bikesnrovers
bikesnrovers New Reader
2/2/09 7:18 p.m.

So I think I have decided that the GT6 will become Triumph Conifer (PPG color 43232), a dark green that could be considered one of the many BRG. I have always kinda wanted a BRG car, and, by god, I will get one.

However, it seems to me that every car show that I have gone to there is an over abundance of BRG. So as a question, just from your gut feelings, is BRG over done?

(Not that this will change my mind, I am very good about doing that on my own! )

Tad

Tim Baxter
Tim Baxter Online Editor
2/2/09 8:16 p.m.

Probably, but not as much as red.

Hey, they look good in those colors. No wonder people like them.

Shinsen774
Shinsen774 Reader
2/2/09 9:05 p.m.

At the Euro car shows around I see more red than anything, plenty of blue and white, several shades of yellow, a couple of black, those brown Triumphs, and plenty of green also including BRG. I never see too much of any one color. If you like green, paint it green!

ddavidv
ddavidv SuperDork
2/3/09 6:27 a.m.

There are several shades of BRG too, so they aren't all going to look the same.

I'm thinking of redoing the Mini in some sort of darker green color, but not sure if BRG is the shade I'd want. I'm tired of red on everything. We call it 'resale red' for a reason.

rconlon
rconlon Reader
2/3/09 9:16 a.m.

It must be that one or two red cars seems like a whole row but I just don't see that many, even at Italian car shows. There are also many shades of red and often on the same car, like mine. The 850 Mini Clubman, that I drove, was red.

Cheers Ron

aeronca65t
aeronca65t Reader
2/3/09 12:16 p.m.

My Spridget race car is dark green. Many versions of BRG seems too light to me, sort of like the Porsche colour called "Irish green". I like a green that is almost black. Unfortunately, it's hard to keep clean and every little ding shows up (lots of "war scars" on my Spridget)

Actually, my favourite colour for a street car is white. We have a white Miata, a white MGB and we just bought a new, white Accord. They never look as good as a shiney, dark-coloured car, but they never look as bad when they're dirty either. If you don't wash your car every day (and I'm lucky if I do it once a month), white is a practical choice.

I'm planning on painting my A35 sort of a light, dove grey....but that's because I think it will look period-correct and is reasonably close to white.

Bryan
Bryan Reader
2/3/09 2:05 p.m.

I've seen one picture of a MGB GT that was painted a color called Tundra, a OD shade of green. Pretty. Emerald Mica on my ('99) Mk II Miata is pretty with tan top and (custom) black/tan seats. But dark grn is a bitch to get/keep clean here in dusty west Texas. I always thought light, dove gray was nice but uncommon color for a sports car. Like a Wedgewood blue TR 4A or Pat Moss driving a red/white Austin Healey 3000 you can't go wrong with a drk grn GT 6.

mattmacklind
mattmacklind SuperDork
2/3/09 3:52 p.m.

In reply to null: I agree on white. the color white really brings out the lines of a car and for a smaller car it can make it look a bit fuller or larger. My white BGT looks larger than a BRG BGT when they are parked next to each other.

Who wants an LBC that looks big? I don't know, but the color makes it look a bit broader in the shoulder for some reason, so I dig it. My Jetta is white, too.

mptreb
mptreb New Reader
2/3/09 4:34 p.m.

I like a color on a classic that expresses something about the appeal of the car.

BRG, or even the right red, can say something about the history -- BMC ran competition cars in red, for example; or BRG for the "classic sportscar" angle.

Pale primrose or wedgewood blue -- or, a decade later, lime green and aubergine -- speak to the era of the car.

White can be interesting, depending on the car. But it's also very "plain" looking. I took my MGB from white to BRG. I now wish I'd gone to a more interesting color, but I've grown so used to this car being BRG -- it's now been this color almost as long as it was white -- that I wouldn't change it. I have a white Jetta, too, and it looks like a marshmallow.

In answer to the OP: yes, BRG is overdone. But it's also great looking. And chances are that you spend most of your time outside of british car shows -- in which case, BRG will be exceedingly rare.

Tim Baxter
Tim Baxter Online Editor
2/3/09 5:04 p.m.

Aeronca, MG's Grampian Gray was also used by other BMC divisions and would be absolutely correct. May be darker than what you want, but maybe not.

Bryan, Tundra is almost exactly the color of pea soup. Not good, but kinda cool in a funky 70s sort of way.

Bryan
Bryan Reader
2/3/09 5:25 p.m.

Tim thanks for the correction. The color I saw on the GT was kinda like the OD on Honda Ridgelines, which I like. I didn't look like pea soup, thank goodness!

Sownman
Sownman New Reader
2/3/09 6:55 p.m.

British Racing Green was the national competition color hence the abundance of British racing and sports cars in BRG.

I've never owned a BRG car but have always wanted one. I recently purchased a Tiger and the Carnival Red (Get Smart colors) was my first choice but I would also have enjoyed one in BRG. I think BRG and biscuit leather is a great choice.

If you are unable to make up your mind you can always paint the TR according to it's factory color code.

