up the paint work under there so use black to make things easy....Cheers Rex
Rex Thompson

Bud I have original photos of my coupe prior to restoration and all panels under the car are painted body color. Therefore you use twice as much paint when restoring the car.

Andy
Andy Preston

Bud

As Rex and Andy say, it's body colour. I can imagine where the black comes from. I applied black underseal to my fenders and inner wheel arch areas over the body paint. At a casual glance it could be mistaken for being the 'original' colour.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Not trying to hijack the thread, but painting or spraying underneath the car with various black "underseal" products has been standard practice in the UK for over 50 years. It is still done on most restorations that will not be used as "show" cars.

How common is this in other parts of the world?
N McGurk

In the northwest part of the US it is called "undercoating" and was done to most new cars in the 50s and 60s. I am thankfull that it was applied to my '62 MGA by the original owner (my sister) before taking delivery. I had lots of dents to fix, but hardly any rust.

Ed Bell

When I told the body shop that painted my car I did not want the inside of the fenders undercoated, it was suggested that they at least apply a rubber-sort of coating to the top underside of the fenders. This would not be seen unless you looked under the fender, and would help to prevent small dents to the fender undersides from rocks getting thrown up by the tires.
G Goeppner

If you want to know where the road rocks chip the paint you are welcome to look at my car. Inside top of the fender is one of the lesser affected areas. The worst is right behind the tire where the rocks first come up off the road.

I drive my MGA enough that it needs to be repainted about every 10 years. or slightly over 100,000 mile intervals. There is no way I would ever apply any sticky undercoating on it, as the stuff is a nightmare to remove later. There are also times when rust may get started underneath the undercoating, in which case you may no notice it until the panel is perforated. I much prefer to leave the paint uncovered so I can see what's going on if the gets damaged and needs a repaint.
Barney Gaylord

Barney

Totally understand where you are coming from. In my formative years in the UK in the 50s and early 60s, body panel protection and painting was rubbish. It was ingrained in our blood in the aftermarket environment to apply tetrosyl and suchlike to all the inner panels and wheel arches. I remember one of my RAF colleagues used to pour all his old E-Type sump oil into the 2 door panels! I guess old practices stick. I had goodness knows how many coats of two pack sprayed on the panels inside and out, but still the underseal went on before a wheel had been turned in anger in the wet outdoors.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Barney...you are absolutely right.....Rex
Rex Thompson

This thread was discussed between 13/01/2013 and 14/01/2013

MG MGA index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG MGA BBS now