engine paint colour

[wibble_puppy]

interesting info from Jon at ESM today:

Apparently BMC used at least three different shades of green on their A series engines. ESM stock one of those shades. There may, therefore, not be one single "correct" colour for A series engines.

*ponders*

Just thought I'd share

wibble xx

[aupickup]

well the morris minor went through grey,blue and black for austin and bmc green, i know of only one shade, and the one that esm stock is to bright, from their aerosol cans and the tin one is a different shade although a closer match to the original
if esm thinks that there was 3 then why do they stock the hideous green one in their spray cans

[wibble_puppy]

think there could be a useful conversation opened up with them

[les]

I bought two cans of engine green from the company that Wibble used a while back ( I think it was wibble) when the paint arrived I managed to cover the engine (mini) with one tin, apart from one small area which I started the second tin on. The colour was so different that I had to paint the whole thing again! Quality control is just a theory!

[aupickup]

ah i know, lets all pretend we have austin engines and paint them black

[dunketh]

I painted mine red.
Why?
Because I had some left in the shed and I like red.

As long as it powers my car I couldn't care less what colour it is.

Interesting to know there may be 3 potential right answers on this one though - its going to turn the concours world on its head!

[Kevin]

I think RogerRust found a source that was a very good match.

[wibble_puppy]

yeah, i found one, too, kevin - an MG spares place near me (see "Useful Tips" section)

But the point I'm making here is that according to ESM there are at least three shades which were used on original engines, apparently without any rhyme or reason.

[wibble_puppy]

I bought two cans of engine green from the company that Wibble used a while back ( I think it was wibble) when the paint arrived I managed to cover the engine (mini) with one tin, apart from one small area which I started the second tin on. The colour was so different that I had to paint the whole thing again! Quality control is just a theory!

that's a bit rubbish isn't it! Hope you had a conversation with the supplier, les

[aupickup]

asfaik there was only one shade of green for engines, there were different shades for other bmc a series engiunes on the mini as example

[les]

Hope you had a conversation with the supplier, les

Well actually I didn't, I've now got to the point where I accept these incidents as the norm, of course there are occasions when I get a result, the suprise making it more sweet!

[IaininTenbury]

Seen a few different shades on original engines - some 948s are a much lighter shade of green (when I say much I don't mean a light green, just a lighter shade), then theres the more usual dark green thats very similar to Land Rover deep bronze green (subtle hint about a cheap source of green enamel there!), and others, mainly later ones can be darker still.
Realistically, from the manufacturers point of view, its hugely unlikely that the same shade of green would have been maintained over a period of 15 years or so. Paint suppliers may have changed in that time, and batches would certainly have varied, especially on a non colour critical item such as the engine.

When I worked for Record Tools, we had problems keeping the dark blue and the light blue of the Gilbow tinsnips constant when seeking other paint suppliers, and that was deemed to be important for the brand image.

[Matt]

I bought my engine paint from a supplier at the Mini London to Brighton, I think its a pretty good match for other engines I have seen. I think it came from Minispeed

[overider]

I think this is time we had a show of.... ENGINES!!

hears one of mine

is this the correct green???

[millerman]

Which B & Q gloss paint is the correct green?

[overider]

Just me then I guess you must all be shy