Paint

[TurbineHeli]

So, it there more than one 'classic/vintage' British Racing Green color??
What was used on the Elan back in the day? What would one choose in the 21st century?

And on the topic of paint, what about the front/rear things?...Can't really call them bumpers, etc. as they are purely decorative...

[AHM]

Yes there are 4 different BRGs used by Lotus at that time so check the colour against the original or a swatch - I got the wrong one going by the number alone - much too yellow.

The original bumper and wheel colour is better described as Aluminium.

Old cellulose metallics aren't great and modern paint with a clear coat creates a completely different effect. Best advice I had was to choose a nice bright silver. I used a standard silver BC05 or something.

[Elan45]

The BRG used on S1 and S2 models came from Jaguar and is also close to that used on Ford Cortina late 60s.

The Ser 3 and early S4 Elans got their BRG color from same year MGBs and Austin Healey 3000.

Roger

[Grizzly]

As above...... Had a quick look at our colour library and we have three Lotus British racing greens of the 1970ish era, scary thing is each one has at least 6 variants and they look quite radically different.

I guess it all depends on what year/Series Elan your looking at and how accurate you want the shade (do you have a patch/area of original paint that can be used to tint the new paint??)

I can't really comment on the Lotus BRG but i know the Jaguar version tends to always come out on the light/yellow side so i tend to start with the darker greener shades. What ever you do don't just get the standard shade, spend a bit of time going through the shades and get a couple sprayed out on larger cards before you decide.

Sorry probably not much help.......

[trw99]

ICI Code P0302539 Jaguar Racing Green was used on some early 26s. It is not the same as L01

Lotus colour code LO 01 is British Racing Green, as used on the Elan by the factory Oct 62 - Oct 70. Lotus part no. A036B6315V, ICI code P0302854, Pinchin Johnson code PJ 6170Y2790 (Lotus touch up part no BF4758), Nexa Autocolor code 2854, PPG code LOT0050, Glasurit code L01

It was a Jaguar colour. Jaguar used three variants of BRG throughout the 1960s, Spruce Green is the correct one ? apparently!

Tim

[Grizzly]

Thats interesting...... not saying your wrong as different paint manufactures tend to use different names but i have two Jag colours (60-70) Sherwood Green and British Racing green (there is a dark opalescent green too but that looks nothing like BRG). The first Spruce green i can find is 1989? but doesn't mean they didn't use a much older Jag colour either as our records start at 1955.

Sure it's not MG Spruce green? i have that going back to 1961 but it's much lighter.

[trw99]

It was a few years ago I researched the colour charts, Chris. From memory the Jaguar info in my last sentance came from a Jag forum. Hence the 'apparently'!

Tim

[Grizzly]

Funny thing is Jaguar BRG is the colour i most use on a day to day basis (very common) and anything pre Lead ban is very tricky to get acceptable, i defiantly wouldn't expect it to be anywhere near first attempt and thats after i have been through the 9 totally different BRG codes with over 50 shade variants (just direct gloss not metallic)

If it was me and it wasn't LO 01, i'd get a colour custom tinted (assuming you have some of your old paint left on a panel) sack trying to go through codes if you want it to look 'As factory' because early colours are never right (just a starting point) but one thing that is important is making sure who ever tints your colour records the formula and product used (so you can mix up as much as you want) here in the Uk having a colour formulated for you can cost between ?20-80 depending on how much of a Pain it is to do.

[TurbineHeli]

On the plus side, my body is now completely stripped and in primer so no color matching issues. Are there any current UK cars offered with traditional BRG?

[trw99]

Yep, none other than the Jaguar F Type, available in BRG.

You could also chose a Range Rover in either Special BRG with ChromaFlair or BRG with Xirallic!

Tim

[661]

I saw a lovely BRG on an Elan and asked the owner for the paint code. Described as Lotus Racing Green NF8044. Unsure if I'll be able to find it when the time comes, but I'll certainly be looking to get a card painted in it if possible.