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MG MGA - Old English White

Hi:

I'm having my 1957 A painted Old English White, but can't find a close color match. I went to Barney's site and have the paint code numbers, but the shop that is painting the car could not come up with a formula. I also went to a paint store (they have been in business since the 50's) and was told the same thing - the numbers are good, but there is no formula any longer. I can't use the existing color for a match as it is much to yellow (I was told by the person that I bought the car from that it was a Volvo color that he chose). Does anybody have any ideas or can someone recommend a modern car with a close OEW color? I did find a recommendation for Wimbleton White and the paint shop sprayed a pannel for me. It looked much to beige. I thought OEW was more of a creamy color.

FYI this repaint started as an engine rebuild and then as long as the engine was out why not repaint the engine compartment and then why not repaint the whole car and while I'm at it the upolstery needs to be redone etc. etc.

Thanks for everyones help.

Sherman
1957 MGA
1974 MGB
1954 MG TF
1948 MG TC
Sherman Kaplan

Ford YY9M-6210 Colonial White. A Ford Light Truck Colour. This was a direct match for the original paint on my '50 TD.
C.R. Tyrell

Not sure of the number but C.R. is correct there is a Ford truck white that is a perfect match.
David Werblow

I repainted my original Old English White MGA 1600 MkII in 1980 using Inmont (United Technologies) R-M Alpha-Cryl Acrylic Lacquer. The color was a very close match to the original, and in particular captured the warmth characteristic of Old English White. On the chance that this information might be useful to you, when the paint was mixed, the technician wrote down the following identification on the front of the label: A-BM149 Old English White. And on the back of the label he wrote the following numbers, which I interpreted to be identification of the pigments and amounts. Those numbers are:

90 100
190 926
174 989
141 1000

and the amount mixed was one (1) U.S. gallon (3.785 liters).
Unfortunately, I can't remember definitively which numbers are the pigment identifiers and which are the quantities, but my guess is the first number is the color and the second is the amount. I vaguely recall the colors included, not surprising, white, yellow, and black. Maybe the fourth color was red? Perhaps these clues can be used by your paint shop to cross-check a candidate formula or come up with one.

Steve

PS. I'm having trouble uploading a photo of my car, and so will do that under a separate post to this thread.
Steve K

Here's a photo of my car repainted in Old English White, as described in my previous post.


Steve K

A web search shows Inmont was purchased from United Technologies by BASF in 1985 and that their automotive paint business is called BASF Refinishing. Their website is www.basfrefinishing.com .
Steve K

Sherman,
Are you painting the entire car or some panels and trying to match the existing color?

GTF
G T Foster

Hi:

Thanks to everyone for your replys.

C.R.: I looked on the internet and it seems that Colonial White is also a 1950's color so I'm not sure I can find a modern formula, but I'll ask my paint guy.

Steve: That color looks like what I'm looking for. I'll ask my paint guy about the info you gave me.

GT: I'm painting the entire car. As I mentioned, the color that the car was when purchased was a Volvo color, but it seemed way to yellow, not the creamy OEW.

I did look some more on the web and found an email from Dave Braun that recommended PPG Deltron DBC 8177. I'm also going to ask my paint guy about that too. Lot's of possiblities. I just wish that the old numbers transferred to modern paint.

Sherman
Sherman Kaplan

A few years back I was able to get Iris Blue mixed to a formula for BU12 from Standox. They had all the BMC colour formulae by codes on their computer. took some time to find as they were listed under Rover Group. Now that Rover no longer exists I wonder how they would be listed.
This is in Western Australia and i could check with them next week and see if they have formula.
What is the BMC alpha numeric code for OEW?

Cheers John
John Lambie

Hi John:

According to Barney's site the BMC code for OEW is
WT.3

Thanks,
Sherman
Sherman Kaplan

Just been through this with our paint supplier as he couldn't confirm colour code to be original because we were changing from cellulose to acrylic . In the end all we did was mix a colour based on the old mixing charts. The painted car has been seen by some members of my local car club with the opinion being it is oew. Bob


Bob Walker

Sherman; Colour is still available with that code as I had my TD painted that colour last year. I gave you the current code.

Paint I used is a single stage polyurethane.
C.R. Tyrell

Sherman; Colour is still available with that code as I had my TD painted that colour last year. I gave you the current code.
C.R. Tyrell

Sherman -
I used the codes from Clausager (as replicated on Barney's site) in 2004 during my restoration of our '62 MKII. Found a shop with an ICI paint computer. They entered the code (ICI # 2379)from Clausager and it came right up.

We did a test strip and checked it agains a portion of the orginal body that was underdneath and pristine - a perfect match! We ended up putting on three coats of enamel.

See our color on Barney's website - against pure white snow here: http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/paint/pt140e.htm

The body shop we used was associated with two local dealerships - Nissan and BMW. ICI was their primary computer. Hopefully you can find a shop with a computer to match as well.

- Ken
Ken Doris

Thank you everyone. I'll give all this to the painter. I've been trying to get to their shop all week, but work keeps getting in the way.

Sherman
Sherman Kaplan

Hi Sherm,

Let me know offline how it turns out. As you know, I'd like to repaint my OEW MGA coupe. If your painter is reasonable, maybe we could do a deal with him.

Ira
Ira Spector (PA)

I attended to the local STANDOX paint wholesaler. They still have the BMC MGA colour codes listed on the computer. including OEW- WT3
Available in K8 (solid colour), or clear over base. They offered to mix up sample pots of each.
Unfortunately they would not print off the formula for me. I told them that 10 years ago they had given me all the formulaes for MGA colours. That guy no longer works for them.!!
This is Western Australia. Try the Standox supplier near you and maybe better luck. The paint is excellent quality, but use all their products as it is a system, i.e. primers undercoat, etc. Other makers may have cheaper products but dont mix them as paint warranty will be voided.

Cheers John
John Lambie

Sherman, if you need a local shop then let me know and I'll hook you up with the guys that did my car.


Steve Simmons

John: The shop is using Sherwin Williams paint. As I mentioned they could not find a formula. In my search I decided to call Sherwin Williams. They told me that they had a formula for MG OEW. The Sherwin Williams number on Barney's site is JX 4228. I was told that the JX is no longer relevant. The number is now just 4228. The painter put that in his computer and found the formula. He sprayed a sample card and I think it is correct.

Ira: Give me a call and we can discuss. Unfortunately, this is not turning out to be inexpensive.

Steve: Thanks for your offer, but the car is in pieces and ready for paint. I just needed to OK the color.

I have uploaded a scan of the card that the painter shot, but I don't think the scan shows the color very well.


Sherman Kaplan

This thread was discussed between 22/02/2013 and 14/03/2013

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