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MG TD TF 1500 - Original Green Rexine?

I was cutting away a layer of old vinyl from my side curtain box for my TD. Found this underneath. Looks like what I've seen identified as Rexine. It has been preserved pretty well since it was covered by the vinyl for at least the last 40 years. The dull spots are where the coating on the Rexine was stuck to the underside of the vinyl.

It fits very tightly to the wood, without any apparent underlayment.

Is this stuff of any use to anyone for color matching or anything else? Hate to just throw it away if someone has been looking for a sample...


David Littlefield

Well spotted David. Do you still have the thin black strip on the other side? The green on TD's was more of an apple green compared to the darker green used on TF's. Attached a pic of my TF samples. If you would like to send me a postcard sized piece then please email me for my address; mbmagilton AT msn DOT com
I am also after biscuit leather and piping if anyone has a clean sample.

Cheers,
Matthew.

M Magilton

Matthew,

There is a 6" strip of the black material left (see picture). I don't know why it was left when the rest was stripped off to recover the thing. Judging from the quality of the work, I expect it was out of laziness.

I'd be glad to send you or anyone else a sample of the Rexine. Did you want some of the black strip, as well? I'll email you separately.


David Littlefield

Real Rexine does not have a faux leather pattern to it. It has a square woven pattern, like you would see if looking up close at a bed sheet (or anything woven, really). Not nearly as high a thread count as a sheet, though.
Some debate if the last true Rexine was used on TC dashes.
MG may have continued to call it Rexine for a while, but it was actually more a vinyl.
S Cole

Yes, there was a gradual evolution from oilcloth through rexine to vinyl and its tricky to know where to draw the dividing lines. The early TD's have more of the woven pattern compared to later TD's.

Thank you David. Email reply sent.

Matthew.
M Magilton

Any leather pattern in my pictures you are seeing is in the red vinyl that was used to recover the piece. What I am presuming to be Rexine does have a woven pattern, which I don't see in Matthew's TF samples. I don't have any experience with these materials, but I will say that the material I uncovered almost looks like a cloth or linen that has been brushed or soaked in a lacquer. It doesn't look like any vinyl I've ever seen, which is usually soft plastic with a grain pattern and a cloth backing.
David Littlefield

David I think has a good description of what Matthew figures to be early TD dashes: " almost looks like a cloth or linen that has been brushed or soaked in a lacquer. " It probably was linen as it was and I think still used by bookbinders, and linen holds up longer than other things like cotton. Most all stuff sold as Rexine is not really rexine now a days.
S Cole

Here is a detail pic from TD 0268 (very early TD, mostly unrestored). Shows the thin fabric.

Matthew.

M Magilton

I thought we had pretty much exhausted the Rexine vs. Vynide difference?

As I remember (see http://www.mgexp.com/phorum/read.php?46,3328772,3328772#msg-3328772
for an exhaustive discussion), Rexine is a woven, oil-cloth-like material, used on later TCs and earlier TDs, without a discernible grain, but with an obvious warp and weft. TC10,000 dash has this woven Rexine material, and is unquestionably original. A material similar to Rexine can be had from bookbinding supply companies, but be sure the weave is very tight to look original.

Vynide, used in later TDs (and perhaps earlier when Rexine was not immediately available) is a vinyl material and has a leather-like impressed grain - this is similar to what Moss sells now.

If you search under "Rexine" here and on the BBS you will see all that has been written.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

ICI made both Rexine and Vynide and supplied both the MG.
Christopher Couper

Good spot David. I think there is a picture of my original TD glovebox cover that is the same material (but tan) somewhere in the archives.
George Butz

I posted this and another pic showing trim details for the side screen storage door of my green interior (late 1949) TC in current posts- "To pad or not pad?". The car has never been restored, just mechanically maintained. On the TC the dash and the storage door and the top framing for the door are all that is rexine covered (and so unpadded). The factory painted the rexine covered door is painted black, inside and out. pic shows green rexine showing under black paint.

D mckellar

D.M. I didn't quite understand your last sentences. Did you mean the factory put black paint over green rexine?

Matthew.
M Magilton

Good point Matt. FTFU video does not mention this little piece of trivia either. I will explain it to you. My TC was originally painted black, with green interior. It still has the original paint and interior. If the car had been factory painted green, with green interior, the rexine there would have been left green, as in the FTFU video showing the old side curtain screen door. My rexine there is, yes, painted black, as is the differential cover wooden piece which is attached to it by the two hinges. The rexine is also painted black on the felt side of the door. It was painted black, over the rexine, as is obvious from the pics I posted. If you go to the "padding" discussion as instructed in my post above, you will also find a second picture showing the black paint over the green rexine.

This is a very often missed point of authenticity when the car paint color is different from the interior color.
D mckellar

And this would apply to red and biscuit in black cars too? Yours is the first I have ever heard of this. No mention in Sherrell. Do you happen to have a picture of the front face of the lid?
I am just pointing this out because I doubt if your feature made it to TD's and this the TD-TF board so I would hate for anyone to be confused.

Matthew.
M Magilton

No idea on your color combo's Matt. I suspect the answer to your inquiry for a TC on such color combo's would involve knowing what color the diff cover (wood) was originally painted.
D mckellar

Well, the two likely possibilities for the diff cover are either standard black, or else they got sprayed over during the body painting in body colour. This leaves a significant proportion of production that needed to have their doors painted over in various colours (or just black) to follow your 'point of authenticity'. The only cars that could have escaped having their doors being painted over would be the red-red and green-green colour combinations.

And yours would be the only known survivor?

I asked D.P. of the FTFU website and he had never heard of doors being painted over.

Matthew.
M Magilton

Only one door Matt.
D mckellar

Thank you D.M.

Matthew.
M Magilton

This thread was discussed between 15/01/2017 and 20/01/2017

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