British Racing Green

[kevh]

I will shortly be having my roadster painted and was thinking of having it BRG, it has already had two colour changes over the years, I don't like the original colour so that's not an option.
Thing is, when I see some cars in BRG they look superb and realy "pop" while others look a little drab, will this be purely down to age or is it due to a "different" BRG being used? Are some non Jaguar BRG's a better option? I guess the fact it is not a genuine Jaguar colour would only be obvious when veiwed alongside the original.

[mgcjag]

Kev...there are numerous BRG,s.......only way to be sure your getting the colour you want is to have samples made up.....or find a car thats already painded a colour you like and ask what paint and mix code was used......then again get samples made.....Steve

[Gfhug]

Steve is correct. Green was adopted by Britain back in the early days of racing, think of the Blower Bentleys at Le Mans. With the French having blue, the Italians red, but it was whatever green came to hand.

Choose whichever you like (ODB? )

Geoff

[44DHR]

The original Jaguar British Racing Green is quite a dark green.
My car is the Lotus BRG such as used on the Lotus 49 of Jim Clark from my childhood.
Quite a few people ask what colour it is and have had their cars painted in it.

It is quite a bright green in the sunlight :-



A bit in the shade here :-



Regards,
Dave

[kevh]

Very nice Dave, is the Lotus BRG metallic or flat?

[44DHR]

Hi Kev,
The Lotus BRG is a non metallic paint.
Regards,
Dave

[Ash]

Lots to consider when repainting your car which will effect the outcome, so its important you know these things before any paint goes on. It doesn't help that we can see more shades of green than any other colour - but that's another conversation

Green is one of those colours that can vary quite a bit between paint manufacturers. Most of them will have a modern paint code for 1971-74 Jaguar British Racing Green but there will be differences in the colours, also if the person mixing the paint for you does not do it absolutely correctly the colour will change.

What system of paint are you going to use? You can go for a direct gloss paint or a base coat system that requires a clear lacquer coat over it. Generally modern paint (2k) systems are much more shiny than the alkyd system used originally on the s3 E type so if you want less shine your painter can add some matting agent if you want. A good painter should be able to show and talk you through this and could do some spray outs on card for you to consider.

[MaroonV12]

No such shade as BRG as someone has already said.
The E Type colour was opalescent dark green. The codes do exist but you can’t find a manufacturer who can supply to them. I just had mine painted in opalescent (a reflective Sandy grain rather than metallic particles) which looks fantastic. I chose from four or five swatches and compared them to the original paint on the inner sills which had never been faded.
Very pleased with the result. Sunlight and shade change the colour quite dramatically.

[angelw]

MaroonV12 Wrote:

No such shade as BRG as someone has already said.
The E Type colour was opalescent dark green.

There are many Dark Greens that are refereed to as British Racing Green and indeed there are paint formulas that are specific to Dark Green Colours that were used on Jaguar cars and referred to as British Racing Green.

I comprehend your comment "The E Type colour was opalescent dark green" meaning that the Dark Green used on E Types was only ever a metallic dark green. Not so, there were various shades of solid dark green that were labeled British Racing Green used on E Type Jaguars; the same as there were many variations of Signal Red used throughout the years on Jaguar Cars. All documented.

Ash Wrote:

Generally modern paint (2k) systems are much more shiny than the alkyd system used originally on the s3 E type so if you want less shine your painter can add some matting agent if you want.

Off the gun, modern paint systems have a more gloss finish, irrespective of whether its two or single pack system, than the paint systems used circa the time of the E Type. However, once cut and polished, there is little difference.

@kevh
A paint finish that included a flattening agent will change over time with polishing, even with low levels of flattening agent. Accordingly, I suspect that you will be disappointed with the result.

As there are a myriad of Dark Greens labelled British Racing Green, just select any Dark Green that you like, have your car painted that colour and call it British Racing Green; no one will be able to dispute it. The fact is, if you were to take a car of any colour and have the colour identified using a Spectrometer Auto Paint Color matching System, the resulting colour is likely to be from a totally different make of vehicle.

We recently completed a restoration on an S1 2+2, where the client had selected the Dark Green labelled Neo Green used on the MX5 sports car. Now that its on his E Type, he calls it BRG.



Regards,

Bill

[kevh]

That Mazda green is an interesting colour Bill, a friend also suggested MG BRG, I have certainly decided what is today called "Jaguar BRG" is too dark for me.

What are your views on using metallic on a '73 car?

