Lotus Grey Block Paint

[Ianashdown]

Can anyone recommend a supplier and color code for the Lotus light grey that was used on the Twin Cam blocks?

I like the Eastwood Ceramic Engine paint very much but I don’t see a color that matches the light grey.

Thank you and happy Thanksgiving!

Ian

[steve lyle]

This is what I use. And no one has ever looked at my block and said “That’s not the right shade of gray”.

https://www.eastwood.com/dupli-color-en ... rZxxnwhegI

[trw99]

Attached is a cutting from Graham Arnold, posted in a long ago issue of Club Lotus News magazine.

Furthermore, QED can still provide a pot of paint for the engine: https://qedmotorsport.co.uk/product/gre ... paint-tin/

Tim

[Ianashdown]

Thank you, I know QED sell the correct color paint, but I’m not sure if shipping to the US is possible.

Ian

[wobblyweb]

My S2 Seven spaceframe is painted Graphite Grey RAL7024 Standard Lotus colour as far as I know. Not sure if it is the engine block colour but looks about right.

[Ianashdown]

Thank you, I know QED sell the correct color paint, but I’m not sure if shipping to the US is possible.

Ian

Courier only from QED

Ian

[2cams70]

I’ve tried previously and QED won’t ship engine paint internationally. If you use a UK based freight forwarder they may be able to do it but likely expensive.

As for Graham Arnold whilst he is a good read I sometimes get the impression he may have stretched the truth a bit on occasions in order to impress an audience. Certainly a skill you need when you work in sales.

[jono]

I was always told it was Massey Ferguson grey with a touch of blue in it.

but I just bought the QED paint and it looks correct

[Ray419G]

I have also heard that "Ferguson Tractor Grey" is a good match for the colour Lotus used on their engines. It was the standard paint used on the Ferguson TE 20 tractors of the 1940s & 1950s and is still widely available in the UK from machinery and agricultural paint suppliers. Having seen a number of restored examples of these tractors, the grey does look close to that used on the engine in my Elan, but I am not sure how widely available it is outside of the UK, but it's another possible line to follow.
Graham Arnold described the colour as "Battleship Grey" but the issue here is that the Royal Navy has used several grey shades over the years, and which they specify depended on what parts of a ship were to be painted. At work our paint shop used both "Light Admiralty Grey" and "Dark Admiralty Grey" for various stuff, but neither of these shades was close to the grey used on my engine.

Ray.

[NickWilmshurst]

I too believe it was Ferguson TE20 paint (which is still available) - I restored a TE20 during lockdown.

The story I was told was that Ferguson got hold of navy surplus paint after the second world war and used it for tractors. They then ran out and switched to red and Ferguson and Massey-Ferguson tractors have been red ever since.

[tonyabacus]

Ian
The story regarding Graham Arnold has a bit of a ring about it as Chapman was always trying to cut corners especially in the early days when money was tight at the factory. The thought of going into town to buy a gallon of Battleship Gray leads me to believe it may well have been a Ral colour which was a widely used standard at that time, with colours in both gray and blue hues, so it may be worth looking through some Ral charts for a match.

I well recall during the sixties when living close to Massey Ferguson, that there was a a contact that supplied a few Lotus dealers and engine building outfits with TE20 tractor paint as this was either the same as, or close enough to the Lotus colour. The TE20 tractor paint I believe was also a RAL colour from memory.

But in the event there are very few people around now at Lotus, who worked on Elans to know the exact colour, although many so called experts exist (especially at Concour events) that claim to be able to distinguish between the different shades of paint used both on the bodywork as well as engine detailing.

So for me I would not get too pedantic about the exact shade so long as it is as close as you can get.
Tony

[Ianashdown]

I’ve decided to not worry about which shade of grey to use on the block of my Twin Cam, which is being build to go in my ‘61 Lotus 7, I’ll be painting it Red!

My 7 was originally white with red interior, dash etc. and this is what it will be again. The red block will compliment this nicely, I think.

Thank you for all the information, I will be using the grey on the engine for my ‘65 S2 Elan which will be a much more correct restoration.

Ian

[greg40green]

Massey Fergusson tractor grey
Find you local tractor dealer .
Although some would dispute the colour as being correct , it does what it says on the tin ie , brush straight on all metal parts.
Good enough to go ploughing , good enough for the Lotus block .

Can anyone recommend a supplier and color code for the Lotus light grey that was used on the Twin Cam blocks?

I like the Eastwood Ceramic Engine paint very much but I don’t see a color that matches the light grey.

Thank you and happy Thanksgiving!

Ian