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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Dashboard colour SWA 71

Anyone have any ideas on the dashboard colour apart from the black crackle finish, which to me looks somewhat amateur. There is no apparent finish on it at present, just matt black. It may look quite well (all of it, not just the instrument panel) in matching body colour - OEW - which may look quite effective against the black dials and add a racer feel to the look.Thoughts welcome as always.
Oggers

I opted to go for crackle black, but like the body colour finish too. So that was helpful !
I don't mind the mixture of both either, but could you set a trend and cover it in material to match your interior colour ??
Black leather might be worth a look, or have i been thinking about cat woman to much again....
PB
P Bentley

Ooh, Michelle Pfeiffer..
There goes the afternoon!

Art and craft shops sell thin veneers of exotic timbers for people who like marquetry. Any appeal to you Oggers?
Greybeard

My ageing unrestored frog dash is covered in decaying green leatherette vinyl. I thought all the Frogeye ones were done like that.
Well, maybe not green and maybe not leatherette!

I have seen several later style dashboards done in body colour paint and l think they look really nice. Better than shabby crinkle black !

MGOC sell walnut veneer kits to go with your tweeds and plus fours.
GuyW

Did the race car in body colour, just because it was easier.

Dave O'Neill 2

Can't remember what it's called, Guy, but it's the right stuff, and I got it from Woollies.

Nice interior, Dave. Was there a problem getting a steering wheel of the correct colour?
Nick and Cherry Scoop

Yes, they didn't seem to do one in red ;o)
Dave O'Neill 2

Body colour doesnt look out of place because a lot of cars of the period had that. I also think vinyl can look nice especially if you put quarter inch foam under it, then all the gauges and switches sink into it when you tighten them up.

Trev
T Mason

Mmmmmmm...Tempeted by the body colour. Nice and neat. Nice photo Dave... No to walnut - Jaguar yes, Spridget no. No to any vinyl or leather either - it's not a pimpmobile, and still not keen on crackle black....
Oggers

What do you think about engine turning? Here's a random image from the Internet.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=engine+turned+dash+kit&client=tablet-android-samsung&prmd=sivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi89vfFldDXAhUG6xoKHSZ2C20Q_AUIEygC&biw=1280&bih=800#imgrc=C5ysHDLqCmKeCM:

Sometime in the 70s my old man and I did one for a Lotus 7. We did it in stainless by hand and eye using an electric drill and to be honest it was okay, but not brilliant. At the time we were involved with a motorcycle club building cafe racers and the process was very popular for things like chain guards and oil tanks and I was shown how by an old rocker called Bill something-or-other.

Nowadays I have a decent-ish pillar drill which would be much more accurate and I fancy another go at it.

It's a bit 30's hotrodder but I like it. Ettore Bugatti used it all over his engines, which were as much fine art as engineering.
Greybeard

This thread was discussed on 21/11/2017

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