My car won't be ready for painting for a month or three so I have plenty of food for thought, there is always signal red

[angelw]

Kev Wrote:

What are your views on using metallic on a '73 car?

Opalescent Dark Green (Metallic Dark Green) was a standard colour used on E Types from 1961 to 67 and was basically metallic BRG. The level of metallic was mild and appealing in my eye.

The Metallic Dark Green used on the current crop of Jaguar cars is a very coarse metallic and plenty of it. To my eye, that much Bling doesn't suit the style of the E Type. The metallic dark green used on the earlier E Type was not a standard colour for the S3, but would be a good match up for the S3 in my opinion.

Regards,

Bill

[AussieEtype]

Kev Wrote:

What are your views on using metallic on a '73 car?

Opalescent Dark Green (Metallic Dark Green) was a standard colour used on E Types from 1961 to 67 and was basically metallic BRG. The level of metallic was mild and appealing in my eye.

The Metallic Dark Green used on the current crop of Jaguar cars is a very coarse metallic and plenty of it. To my eye, that much Bling doesn't suit the style of the E Type. The metallic dark green used on the earlier E Type was not a standard colour for the S3, but would be a good match up for the S3 in my opinion.

Regards,

Bill

Hi Bill and welcome back to posting on the forum. I hope you are now well and you and your family had a great Christmas

To my eye any metallic except for silver and gunmetal does not look right on an E-Type and a generic BRG should be non metallic.

Garry

[angelw]

Garry Wrote:

Hi Bill and welcome back to posting on the forum. I hope you are now well and you and your family had a great Christmas

To my eye any metallic except for silver and gunmetal does not look right on an E-Type and a generic BRG should be non metallic.

Thanks Garry, likewise and all the best to you and your family for the New Year.

It would seem we have a similar taste; I much prefer solid colours except for Silver and Gunmetal. The metallic in the original Opalescent Dark Green used on the early E Type was very mild and didn't look out of place, but a well executed non metallic Dark Green, BRG, call it what you will, is hard to beat.

Best regards,

Bill

[Ash]

"Jaguar BRG" is too dark for me.

The early Jaguar BRG was very dark but the colour used on the S3 was much lighter - similar to MG BRG.

[angelw]

Ash Wrote:

The early Jaguar BRG was very dark but the colour used on the S3 was much lighter - similar to MG BRG.

Of the 15,498 combined production of S1 3.8L OTS and FHC cars, only 42 were painted BRG at the factory, with most cars thought to have been BRG in fact were Opalescent Dark Green. Accordingly, 10, 20, 30, 50 years on, it would be tantamount to a lottery if you were to actually see an original BRG early car.

I've seen only one early E Type that was truly original in its original BRG and I wouldn't class is as being "very dark".

Personally, I prefer the very dark, so called, BRG.

Regards,

Bill

[Series1 Stu]

It's amazing how things get more complicated with the passing of time.

40 years or so ago, I chose to change the colour of my white MK2 Cortina 1500GT after a rebuild.

I went to my local paint supplier and asked for British Racing Green and was given the choice of 2 shades, 1 darker than the other. Both were solid colours. I chose the darker of the 2. Only cellulose, of course.

Car is still registered and on the road and is still the same colour.

Regards

[Ash]

I believe the early dark BRG was carried over from the C and D-Type racing cars and was used on S1 3.8 and 4.2 cars. Opalescent Dark Green is quite a lot different.

Look at 77RW which is a good reference.

Regards

[Ash]

Jaguar E Type S3 correct BRG. Nice colour suits the car.


Opalescent Dark Green

[Series1 Stu]

Except 77RW isn't in its original paint. If I remember correctly it was restored around 2001. Looks great though.

Regards

[angelw]

Ash Wrote:

Look at 77RW which is a good reference.

Its quite difficult to compare paint colours on different days, different locations and in different light conditions. The prevailing light conditions of the pictures of 77RW and the S3 appear to be quite different. And 77RW, as Stuart points out, has been restored.

The colour of the Bonnet in the picture in my Post #9 looks quite different to the one below. These pictures were taken seconds apart, using the same camera and clearly in the same light conditions but with areas on the bonnet below in a shadow of itself.



In bright sunlight, the completed car looks more the colour shown in Post #9 and very, very dark out of the sunlight.

Opalescent Dark Green isn't all that different to many example of BRG, only its metallic. Also with metallic paint, a myriad of different shades can be got out of the one and same spray gun pot of paint, just by varying the spraying technique.

Regards,

Bill