The 'E' Type Forum

Series 1 FHC 1967
Full restoration in progress and now need to decide what colour.
Flirted with going for burnt orange with a red and black fleck but after a Gin and Tonic settled on Opalescent Gunmetal.
Have taken the colour code from the knowledge base but my body shop can't seem to make it work or find anybody to supply it.
Can anybody either give me the up to date code or,better still the details of anyone who can supply it.
Any help appreciated.
Charles Atha.

Gunmetal was not a factory color for 1967....'61-64 only. The originality police will have you drawn and quartered.

The code for OG on XKE data is not valid. Glasurit's RM Diamont paint line does have a listing/formula in the U.S. (base/clear only). I'm sure their product help line can find it for you.

What colour was the car originally from Jaguar ?

Not bothered about the originality police. Just like the colour.!
What would they make of burnt orange.
The car started life, in the USA, as Opalescent Dark Green.
Could go to the states if necessary but surely someone in the UK can supply it.?
All help appreciated.
Charles .

Everything we know about paint codes is here: http://www.myetype.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=951

There were 9 S1 4.2's painted Gunmetal by the Factory according to Clausager. Gunmetal is a lovely colour but I would think twice about using it on an E-Type based on Angus's experiences with his car. It simply melts into the road surface making the car difficult to see for other drivers who already don't equate the shape and diminutive size from the front as any kind of threat. If you are determined to go ahead with Gunmetal I suggest you fit daylight running LED's to avoid some scary moments. This is what Angus has done so contact him for details.

As of a few years ago the code for OG in the U.S. R-M computer listing was CL524047. It was available only in the Diamont base/clear line. The "Solution ID" was WH222923, but I know there was a minor change to the mix ingredients about two years ago when I ordered a spare quart....so the mix does have a minor change...not sure if that changed the ID number. According to their web site, R-M sells paint in the UK. Suggest you contact them via their "help" tab or try to call them...that's what I did as this code does not come up on their on-line color search tool (it never did). By the way, according to the shop that painted my car, the Diamont paint line is extremely easy to apply and I believe it looks spectacular.

If you search "opalescent gumetal code" on Jag Lovers you will find this information in an old discussion.

If you ring Andy Rayner at Hutson's 01274 669052 he will tell you where ( and if ) it can be obtained, as he has painted at least 2 in Gunmetal. Be prepared for a shock, however : 7 years ago the OSB paint for mine ( materials only ) cost £ 1500 . I'm afraid that the US guides are unrepresentative : the real stuff is only available here, and even here you see quite a number of so-called gunmetal cars which are actually painted in the easily available Audi shades which are definitely blacker than the real thing, which when you see it has a faint pink tinge

Incidentally, do heed Heuer's warning. Some years ago I picked up a Gunmetal car with a friend, and within the first 15 minutes we had two experiences where people pulled out from junctions in front of us, and this was on a sunny day

christopher storey wrote: I'm afraid that the US guides are unrepresentative : the real stuff is only available here, and even here you see quite a number of so-called gunmetal cars which are actually painted in the easily available Audi shades which are definitely blacker than the real thing, which when you see it has a faint pink tinge.

The R-M code I provided was originally obtained from Dan Mooney at Classic Jaguar in Austin, Texas. I assure you Classic Jaguar uses the "the real stuff". The paint has the proper pink/purplish tinge.

I don't wish to be argumentative about this but the paints supplied in the USA are quite different from those which were originally supplied in the UK and used by Jaguar, which, amongst other differences, were not clear over base paints. The unfortunate fact is that paint technology has changed a great deal over the last 50 years , and whilst it is still possible sometimes to obtain authentic cellulose based paints here in the UK, the paint that you have mentioned does not conform to that specification

Ahhh, by "real" you mean the original 1960's chemical makeup. The OP was inquiring as to color code. The code I provided provides the correct factory color and hue. Glasurit/R-M have brought the original color into the 21st century. If I was after an old tech single stage paint, I'd start with a color sample of the R-M product, and then have a shop color match it in the old technology. Best chance of getting it correct.

Charles....sent you a PM

FWIW, I believe the paint used on mine was Glasurit - and pretty darned funky it looks too.

I also feel the need - on a forum that usually prides itself on its empirical observations - to indulge in a Crespin-like bout of laying to rest some of the old wives' tales about cars leaping out at you. Were the owners of the offending leaping cars quizzed as to the reason for their ineptitude? Were all other possible factors ruled out? Were the incidents later reconstructed using a non-Gunmetal E-type as a control?

All I can say is that in more than two years of ownership I've experienced no such problems, and in fact from the number of people who toot, and wave, and give me the big thumbs up as I drive by, I assume most people can actually see me perfectly well

And as final evidence, the longest surviving E-type on the road today is painted Gunmetal - and is still with us long after all those lurid turquoise and heather cars of the Seventies have long made their way to the great scrapyard in the sky

So. QED. My case is rested. Ignore the naysayers and content yourself instead in painting your car as you intend and Looking Fabulous At All Times as a result.

Well, Simon, you are very lucky . Long may it continue . As for empiricism, there is actually a good deal of research about visibility of cars . I seem to remember Mercedes brochures of the 1980s reproduced some of it with their colour charts, and interestingly IIRC the most visible colour in daylight was bright yellow and the least visible colour was indigo . I can't remember what the equivalents in the dark were although bright orange may have been the most visible . I can only relate the experiences that I , and I think one or two others, have had with Gunmetal ( a colour I love incidentally ) , which I regard as more than a coincidence

Well the only bit of well-founded empirical research on colour choice I'm aware of is that red cars are fastest (although paradoxically the fastest colour for a van is white....)

I am of course being slightly tongue-in-cheek - and despite the fact that I've experienced no problems in good lighting conditions, I'm very conscious that is a downpour I'm a dark grey shiny object sitting on a dark grey shiny road surface (one more thing added to my list of Reasons Not To Take The Car Out In A Downpour)!

And as if to prove a point, some numpty has managed to drive into the side of my wife's stationary non-Gunmetal (light silver blue) Renault Scenic in a car park this afternoon. Moral of the story: They're out there whatever car and whatever colour you drive!

I've repainted my E in Gunmetal Grey. I used Cromax as the paint supplier, and their relevant code is J 1052.

The Cromax website for a while was 'open' and allowed private individuals to access the paint recipe, which I duly did and have it stored if anyone is interested. The website has now closed that feature and you need to be a registered user / paintshop to get access.

The colour is stunning, especially in sunshine. It's much warmer and more pleasant that any other modern grey that abounds in the modern parking lots. I get lot's of positive comments on the paint hue.

I've not been run over yet, maybe it's due to Scandavia having legislated DRL for the last decades. And in practice DRL means main lights on most cars over here.

Thanks for all your comments.
Andy Raynor has done the business.
Will take on board the views about led running lights.
Charles.

Would this be the correct color represented here? With a red interior it looks really stunning:
https://www.erclassics.com/classic-cars ... 962-j5210/

I have photos of four or five cars in OG (including 9600HP), but they are all taken in natural light. This car is shaded very slightly more toward silver than any of them (or mine). But the lighting really affects OG, so it's difficult to say for sure.

Ralph : the car on my screen looks nothing like genuine Gunmetal : it is far too cold a shade, with a blueish tinge . The genuine article is notable for a very faint pinkish tinge rather like the sky in the very early dawn