Steve

Carson
Carson HalfDork
2/3/09 7:42 p.m.

I like BRG, one of my favorite colors. I've never owned a car in BRG though.

Silver is definitely overdone but that doesn't stop countless Camrys, Accords, Civics, Minivans, etc. you see in silver.

My Miata is silver only because it was the cleanest one I found, I wasn't looking for a silver car, I wanted a white one. Same reason the Chrysler is blue, the MR2 is red, and the wife's Accord is purple, I would prefer that they were all white. Of all my cars, I do feel the silliest in the red MR2.

Tim Baxter
Tim Baxter Online Editor
2/3/09 7:52 p.m.

Funny thing about colors, now that I think about it. I don't like white cars, but I have owned at least six of them. Somehow they keep turning up in my driveway.

dougie
dougie New Reader
2/3/09 10:54 p.m.

Look, if you own a "Classic British Sports Car" make it BRG. Aston Martin, Jaguar, MG, Austin-Healey, even Triumph all had their own individual shades, but make no mistake they were all dark green. They weren't Ferrari Red, Mercedes Silver, or Bugatti Blue. Just my opinion.<a href="J1600x1200-04059"><a href="J1600x1200-04053"><a href="'67 Beacon Rock">

aeronca65t
aeronca65t Reader
2/4/09 6:50 a.m.

Tim:

I've seen the Grampian Gray on an MGC-GT. It's a bit too dark for me. In fact. it's the same colour as the ~Ford Freestar~ minivan that I tow with. I dislike the colour of the Freestar, but it was only $17,300 brand new, so I wasn't too concerned.

I was thinking of a grey more like ~THIS~

I'm sure most of you know this, but there are various official colours used for cars from different countries. The official motor racing colour for Jordan is brown...who knew?

~International Motor Racing Colours~

For truly creative painting (like it or not), nothing tops the Andy Warhol BMW "art cars". The #76 car below finished 6th at LeMans. Warhol painted it with a brush and his fingers....it took him 23 minutes.

A non-Warhol BMW art car.

Tim Baxter
Tim Baxter Online Editor
2/4/09 6:55 a.m.

I can't remember the name of it (maybe Dove Gray!) but I seem to recall an earlier, lighter Gray during the MGA era. I've only seen one, but I think that's the one you're after. Looks just like the Austin you posted.

ddavidv
ddavidv SuperDork
2/4/09 7:29 a.m.

The Healey in the bottom picture a few posts up is probably the color I was considering for the Mini. I'm a bit surprised by the love for white (Baxter excluded...he's not normal anyway). I've found white to be an excellent color for hobby cars as it hides many sins of amateur bodywork except in the most bright daylight, doesn't show the dirt much, and is one of the cheaper colors to buy. OTOH, there are 4 million shades of it and getting a color match for a repair can be a PITA. I don't dislike my Mini in white, I think I'd just prefer it in another color. But, I may take the lazy way out vs a color change and just respray it white again (with a black roof, natch). Maybe that could be a survey for the future, What Color Should David Paint His Mini?

aeronca65t
aeronca65t Reader
2/4/09 7:47 a.m.

For the Mini-

Paint the entire car checkerboard, like the nose and tail of the car below.

You'll only need half the amount of paint.

spitfirebill
spitfirebill HalfDork
2/4/09 12:03 p.m.

I like the dark BRG that Jaguar used on the D type race cars. I always thought a TR3, 4 and GT6 would look good in that color.

My Spitfire was Signal Red originally, so that is what it went back to. I seriously considered doing it BRG.

It seems all colors are overdone when I am considering what color to paint a car. At one time everything was getting painted in Old English white. Then BRG and then red. Well my new car is Carmine, so I guess I will be painting it that color. I would go BRG, but this is only going to be a exterior reshoot.

TR3only
TR3only New Reader
2/4/09 4:24 p.m.

BRG is probably no more overused on a British classic car, that red is overused on an Italian classic sports car. However, my cousin once owned a white GT6+ and that "seems" to me to be a very prevalent color....depending on year. Older (60s) GT6s seem to often be that light blue, while the last GT6s seem to be painted that "ButterScotch" yellow/orange color.

I think that the older GT6s look great in red, as it looks more like a "mini XKE" that way. (You rarely see old photos of Jaguar sport cars in BRG, the sedans? yes, the sports cars? no.)

Dr. Hess
Dr. Hess SuperDork
2/4/09 8:10 p.m.

This:

is Rustoleum Hunter Green, shot with a $10 HF HVLP gun. I did a coupon first and passed it around my English car club, British Iron Touring Club of Northwest Arkansas, and asked "Is this BRG?" Everyone there said it looked like BRG to them, including people who have been working on them for 50+ years.

Andy Reid
Andy Reid Auction Editor
2/17/09 8:35 p.m.

I love BRG on classic and even modern British cars. My Bentley Brooklands was BRG with spruce green seats and spruce creen carpets. It was a stunning car. Like Picard might say "Make it Green."

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
2/19/09 12:30 a.m.

How about Almond Green as found on classic Minis? I love that color.

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