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MG TD TF 1500 - Disappointing Paint

We painted out a few of the smaller parts as part of our test of the spray booth and the new spray gun.

The paint finish is great. Unfortunately, the paint we picked is not. We bought Summit Racing British Racing Green. I picked this because their sample and spray out shell came very close to the original color we found on the firewall wood.

The color has too much blue in it. The picture shows the paint swatch on the finished color. So, time to look again at paint.



Bruce Cunha

I really like that ash green metallic on TD 1250
W A Chasser

Perhaps Bill Reid can weigh in on what color he selected.

He was having it color matched and ran into issues with the matching party and I forgot what his end results were.
Christopher Couper

We used a local auto paint dealer and made our own match using their sample book. Then they gave us samples to test.
Ed
efh Haskell

TCP out of southern CA has a list of MG colors and they list woodland green, so I am going to order a quart and check it out.
Bruce Cunha

Bruce,

The Woodland Green colour I have seen over here in WA
is a very nice colour being quite a lot richer,darker
in shade compared to your above samples.

I usually spray only a single door first with my chosen colour. Different light can also change the colour hue so I check the resultant colour applied at different times of the day!

Cheers
Rob Grantham
Rob Grantham

Look at it this way. On the bright side a disappointing colour is better than a disappointing paint job. There should be a paint factor/supplier local to you who has a spectromiter (think that's what it's called) that if you had taken in an old sample of the paint will be able to colour match it. Bear in mind ultra violet light over time changes the colour.
JK Mazgaj

How did you mix the paint after you got it and before you sprayed? I have found it nearly impossible to get a really good mix using a stick etc.
I took my paint to the local DIY paint store and had them put it in their shaker for 5 mins.
Big difference.
The solids in the paints move downward in the tin much faster than you might think :-)
Dave
D Moore

HI Dave. I bought two gallons and had it mixed in a paint shaker at the local hardware store. We then split both cans into another container. This was done about 4 times to assure the color was the same between the gallons.

We have another paint job that we are going to use the paint on, so the cost is not wasted.

Not sure about other parts of the US or the world, but paint is terribly expensive at paint shops here in California. They frown on folks painting their own cars.
Bruce Cunha

When we were looking at paint a couple of years ago TCP came up and yes they have a formula for ash green. No they won't give it to you so you can mix it locally. I found them difficult to work with, as in What reducers etc to use. They sort of indicated that the paint was already reduced when shipped but I can't be sure. They also told me right up front that they would not sell it to me if my address was in California. At one time I had some pictures on my computer of the color on James Neal's TF I think it was. But no longer. I don't know how accurate it was to the original.
L E D LaVerne

My apologies...it was JK Barter's TF in the green from TCP. I reactivated the thread so you can see the color Bruce.
L E D LaVerne

Interesting. I found them somewhat the opposite. They told me that they cannot sell solvents and Enamel paint in CA, but that they can sell Acrylic Urethane. It was easy and quick to order.

About the only thing I did not like is all they will send you is a 2" x 2" sample card. No spray out cards that you can really see what the color is. But, I did not find any on-line paint companies that have paint out samples that are large enough to get a good idea of the actual color. Summit has them in the store in Reno, but do not sell them or sent them out

Getting a solvent is not an issue. As for the thinned paint. The Summit paint also said it did not need to be thinned. When we got it, we found it did still need a slight amount of thinning to give the correct viscosity for ideal spraying.

I ordered two gallons of their woodland green, which is formulated from 1950's paint cards that they have. If that is correct, it should reasonably close.

The probability is that there are only a few companies that actually make automotive paint. I suspect Summit and others use all the same company for their paint.
Bruce Cunha

This thread was discussed between 01/12/2020 and 03/12/2020

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