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MG MGA - engine paint
| I want to get the paint correct paint needed for the engine. Most of the pictures of engines I see are a shade of red. The paint I purchased from Moss (called MGA Maroon) seems to be more on the purple side than of a dark red. Does anyone have color samples from the various suppliers? Mark |
| M Gannon |
| Mark, I used Hirsch's MG Maroon based on research into your very question a while back. I'm very satisfied with color and performance. http://www.hirschauto.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?st=0&st2=0&st3=0&CATID=1&Product_ID=1&DID=27 Regards, Doug |
| D Sjostrom |
| Mark: You might also want to check out a paint from Duplicolor called Dark Canyon Red. It should be available at your local hardware store. Bobby |
| Bobby |
| Rustoleum "Burgandy" is a close color match, but it may not be as tough as some other brands of paint. |
| Ed Bell |
| The maroon from Moss is correct |
| dominic clancy |
| I have used the Moss MGA maroon ( aerosol spray) and so far it seems OK - used on the dynamo , thermostat housing and heatsheild. But I noticed on another thread recently- can't remember which one now - that the colour tends to fade after a while - not noticed it on mine yet (! year on)- Cheers Cam |
| C Cunningham |
| When I did my rebuild Bob West told me to use a certain Nissan red as the closest match he had come across. Just looked at the remnants of my 8 year old can, I think it is code NIS755. Steve |
| Steve Gyles |
| Can't go wrong with Hirsch,painted engine at last rebuild (95) still looks great. You can use a brush on the cast iron, and use a good primer on the rest.The down side is you have to use it in a spray gun and reduce it some. Gary |
| gary starr |
| I just deleted quite a long story about my Hirsch experience of last week. Not worth it--a picture says a thousand words and I'm hoping someone here will help with that. |
| Paul Hanley |
| Hi guys, With my very limited options, I am able to get my hands on 5 cans (only 5 cans) of Krylon Cherry Red. How close is this to Maroon? As I cannot physically compare them, maybe one of you knows? My next option is $12 a can (about half the size of our cans) spray paint. |
| Tom Baker |
| On Paul Hanley's request, here is a photo showing Duplicolor Dark Canyon Red versus Hirsch MG Maroon. Duplicolor is on the right and Hirsch is on the left (and top). http://www.lbcnuts.com/temp/Hirsch-MG-maroon.jpg |
| Steve Simmons |
| Now for my personal opinion. I've used both Moss and Duplicolor. The Moss paint is a nice shade but does not last nearly as well as the Duplicolor stuff. The first time I got coolant on the Moss paint it turned pink!!! The Duplicolor paint does not seem to be affected by coolant or oil at all. My GT enigne is painted in it and in 25 years and 25,000 miles it still looks good other than a few places where it has been subjected to a lot of oil and coolant and is chipping slightly. Not a bad performance! I also find the Duplicolor a more pleasant shade. A little more red and less brown than the Moss stuff. |
| Steve Simmons |
| Steve Nice photo. That Hirsch colour is more like Terracotta. Your Duplicolor is, in my opinion, the correct shade. Steve |
| Steve Gyles |
| Everyone's idea of the original engine color seems to be a little different, but I agree that the Duplicolor in Steve's picture is more like what I think the MGA color should be. I used IH red from a local tractor supply because it closely matched what I believe to be an original valve cover. It has held up very well. It is very close in color to Steves's Dark Canyon Red Duplicolor. Tom, I found these pictures of things painted with Krylon Cherry Red. It is hard to get true colors from pictures on the web, but if that is what you can get, I would use it and not worry about it. From the pictures, it is a lot closer to what I think it should be than many I have seen at shows. I have seen engines every shade from brown to bright red, and the owners usually thought theirs was the right color. Jeff http://www.pyrouniverse.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=8&pos=6 http://www.scaleautomag.com/sca/community/forum/topic.asp?page=-1&TOPIC_ID=10038&REPLY_ID=113577 |
| Jeff Schultz |
| Jeff's cherry red looks a bit too red but the duplicolour in Steve Simmons shot looks very like the Moss Maroon that I have used. As Paul says I don't think I would bother with the Hirsch one - I agree with Steve G - it looks like red oxide primer. Cheers Cam |
| C Cunningham |
| Those are just pictures I found on the web because Jim asked about Krylon cherry red. I agree with you Cam that the cherry red appears more red than maroon, but aparantly Jim is having a hard time getting paint in Japan. The IH red I used is very close in color to the duplicolor in Steve Simmons picture. Jeff |
| Jeff Schultz |
| To be clear--Steve's photo link is a picture I forwarded to him so that others here could be warned about the current batch of Hirsch paint. The brown, terra cotta, red oxide primer, baby poo...whatever you'd like to call it...is from batch #24456 and I sprayed it here just last week. In the end I ground it all off my car, taped the entire vehicle and sprayed the engine in situ with Dark Canyon Red. Four coats + primer--looking good! Paul |
| Paul Hanley |
| Paul, I do not see a paint called Dark Canyon Red on Duplicolor's web page. do you have a product #? Mark |
