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Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark?

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Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #1
Duncan Duncan Cowen Vancouver, Canada 1956 MG MGA 1500	Posted: June 16, 2012 08:56PM Registered: 5 years ago Posts: 1,360

I'm planning on putting a gray interior back into my '56 A. So, I've been looking at the very few restored cars that have gray interiors, and the grey seems a lot darker than the remaining bits I have. I assume they're from Moss... Has anyone else noted this, or am I off base?

Also, the inner panels in the doors are a lot lighter than my seats. Is that correct? The inner panels seem almost white...

This is close to what most cars seem to have:

This seems a lot lighter, perhaps closer to what my tattered remnants look like:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mga1959/3565639233/

Thanks for your comments, oh MGA gurus!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/16/2012 09:10PM by Duncan.

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #2
JimNH Jim Mail Nashua, New Hampshire, USA 1957 MG MGA "Camilla (the Other Woman)"	Posted: June 16, 2012 10:11PM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 2,652

If your seats are in good shape and you just need to recover the door cards and kick panels, you can purchase the vinyl and recover them yourself. Easy and cheap.

You can go to your local upholsterer's and look at his vinyl sample book, or visit Joanne's fabrics (the one in my area has a lot of high quality vinyl), or a marine store - boat upholstery is vinyl.

JIM in NH

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #3
Neil MG Neil McGurk Cumbria, United Kingdom 1956 Morris Minor 1958 MG MGA 1960 MG MGA 1961 MG MGA 1966 Jaguar Mark 2 → more	Posted: June 17, 2012 02:16AM Registered: 5 years ago Posts: 1,481

You can also recolour the vinyl with special paint matched to your existing colour.

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #4
DavidMGA1600 David Lake Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia 1935 CycleKart Great Britain 1960 MG MGA "Dads Car"	Posted: June 17, 2012 04:52AM Registered: 5 years ago Posts: 2,371

In reply to # 2095631 by JimNH If your seats are in good shape and you just need to recover the door cards and kick panels, you can purchase the vinyl and recover them yourself. Easy and cheap.

You can go to your local upholsterer's and look at his vinyl sample book, or visit Joanne's fabrics (the one in my area has a lot of high quality vinyl), or a marine store - boat upholstery is vinyl.

JIM in NH

Thats exactly what we did. We bought a roll of vinyl and covered the interior ourselves. Just a hint do buy a little more than you will need for either if you mess something up or a future repair panel.

David

1960 MGA 1600 Convertible,
Gold Coast, Australia.
The 5,791 Day Restoration

The CycleKart Club - Forums and more for builders & racers of home-built 200cc vintage-styled karts.

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #5
mgtacar Steve Kaufman Delta, BC, Canada 1961 MG MGA 1993 Mazda Miata	Posted: June 17, 2012 05:35PM Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 543

Duncan, did you take a look at mine. It is darker than I would have liked, but it is nice

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #6
JimNH Jim Mail Nashua, New Hampshire, USA 1957 MG MGA "Camilla (the Other Woman)"	Posted: June 17, 2012 09:50PM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 2,652

could it be that the lighter stuff has just faded with time?

JIM in NH

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #7
Duncan Duncan Cowen Vancouver, Canada 1956 MG MGA 1500	Posted: June 17, 2012 11:28PM Registered: 5 years ago Posts: 1,360

In reply to # 2095631 by JimNH If your seats are in good shape and you just need to recover the door cards and kick panels, you can purchase the vinyl and recover them yourself. Easy and cheap.

Sadly, my seats are not in good repair!!

Quote: You can also recolour the vinyl with special paint matched to your existing colour.

You mean I should pay upwards of $1000 for a product I know ahead of time I will not like? Hmmm... I'd rather not be forced to go that route!

Steve, I have looked at your car's interior, and it is darker than I'd like too. Is yours Moss?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2012 11:29PM by Duncan.

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #8
JackMG Jack Lindler Greenville,SC, USA	Posted: June 18, 2012 08:19AM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 14,866

Going back to your original interior - IIRC - the doorrs would have been covered in vinyl and the seat faces in leather. No doubt they would age differently exposed to sun for fifty years. I would expect the vinyl to fade much more. Gray looks very nice with blues or black (or probably even red) exterior.

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #9
JimNH Jim Mail Nashua, New Hampshire, USA 1957 MG MGA "Camilla (the Other Woman)"	Posted: June 18, 2012 08:45AM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 2,652

Try Scarborough Faire in RI. They will send you a sample piece of each of their interiors and carpet - which are good quality and might be different than the Moss interior colors - SF uses a different supplier, I have been told.

Somewhere I have the samples they sent to me - if I can find them I'll report back on the color of the grey.

