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Colors,on the Lotus Badge

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Westfield_XI

Westfield_XI

Jedi Warrior
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Does anyone know the precise tint of the yellow and green used on the Lotus Badge? I am planning on painting the yellow gelcoat on my eleven replica that specific yellow with that specific green stripes. I am having a lot of trouble finding the right shades.
 
Well, the green has always ~appeared~ to be BRG. The yellow has been different at different times. Less "yellow" was rare but not unknown...

As for ~exact~ color match, p'raps Pantone numbers would have been used for the badge rather than automotive paint code?

...and ya know what a bucket o' worms this could open up, right? :jester:

This may see me taking a badge to the local paint & body supply guy and seeing if he can match and I.D. the colors.

I always wanted to find a 26R (after passing ONE by... LotusPosition can chide me for THAT error) and do it up in a green-with-yellow stripe scheme. We'll want to see some pix when you get yours done, too!
 
873537.jpg
 
Doc, I honestly do not think the green is BRG. IMHO BRG has a lot of black in it and that does not appear to be the case with the "Lotus green", maybe a bit more on the yellow side of the spectrum?

They are two very distinctive colors, a trademark,if you will. One cannot see those colors used together without thinking: Lotus!
 
There's more than one BRG. Check a DuPont color chip for "Early" or BRG #1.

Westfield_XI said:
They are two very distinctive colors, a trademark,if you will. <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">One cannot see those colors used together without thinking: Lotus!</span></span>
Click to expand...

At least WE can't! :wink:

And, Don: my intended scheme is opposite. BRG with a yellow strip.
 
couldn't find that one
So I posted what I could find
 
Just my .02 but any decent body shop now days should be able to get you an exact match. Considering what matching colors used to be like I've been amazed with the new technology.

Kurt
 
The problem is that I do not have a badge to scan. That is why I asked if there was a known color recipe.

Also were the badge colors consistent over the years? Is a '60s badge different from a new one?
 
The yellow was lighter on early badges, IIRC.

I will take a reasonably pristine badge to my local paint supplier and see if they can come up with a known standard "match" to the colors.
 
Thank you Doc, I was hoping you or someone else would do that, I just did not think I could ask. New or old, either would be recognizable as "Lotus".
 
Well, seems a badge is too small a sample for the spectral machines I've access to.

What i did find is the yellow is VERY close (if not a dead ringer) to a Ford color, "Zinc Yellow" B7. PPG #5586.

The green is a different kettle o' fish. CLOSEST I could find is a Valspar #6002 RAL. Named "Lauber-" something-or-other.

Can't find a chip book locally for old BMC colors but a ~possible~ match is their "Spruce Green" #GN-13. A 1966 color for MG's and about all the BMC line.

Hope that helps some.

If LotusPosition reads this he may be able to help further... he does that stuff more often than I do now.
 
Here are a couple of photos of the badge from our Eleven, which was a factory team car in '57. I don't think there's a single BRG - if it was green and on a British racing car then it was BRG.

The colors I got from these shots are not quite true. The actual badge yellow appears more vivid. The green on the badge is a bit browner than it appears here.

If there's a way to photograph or scan it and get better color reproduction I can try.

IMG_4234_jhc.jpg


IMG_4237_jhc.jpg
 
It's the same factory badge I took to a couple paint supply houses here, John. Their issue was not having enough area of either color on the badge to "draw a bead" with their color analyzing gear. And "BRG" has been notoriously elusive to define over the years. The green on the badge is decidedly NOT the "modern" dark, BRG we think of.

I thought about trying a Pantone match but INK and PAINT are two diff'rent animals, unfortunately. And unless the scanner and the output monitor are color calibrated, there's gonna be an issue reproducing the color digitally, too.

Kinda an interesting problem! I didn't expect this to be so difficult. Now it's become a challenge!
grin.gif
 
DrEntropy said:
..<snipped>..Kinda an interesting problem! I didn't expect this to be so difficult. Now it's become a challenge!
grin.gif
Click to expand...

Looks like it. I have to wonder if CABC would have spent any time worrying about it.

I "needed" a fancy hood prop for my Elan and ended up painting a broomstick with a Rustoleum green that matched well. And some orange/yellow that didn't come close.
 
From Chunky's point of view, any yellow or green that HE decided to paint on his cars automatically became "Lotus" colors.

As far as variations among the national racing colors, BRG had the most variety over the decades, although there are several French Blues. The Italians seem to be the most consistent along with perhaps, the Germans. Not much variety in the American white either.

BTW, several online sources claim that the yellow is Norfolk Mustard Yellow, the green is simply called BRG.

One source says the the green is Pantone 342 and the yellow is Pantone 142, but I am going to have to go down to a shop with a Pantone book as opposed to a computer screen for true colors.
 
After a suggestion by a friend, I have decided to paint my car using the colors of the John Deere tractor. It will be yellow with green stripes. I have also obtained the personal plate FAUXTUS, faux Lotus....

One question, the car has yellow gel coat, should I paint the car yellow first and then add the green trim on top, or spray a green band first, mask off the stripes and then spray the yellow. It will all get a clear coat as the final coats. I am concerned about covering the yellow with no tinting of the green and also not having too much difference in the heights of the paint where the two colors meet.
 
The original badges were hand painted, or so I'm told. My car has a newer badge on it, but while looking through a box of various old British car parts I found the original painted badge from my first Elan. It was in great shape, and may one day end up on my current Elan.
 
Speaking of badges, if anyone needs one, check out this site https://www.brandsoftheworld.com/ and type in Lotus (or most any other marque for that matter) These are all downloadable and print up real nice. I got the company down the street to make me 2" ones for the steering wheel etc.

Derek K
 
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