| M Gannon |
| Aside from spotting easily, the Moss colour is correct. I've checked it on parts that have been in the box for 40 years (closest thing you can get to unfaded - red fades so easily) and it is a close match. Now if they could just get it a bit more durable.... http://www.rhodo.citymax.com/i/non-rhodo/engine2.jpg |
| Bill Spohn |
| Paul, WOW! The Hirsch color in your photo isn't even close to the MG Maroon they sent me a few years back! The batch I used matched the original perfectly. I had original component samples for comparison. Regards, Doug |
| D Sjostrom |
| i painted my valve cover using to correct color moss paint and sent to local auto paint store.they matched the color and sold me a quart of catalized enamel.add twice of the amount of hardener and spray using a touch up gun.will not burn off,except exhaust manifold,will not discolor if fuel or oil is spilled. last for years(as my engine is on engine stand)but have done to other engines a makes a HUGE difference cc |
| cc |
| Mark, Duplicolor--Ford Dark Canyon Red T278. I order it thru local NAPA dealer. Paul |
| Paul Hanley |
| Hi, I used Anglo Parts deep maroon. http://members.home.nl/stufkensoptiek/Pictures/OLDTIMERS/SIMG0431.JPG www.angloparts.com/site/home/SiteHome.po partsnr. 187007 Wim |
| Wim Betzel |
| Wim, I think I saw a speck of dust on your engine! Looks very nice. Mark |
| M Gannon |
| Mr. Betzel--nice job! Since you've taken it this far, I wonder if you'd mind a small concours point--the nuts and bolts of the water elbow were also painted engine maroon along with the generator harware, speedo drive, and gearbox to back plate. Its beautiful the way it is, it just appeared to me that you might be interested. Color spot on, by the way. Thanks for the tip. Paul |
| Paul Hanley |
| Paul, I can see why you stripped and repainted after seeing the Hirsch paint. Looks like a salmon! |
| Emmanuel Kafant |
| Has anyone other than Paul received this pinkish colored paint from Hirsch, looks like a bad batch. I used the Hirsch paint 5 years ago and it was a perfect match to the paint on an NOS twin cam engine that I had. The paint on the NOS engine was slightly brighter than the darker oxidised paint that I had on a number of old engine parts that still had original paint. The Moss color was close but more cherry red than the original paint. Here are two photo links of what Hirsch was selling 5 years ago. http://www.homestead.com/safetyfast/files/enginew.jpg http://www.homestead.com/safetyfast/files/progress2.jpg Frank |
| Frank Graham |
| Nice pics, Frank! What kind of tyres are shown in the "progress2" photo? Thanks. |
| James Wolff |
| Jim, Those are Dunlop Racing R5 5.50 x 15 tires, which is is the same tire that the competition department originally used on this car in '61, they are probably too soft for street use and a bit expensive too. These are made in small batches by hand in the UK, I had to wait over two years to get them. If you look closely at the engine photo you will see a lot of unusual details because this was a factory Sebring car not a production model. However,the Hirsch MG Maroon paint was an excellent match to the original engine paint. I'm sure that the pink stuff that Paul received is a mistake that they would make good on, Paul should contact them about returning it. Frank |
| Frank Graham |
| I did contact them Frank, and you're not going to believe when I tell you that Bill Hirsch himself not only received the same photo that is posted above, but he called it "correct" MG Maroon. He did offer to send me another red from another car manufacturer (Chevy Red) but he was insistant that the paint I had been sent was exactly the color what others had received for 30 some years. Go figure. I don't realy care at this point, I just want others to know that batch #24456 is what's currently being sold and evidently its tinted the same color I received. Bill Hirsch checked it out himself. I got it from the horses mouth. I spoke with no one else at the company except the guy that answered the phone and plugged me into Bill's extention. caveat emptor |
| Paul Hanley |
| Just to add additional information on Hirsch paint to the thread. I finally got around to digging out the can that I bought a year (more or less) ago. It is batch #23332. It is a darker maroon than is shown in Paul's pictures, but it looks more terra cotta than deep red. Unfortunately, I can't find an original painted part to compare side by side, but having seen the pictures, I'll probably not use it and opt for the Ford color. It is hard to image that the formulation has not changed given the pictures that Frank posted and the color that I have, which is different than the one Paul shows. Caveat emptor... Steve |
| Steve Brandt |
| Paul, Is the Dark Canyon Red a heat resistant paint? My local NAPA says tha tit is not. Have you had a problem with heat? Mark |
| M Gannon |
| Mark, It is 100% heat resistant on all but the exhaust, of course. My MGB now has over 30k miles since engine paint and it still looks new. With DKR, you'll want to prime the aluminium parts first and go at least three medium coats for proper color. First coat will look candy apple red--don't worry. It'll darken with subsequent coats. |
| Paul Hanley |
This thread was discussed between 13/02/2006 and 21/02/2006
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