Bugeye paint- what color where?

[TulsaFred]

My Bugeye is originally Old English White with red interior.

Currently the exterior body is in primer, the interior body is in black, the underside of the bonnet is black, and the engine compartment is red (from a previous red re-paint). The bottom of the car is also black.

So as I prepare to repaint, what color should go where?

body
engine compartment
door jambs
interior body and boot
under dash
underside of car
engine (I've seen a dark "forest" green color and a lighter "mint" green color)
Is the head painted (mine currently isn't, but rest of engine is)
any other tips

thanks!
Fred

 

[smaceng]

Body-OEW
engine compartment-OEW front frame rails, radiator pillars and the front face of the suspension crossmember was sprayed black.
door jambs-OEW
under dash-OEW check if there are any numbers on the back of dashboard, you may not want to paint it.
underside-OEW Black undercoating rear vertical face of the front wheelarches and to the rear wheelarches.
engine darker green...Moss has the color.
Boot space left in brown primer-some paint it all OEW.

This description according to Horler.
Scott in CA

 

[TulsaFred]

Any pics Scott?

Fred

 

[smaceng]

Fred, this is a pic of my car, which has since been completed with a red interior. My tub was painted entirely OEW, which according to Horler, is not what the factory did. My rear wheelwells are painted black with undercoating, the fronts are not. The front frames, etc have not been flsshed black.
All of my cave, the boot, is painted OEW.
Others will have to chime in and verify what Horler said in his book , + what the Concours Document says. and what people have seen in original cars.
Cheers,
Scott in CA

 

[Gerard]

Body-OEW
engine compartment-OEW front frame rails, radiator pillars and the front face of the suspension crossmember was sprayed black.
door jambs-OEW
under dash-OEW check if there are any numbers on the back of dashboard, you may not want to paint it.
underside-OEW Black undercoating rear vertical face of the front wheelarches and to the rear wheelarches.
engine darker green...Moss has the color.
Boot space left in brown primer-some paint it all OEW.

This description according to Horler.
Scott in CA

Scott, if by "under dash" you mean the back of the dashboard, I have never seen the back of an original dash (or the front for that matter) painted body color. Since he dash was vinyl covered, there was no reason to paint it to match. They are always either black or the typical brown primer (can't remember which now, but believe it was black).

 

[Trevor Jessie]

most dashes I've seen are brown primer on the back, with black writing

 

[TulsaFred]

OK
I went back through my digital photos and answered my own question about the back of the dash:
Here are a couple of pics of mine before I "fixed it up".
Looks like Black primer with yellow lettering/handwriting from the factory.

Fred

 

[apbos]

MPH - speedo
w/w -windshield washer
H - heater
R/C - radio cut out???

 

[TulsaFred]

r/c = rev counter

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Bummer. It is official! I'm old and my memory is shot. I just looked back at mine and it was black as well. I guess I need to start referencing things before typing a response.

 

[ichthos]

The back of both of my bugeye dashes were black with writing too. After I welded all the added holes shut, took out dents, sand blasted, epoxy primered and repainted it black, I created a whole new problem by instruments not grounding. Funny you mention the brown primer. The whole inside of the boot looked like someone just stuck their hand in there and fired in brown primer.(On my TR6 they painted the wheels brown primer and only bothered to paint the front of the wheel silver.) A lot of it was bare metal still. I was suprised it protected everything as well as it did. I put bed liner on the bottom and wheel wells and painted them black. Not to be a trouble maker, but I thought Jack said that the entire tub was originally painted the car color, including the bottom, wheel wells, and engine bay?
Kevin

 

[Gerard]

Here are a couple of pics of mine before I "fixed it up".
Looks like Black primer with yellow lettering/handwriting from the factory.
Fred

Yep, that how every one I've ever seen looks. If you are lucky, the crayon is still readable or hasn't been removed/painted over by a previous owner. Besides what equipment was installed, the chassis number is also written on the back. This can sometimes be the source for finding your chassis number when the chassis plates are missing. I had this circumstance on the Bugeye I'm restoring now, but could only read the partial number. Luckily, my RH door plate was still intact and I was able to trace it through BMIHT. Turned out my '59 reg'd car was not even built until June 1960! :hammer:

This is one reason I consider actual model year by build date only, not registration date.

 

[TulsaFred]

Alright,
how practical is it really to paint the engine compartment, underside of the bonnet, and bottom of the car white?

I do plan to drive the car.

The way these motors leak oil coupled with the general issues of grime, oil, dirt, etc in these areas would seem to make white, at best, a temporary result of your painting efforts.

I'm inclined to black out the engine compartment and underside of the car with satin black and paint the interior and exterior in Old English White.

What do you guys think?

Fred

 

[JPSmit]

Mine is white engine compartment and black underneath. If I did it again, I'd do it all white - just because.

For sure do the engine compartment same as the body, it's just right, makes the car look like a proper restoration. to my mind a black compartment looks like someone did it later.

 

[TulsaFred]

I guess you're right J-P, but I'll do it against my better judgment, and all sanity.
Who paints a car white on its underside?

Fred

 

[Gerard]

I'm sure this isn't what you want to hear, but...

I agree with JP... Personally, I hate black engine compartments unless the car is black. Black engine bays on anything else look like and afterthought or that you're hiding something. To me, there's nothing more disappointing than seeing a nicely finished car and then finding flat or satin black paint under the bonnet. If you didn't have the car apart, that would be one thing, but if everything is out, I think you should go for one color. It'll be much more impressive, even it it gets dirty.

If you want to do a different color, do like the racers do and paint a light gray. Either way, if you prep it right, you'll be able to keep it clean. and fresh looking. flat or satin black tends to look more shop worn after a while as it'll show marks and chips easily.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Gerard is that Blue BE with the Supercharger one of your's? Looks fabulous.

 

[Whitephrog]

My engine compartment is OEW. Not a problem to keep clean.

 

[TulsaFred]

OK you guys convinced me, it'll white as the driven snow (well off-white) everywhere the eye can see, and even where it can't.

One problem is that the p.o. seems to have used some undercoat material over the front footwell reinforcement piece, as well as underside of bonnet and wheelwells.

Getting that junk off will be no picnic. I've heard some recommend heat to loosen (either heat lamp or torch) then scrape. Others have recommended a "needle scaler" air tool.

Any thoughts on undercoat removal?

Fred

 

[JPSmit]

I guess you're right J-P, but I'll do it against my better judgment, and all sanity.
Who paints a car white on its underside?

Fred

For me the real issue is the enfine bay, the undrerside can be whatever color you want. For me the mental hurdle was realizing the paint is just as hard white as black, so, yes there will be some chips but mostly you just wash it. Awhile back, Hap (i think) posted some pics of an underbody the same color as the body it looked awesome!