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MG TD TF 1500 - Gauge plate color

I got a pint of the Dupont 5177LH that Chris lists as the color for the gauge plate on the dash.

A pint was actually around the same cost as what Abingdon has for a single spray can. (Moss has their paint for the dash as N/A).

Moss has an instrument plate they sell. It is a much lighter color. https://mossmotors.com/panel-instrument-cluster-bronze-w-chrome-rim?assoc=28338

This Dupont color comes back as a Ford "Cinnamon" color.

Here is what the Dupont came out on the instrument panel. This is 24 hours after spraying, in the sunlight. I will peel the tape off tomorrow. That may give it a different look.

Chris says the color is metallic, but it appears to have a bit more metal flake than the original, and I am unsure if it is too dark.

Any other thoughts on what the original color was?

I always thought the instrument panel was the same color as the steering wheel hub, but I am unsure if that is true.




Bruce Cunha

Make of this what you will. The first photo shows what came out of the box. Mark bought a replacement panel for adding the turn signal from a well know vendor and wasn't happy with the color match so he had some mixed to match the darker color that was hidden under the gauges as shown in the second photo. It's much darker that you would normally see.





L E D LaVerne

I'd guess it isn't far off from the original paint found under a 54 steering wheel cap I worked on several years ago.





L E D LaVerne

And the Mos stuff when they had it was way lighter





L E D LaVerne

What we have now is much darker.





L E D LaVerne

From my experience the facia and steering wheel centerpiece should be the same color on a TD, or super close.

The Moss color is OK for TFs but not TDs.

Note 1949 TCs had the same facia color so Bill is checking with Doug Pelton to see if he has a color formula.

In the 70's I used one of those Duplo color cans and got close with a color that was on a Ford Pinto IIRC. That is close to the color that Bruce used, but that was just an approximation.

LED La Verne it would have been interesting to see what was under the horn plate as that covers a lot more of the facia. And polishing it may have removed some oxidation to show it off a bit better.
Christopher Couper

I did a search in the archives and I did not find any good consensus on a paint close to the original color.

Chris's Original TD web has a couple of straight-on dash pictures from different TD's.

I am waiting to hear from Doug at FTFU. To get his input.







Bruce Cunha

Yeah,
Now y'all are making me feel bad about saying on the Facebook page that I might not change mine. Here is a photo of my Abingdon Spares spray paint against my original wheel center.
Please keep us posted on what you find out about a color closer than the AS spray can. For what it's worth, all of the paint had been stripped off of my center plate. No paint even under the horn plate.

Jim


JV Smith TD17744

Here's a picture of my facia plate with the original finish. It's a pretty good match with the wheel center, also original The steering wheel itself is obviously not original. Jim's Abingdon Spares spray paint seems to be a good match if the colors on my computer screen are close to reality.
Joe


Joe Olson

Joe,
Your original wheel center looks great. I think mine has lost all of its paint over the years. It is more of a cream color. The hub that you see in the photo is original, however.

Is your whole dash original? Is that the original rexine? It looks really good too.
Jim
JV Smith TD17744

Joe: That color does indeed look good. You can see how the angle (like between the steering wheel center and the dash) can change it a bit.

The steering wheel center is a great match and lighting.
Christopher Couper

Jim,
Yes, the whole dash, including the rexine, is original. The car sat undisturbed and mostly original in my garage for 30 years before I got it back on the road 5 or 6 years ago with a lot of help from this forum.
Joe
Joe Olson

That looks great Jo. Now we need to get you to take the car to a paint shop and have that scanned so we have a modern formula.

I would gladly pay for any charge they might have for scanning it.
Bruce Cunha

I have used the Duplicolor Wheel paint in Bronze. I was able to add coats until I got a close match to the steering wheel hub. The paint is fairly transparent so each coat made it slightly darker. I used a light grey primer coat under the top coat. The primer coat was very thin , just so it covered. Sorry no pictures.
CR Tyrell

Bruce,
So that I don't appear totally clueless at the paint shop, exactly what should I ask for?
Joe
Joe Olson

Showing the paint I picked when I had to replace my original TF stering wheel due to metal fatigue.





M Magilton

This is the Moss color they sold a few years ago. Actually a tad darker in the real. PJ


PJ Jennings

Jo. Ask them if they can paint match your dash plate.

They should have a small instrument that they touch to the panel and it gives a reading that is then used to make the formula.

I will cover the costs if they charge for it. If they can make a rattle can up of the color. I would be happy to purchase it also.
Bruce Cunha

I put together a compilation of the different instrument panels you posted and I found

From top left across.

Abingdon Spares
Moss
Chris Original TD 27489
Chris Original TD 29539
Chris's TD
From The Frame UP late TC
LaVern
Jim Smith
Bruce (Dupont 5177LH)
Jo Olson

Obviously, the computer is not a good venue for getting good color, but the variation is interesting.




Bruce Cunha

Bruce,
This is a great photo comparison. My guess is that #1,2, and 8 are the same allowing for different lighting. #3,4, and 10 are all original, so I'll bet they are all very close, also allowing for lighting and manufacture date.

Based on my photo of the Abingdon Spares spray can and my original steering wheel hub, I think the pictures show that the AS spray is a little light and a little too gold.

I agree with Bruce. If Joe would be willing to get his matched at an automotive paint store, I would be happy to pitch in too. Even better if it happened to match a current OEM color, but a custom code would work.

If we could do this, it would help every restorer going forward too. Just my 2 pence.

Jim
JV Smith TD17744

I'll see what I can do. I can be a bit slow at times (just like my TD), but let me know if you are in a hurry.
Joe
Joe Olson

Joe,
No hurry at all here. And no worries if it is a problem.
Jim
JV Smith TD17744

Same with me Lots of restoration projects yet to go.
Bruce Cunha

Bruce and Jim,
I'm glad there's no rush. I'll keep you posted.
Joe
Joe Olson

Joe: Can you email me your address? I will send you a sample of paint that you can lay next to your dash to see how close it is.
Christopher Couper

I sent Joe Olson two samples sprayed on a card. He took a few pictures with the card on his dash.

Both are supposed to be the same formula as listed on my web page. The lighter is a commercial color match service, the darker a local paint shop that Bruce Cunha and I use.

I think the lighter is about as good as you can get because the paints were not formulized, changed color over time and I also believe that the metal flakes today are much larger than in the 50's.

Joe also commented that the fascia paint is just about a mist like thickness where my samples are deep and thick, that could also change the color some.




Christopher Couper

Note: I have seen some very large differences in paint colors for this formula. The most accurate has been to purchase a spray can from Automotivetouchup.com using the Ford formula - M3564A.
Christopher Couper

I ordered the Abindon Spares spray can. The color is more Ivory.

Then I ordered a can from From the Frame up. This looks much closer.

I sprayed the FTFU on a piece of metal and then set it next to the instrument plate painted with AS.

The photo does not give the FTFU a good representation of the color.






Bruce Cunha

This thread was discussed between 19/02/2022 and 24/03/2022

MG TD TF 1500 index

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