JIM in NH

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #10
Duncan Duncan Cowen Vancouver, Canada 1956 MG MGA 1500	Posted: June 18, 2012 09:40AM Registered: 5 years ago Posts: 1,360

I don't mean to shock any of you sao make sure you're sitting down. The plan is indeed to go back to the original colour - Tyrolite Green!

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #11
mgtacar Steve Kaufman Delta, BC, Canada 1961 MG MGA 1993 Mazda Miata	Posted: June 18, 2012 03:21PM Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 543

I think so. I got it through Octagon

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #12
Be Coming Kelvin Dodd So. Calif., USA 1957 MG MGA 1957 MG MGA Coupe 1958 MG Magnette 1959 MG MGA 1962 Morgan 4 Seater → more	Posted: June 18, 2012 03:38PM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 4,655

Duncan.

Moss color matched the grey vinyl and leather they carry specifically for the MGA. It is not used in any other kits.

I've compared the material to original undamaged samples on my Tyrolite 1958 and it is still very close to perfect.

It's really difficult to compare images as the lighting is very changable. I did take some photos of an MGA coupe that was fitted with the Moss grey kit when I was at the British Car Week Meet at the beginning of the month.

This car was originally fitted with two tone door panels

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #13
barneymg Barney Gaylord Naperville, Illinois, USA 1958 MG MGA "MGA With An Attitude"	Posted: June 19, 2012 01:49AM Registered: 8 years ago Posts: 2,145

Duncan, -- I love Tyrolite Green. My MGA was originally that color, but repainted twice in different colors before I bought it. With my first restoration it was painted Orient Red as a replacement for the prior car that was the same color (on request of the Significant Other). Four years ago I came very close to repainting it Tyrolite Green with silver steel wheels after the body sill replacement project, but decided to leave it red with gold wheels because it has evolved to be world renown in those colors. Sometimes it is difficult to go back.

Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude - http://MGAguru.com
Notice: - Do not leave a PM for me on the forum server. Send any private message to my personal e-mail address barneymg@mgaguru.com

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #14
Duncan Duncan Cowen Vancouver, Canada 1956 MG MGA 1500	Posted: June 19, 2012 02:09AM Registered: 5 years ago Posts: 1,360

The red paint jobs (several different shades) adorning my poor, worn A were all cheap jobs. There are a lot of areas that are still Tyrolite. For instance, under the dash, inside one door (the other has been replaced apparently), beneath the cockpit trim, and on the undersides of the boot and bonnet are still green, although they've been covered with a layer of black - and the black is flaking off. The black has preserved the Tyrolite very well, and of course the underside of the boot lid is cool and UV protected, so I have a large area to help me with colour matching new paint, when the day comes!

One question I'm not sure was answered overtly was, "Are the panels inside the door pockets the same colour as the door cards?" The door cards that came in my car were black, and they've been passed along to Dad's Mk II when I "Overhauled" it a few years ago:

Dad's A before (note strap holding door closed!):

Dad's A After:

The panels inside my doors are gray-ish, and uniform in colour, but they are quite a bit lighter than the vinyl on the backs of my seats. Perhaps the panels inside the doors were originally white, from yet some other car??

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/19/2012 02:18AM by Duncan.

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #15
Neil MG Neil McGurk Cumbria, United Kingdom 1956 Morris Minor 1958 MG MGA 1960 MG MGA 1961 MG MGA 1966 Jaguar Mark 2 → more	Posted: June 19, 2012 05:37AM Registered: 5 years ago Posts: 1,481

I have an Ash green car and it had all its original trim albeit in a terrible state and covered/painted etc. However, there were some areas that were nicely preserved. The exact original type vinyl has not been produced for many years. I believe it was made by Wardle Storey who supplied BMC, BL etc. and who still produce vinyl today. The original grey was actually a two tone vinyl with a darker grey in the creases. The same type was used in other cars in other colours. I suspect the original beige might have been the same, but have never seen any original. I know that the beige vinyl and leather in the Jaguars of the '60s certainly was. The red vinyl was certainly not two tone.

Anyway to cut a long story short I got a sample of grey vinyl from Newton Commercial. They are supplied by Wardle Storey. The grain matches exactly and the colour is as correct as a single colour could be. I have worked with Newton Commercial to produce a (black with red piping) trim set for my restoration. Their standard MGA trim sets and those from Moss et al (most others are actually supplied by Newton Commercial) have a different grain and shade of red compared to the original.

Ask Newton commercial for a sample. You can also have an exact colour match colourant made up by Furniture Clinic to recolour any existing leather or vinyl.

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Re: Interior colour: gray from Moss too dark? #16
Duncan Duncan Cowen Vancouver, Canada 1956 MG MGA 1500	Posted: June 19, 2012 02:15PM Registered: 5 years ago Posts: 1,360

They have a "colour swatch page" to let you see their MG colours.

http://www.newtoncomm.co.uk/gallery/mg-colour-swatches/

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