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MG TD TF 1500 - TD,TF door hinge finishes,your opinions??

Hi all.

I am undecided over how to finish the door hinges on my TF??
1.
Paint them body colour?
Original but can easily chip!
2.
Chrome them?
Would that be too much or look good?
3.
Clean back to brass??
Either polish or give them a patia?

I am favouring option 3,and 2 is a close 2nd!

What are your opinions??
Have you polished the brass or chromed yours?
Got any pics?
Bear in mind I am not aiming for it to be as per factory or concourse,just to look REALLY GREAT!!

Regards Dave
Pilkie

Dave,
I had to replace mine and left the new ones as brass. I think it looks fine with my BRG TD.
Mort
Mort (50 TD "Mobius")

My personal taste I like the hinges painted the body color.

This is just me but when I look at a restored car with unpainted hinges my eye gets distracted to the center to the door instead of focusing the nice sloping lines of the body of the TF.

If I had to choose either chrome or brass, I would leave them brass. Much easier to paint over brass than chrome if you change your mind.

Frank
Frank Cronin

Brass. Also sprayed them with "Lacquer for Brass" from a woodworking shop. Still look good 2 years later.
efh Haskell

Brass...looks good. Won't chip.
MW Davis

I say body color 100%, but each to his or her own. I am still waiting on one hinge to arrive so I can set the doors. Sure will be nice to see the metal painted.

Rob
Rob Welborne

I like the brass look. I had them powder coated in a clear finish for low maintenance.

Jim
J Barry

Dave,
My vote is to paint them body color.
I considered leaving the hinges brass when I painted my car, but when the job was finished I was glad that I decided to paint them. They look great and I wanted the original look.
Just my opinion, but I really don't think chrome is the way to go. Too gaudy.
Dave B.
DW Burdette

Polish the brass then let it tarnish a bit _ my vote
cj schmit

I have seen the brass finish on superb paint job, and , to me, it takes away from the overall job....
My vote is for a painted finish....
My reason for not wanting the polished-brass finish, is that it makes the door hinge the focal point of the side
of the car. Since there is no other exposed brass on the car, it looks a little strange.
Chrome is also going to be a focal point, but might be better than brass...Still not as good as the painted hinge, IMHO....Chipping is not really any more of a problem on the hinge, than anywhere else.
Edward
E.B. Wesson

IMHO:
Although "correct" is painted, almost every car I have seen (other than undriven trailer queens) the paint has been chipped.

Chrome looks "over the top". (again, IMHO)

I polished my brass ones and, (although I know it is "wrong") I like the look.

I think it is less distracting on mine as the car is a light color. Had I gone with a darker color the decesion might have been a bit harder for me to make.
I think I would have still gone brass, but like CJ said ...let them tarnish a little.

Go brass ...see if you like it and if you don't it's not a lot of work to change to body color!


David Sheward

AS an "OBTW" ...the cadium hinge pins discolor quickly. I made new ones from stainless lag bolts by grinding the heads round and then polishing them.

David Sheward

I vote for paint. I agree that brass looks out of place as nothing else on the exterior is brass. But- to each his own, as they say.
J K Barter

Mine are chrome on one side where I had to replace a broken one and paint on the other side (after adjusting one door for (too many) hours I could not convince myself to do the other...). I like both (the chrome admittedly does not stand out much on the off white colour), and can only see one side at a time anyway.

Mike
Mike Fritsch

Paint. I tell myself that any time I am in doubt then I should do it the way the factory did it. Every year I go over the car paint with a fine touch-up brush for any paint chips as a part of my usual maintenance.

Matthew.
M Magilton

I know its not factory correct but I chose chrome.


R Taylor

BTW,
I have some old hinges if anyone wants them. They are worn and need refurbishing. Currently painted BRG. One has been braised and it is lumpy but could be ground down. Pins are slightly worn.
Mort
Mort (50 TD "Mobius")

Paint em! Look round at other exposed hinge coach built models. Can't remember any that aren't body color (maybe a Chrome one or two). I personally dislike the brass in the middle of a nice paint job.


