Paint code

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164
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Joined: Tue Nov 22, 2011 12:51 pm

Paint code

Post by 164 »

Hi, I have a friend who is restoring a 1981 Safari Station Wagon, which was converted to a Fire Appliance when new. These vehicles were supplied to the Coach builder in their original factory white paint finish and were repainted In red before sale to the Fire Service. Does anyone know the paint code for the original factory white colour? Any assistance would be appreciated - Cheers
Cliff4WD
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Re: Paint code

Post by Cliff4WD »

Not aware of a "factory white" for S3 Stage 1 other than Limestone (No. 7). Presumably if they were supplied for painting they may have been in white primer?
Cliff

1981 109 V8 Stage 1
2000 Discovery 2 Td5

109 V8: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2161
My Disco Thread: http://www.thed2boysclub.co.uk/viewtopi ... =3&t=58130

LAND ROVER. TURNING OWNERS INTO PAUPERS FOR 70 YEARS
164
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Re: Paint code

Post by 164 »

Thanks for the reply - There are a number of areas of white visible in the interior & under the bonnet of my sister vehicle & it’s definitely a gloss finish. It appears to be closer to a true white than Limestone, but i’ll try to make a comparison - Cheers
map1275
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Re: Paint code

Post by map1275 »

All arctic white (the standard roof colour) is quite possible and was a standard mono-colour.

Complete vehicles weren't supplied less colour.
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Geoff
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Re: Paint code

Post by Geoff »

In his Land Rover Series 3 Specification Guide, James Taylor states, "Vehicles supplied for finishing elsewhere (for example, by conversion specialists) left the factory with the body panels finished in Primer, which was a matt white undercoat." He makes no mention of arctic white, as a standard colour or at all - I believe it is a later colour - Series 3 roofs, including Stage 1, were Limestone.
2 1981 Stage One 109 V8 SWs
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map1275
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Re: Paint code

Post by map1275 »

So the entire vehicle is assembled, in primer, just so someone else can disassemble it in order to paint, including drilling out all those pop rivets? Otherwise to arrive at the tide-mark used car finish, painting up to the edges. Creating paintwork that wouldn't be covered by new car warranty and potentially be below standards for a new vehicle.

Unless being supplied as a chassis/scuttle, I really doubt a complete vehicle in primer. The industry standard to this day is a generic base colour. For a complete exterior change this is typically white.
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Geoff
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Re: Paint code

Post by Geoff »

Well, James Taylor said it, not me. He could be wrong (it's not unknown) I note 164 says above that "There are a number of areas of white visible in the interior & under the bonnet of my sister vehicle & it’s definitely a gloss finish." So that fits with what you say is the industry standard. If it was Arctic White, the paint code for that is LRC273 - see here:

https://paintman.co.uk/product-category ... nt-whites/

where it says it was used 1972 to 1985 approx - which also fits with what you're saying, as James Taylor doesn't list any white at all as a standard colour for Series 3 production (and I'm assuming these paint codes did not refer to primers)
2 1981 Stage One 109 V8 SWs
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map1275
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Re: Paint code

Post by map1275 »

But of course if we had a viable vehicle register...
map1275
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Re: Paint code

Post by map1275 »

Back to the original post;
certainly in the case of BMC-A and LA: delivered new, fire service vehicles could be found in a factory applied red finish (typically not a special order colour) and thus applied everywhere gloss paint normal goes,
or,
in whatever generic colour of the day (the next vehicle in the holding yard), with a subsequent, high quality, exterior only, repaint in red. This provided by some non-factory source. Always leaving a the original colour visible within.

The exception being when many of the rural brigades bought ex-military Land-Rovers and Internationals. Their re-colouring in red usually matched army standards of paint everything, using whatever is to hand (broom, newspaper, mashed-up end of a stick...). Plus the white stripes and reflective tape.

The better question to ask in the case of the original post is whether the vehicles were special order ie. chassis/scuttle or just generic models? As it is frequently easier/cheaper/profitable/quicker to take a standard line item and modify it later, than wait to create something new via additional/differing processes applied to the same assembly line.
map1275
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Re: Paint code

Post by map1275 »

Finally acquired a copy of the James Taylor book.
Of course I skipped to the CKD bit, to find that the summaries of Australian 3.5 and 3.9D bare an uncanny resemblance to articles I'd written a couple of year prior to this publication. Just a little disappointing.
disco2hse
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Re: Paint code

Post by disco2hse »

Unfortunately, all too common.

Write up blurb on http://bit.ly/2JGGyGB states:
Land Rover Series III Specification Guide

5 (1 rating by Goodreads)
Hardback English
By (author) James Taylor
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The Series III Land Rovers enjoyed a long production run of nearly fifteen years, taking over from the Series IIA types in 1971. The book follows it predecessor, Land Rover Series II and IIA Specification Guide, in trying to establish how its subject vehicles would have been when they were new. Compiled over a period of more than thirty years, the book draws on extensive reference material from Land Rover itself, and on the observations and knowledge of an army of enthusiasts.


With or without their knowledge.
Alan

1983 ex-army FFR 109 Stage 1
2005 Disco 2 HSE TD5
Glen
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Re: Paint code

Post by Glen »

Factory white is definitely an option, though it doesn't seem to feature in the brochures much. Maybe that's because fleet operators who'd want it tend to do special order where as the brocures designed to sell more to the private buyer go for something more exciting (or at least more photogenic for the sales material)? As for other markets I'd imagine that a fair number of vehicles destined for the middle east (which I suspect would have all been stage 1's in the early 80's) would have been white as they tend to favor that colour out there to reflect as much heat as possible.

I know this because mine IS factory white. I think it was owned by a water board and was special order being a utility SW with heavy duty steering and suspension (again, not mentioned in the brochure/price lists that I've seen but they are mentioned in the parts/options book).
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As to whether the shade is called Arctic white, I don't really know, though I suspect it is. I've just ordered some from paintman though to do some touching up so I guess I'll find out! I'll let you know how well it matches, though thats never easy on an old vehicle as:-
- paint fades,
- mine has obviously been repainted on the outside in the past
- modern paint isn't generally made from the same stuff you could get back then so it'll weather in a different way
White can be quite tricky in this respect as what looks okay in the daylight can artifical light sources very differently, so I'll probubly be happy with 'near enough in daylight' - it'll look better than rust spots and the grime should blend it in.
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