Alex
Alex Waugh

On the TD I acid etch primed them and painted them. It is an ivory car. On the TF, I just couldn't bear to paint them. The TF is black and I really like the look of the brass with the black paint. I did take 1/4" stainless bolts and grind the head round to make new pins though. Long enough bolts that there was enough unthreaded to cut them off for hinge pins. Once in I lightly peened the bottoms to hold them in. It is your car, and your choice. IMHO chrome does not look right, but that is just me.
-David
D. Sander

Many thanks to you all for your opinions and pictures..
I have decided that,as they need a good clean anyway,I will polish them up and fit them brass.
The eventual new owner can then have the option of leaving them as is,chroming or painting them.
Pilkie

Even though we don't always agree ...we are a friendly lot! LOL
David Sheward

I prefer painted. I have no problem with chrome. It doesn't detract any more than the chrome door handle. Brass is my least favorite, but it looks okay, too.
Carl Floyd

Good question, Dave - my TD 53 is white with green (NTG) interior, and I'm with the "paint it brigade". That said, I'd love to know what is considered the best way of adhering the paint to brass - would it be to sand the brass to about 400 grit, then etch prime, then enamel paint low-baked on while the oven is not being used? John.
J.P. Hall

J.P.
I think you're on the right track, but the use of acrylic enamel, with hardener, is much tougher than ordinary enamel.
Edward
E.B. Wesson

Whatever you paint it with,and however you prep and paint it,unless you dont open the doors,it will eventually chip!
Now if there is/was a way of bonding a layer of paint at the cellular level,like body coloured chrome,then that may just work!
Pilkie

My TF has been in the family since 1955 and we haven't had a chipping problem on the hinges. IMHO brass will not match anything on the car and chrome would be too "Bling". So I'm with the paint brigade 100%!!
Jon
J Harrison

On your point Edward, is that a 2-pack paint you're referring to? - I was thinking of making up a small mix in the touch-up can and, with appropriate precautions against breathing isocyanates, spray the hinges with 2 - pack. That might be the hardest wearing mix to use on the hinges. In which case I'd tidy up the headlamp support brackets while I'm at it! John.
J.P. Hall

If the car is a driver it will get chips on random spots on the car so unless it's a trailer queen I think they should have paint and worry about it no more. It's your car so whatever you want that is what is the correct answer and it will be just fine. We are voting for Gene's car on cool rides and it is far from origional and I love the way it looks so each to his or her own.
Rob Welborne

J.P.
There are four different kinds of multi-part paint here in the U.S....
Acrylic enamel, is just like the old-style paint, in appearance , and can be used with or without a hardener...Adding the hardener to the color, makes it tough,shiney, and chip resistant...There is also a special reducer, which thins the paint, but it is different than the reducer used with what we call, base-coat, clear coat.
BC/CC is a "urethane" paint that is mixed with a urethane reducer (thinner), then a catalyst is added...This paint will not work without the catalyst.
After the color (base) is sprayed, then a clear coat is sprayed over the color, which gives a gloss....
I would not use a two-stage base-coat, clear coat , paint for hinges....(It would cause the hinge to bind).
There is also a "single stage" urethane, which has the clear coat and base coat pre-mixed together...Then reducer and hardener is added.It has a gloss like bc/cc, but is easier to use on small parts..Single stage is what I painted my hinges with....It is easy to apply, and will allow the hinges to operate.
Finally , there is an epoxy paint, which also uses a catalyst, but results in a very tough , almost plastic-like coating...This is usually reserved for primer, but can be had in colors for commercial purposes.
I have not mentioned Water-borne paints, since they require special drying equipment to properly work.
Edward
E.B. Wesson

I should add that all of these paint systems should be used with proper breathing/safety equipment.
Edward
E.B. Wesson

This thread was discussed between 22/01/2013 and 06/02/2013

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