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MG MGA - Looking for RAL code for BU 12 iris blue

Hi I'm Looking for the RAL code for BU 12 iris blue, has anyone got the equivalent as I'm ordering the paint online , many thanks
DJ Joy

Barney has various codes listed: http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/paint/pt105.htm

Not sure if that helps when ordering in the UK?

Steve
Steve Gyles

I have an ICI Belco colour card for Iris Blue P030-3243, which was a BMC Production Colour 1954 - 61. Its a pale blue. The colour recipe won't be much use to you now for modern paint, though HMG or Craftsman may have an equivalent.
Dave H
Dave Hill

As I mentioned in an earlier thread there is no reasonable match to Iris Blue in the RAL Classic range of colours and there are about 200 of these colours.

However there are other RAL colour ranges such as RAL Design where there are nearly 2000 colours, RAL Effect (not sure how many) and others so there could be a match in one of these ranges. There are also BS colours (BS4800, etc.)

Proper RAL swatches are expensive. I paid ~£10 for a Classic K7 swatch but I believe a Design swatch would set you back a £100 or so

RAL Classic seems to be the prominent range and I'm not sure that even if you found a match in, say, RAL Design, whether you would find online paint suppliers able to match it via the code.

Personally, if I was in your situation now I would get hold of an Iris Blue swatch from somewhere and go around to your local auto paint specialists and seek their advice. I did this myself several years ago and the specialist told me that even though he didn't have a code to use he was skilled enough to mix the paint quite well by eye. He would have charged a bit more for the paint to pay for his extra time.

Even if I had a code number I certainly wouldn't buy £200-300 worth of top coat online; it's too much of a risk.

In addition to paint suppliers it might be worth visiting a good car painting shop. I called at one of our local painting shops a couple of years ago and I was amazed at the number of swatches he had and for most of which he had codes.

When I was at the stage of painting my car I remember seeing a paint chart in Wickes and there was a paint colour called 'Blue Heaven' which was an exceptionally good match to patches of original Iris Blue paint on the car. As this was several years ago the chances are Wickes have changed their colours since then: I still have the chart.

But I would definitely get hold of a colour swatch first.

This is my car's colour (see pic.) just in case you've got a colour calibrated monitor........................................Mike



m.j. moore

Thanks for the advice, it sounds very sound. The panels are off and the original colour can be seen quite clearly on the inside, I suppose I could take the panel to a paint supplier ,maybe its not faded being inside.
Lovely car, what paint did you use? is it 2k or cellulose and how many litres did it take ?
Kind regards
DJ Joy

I used cellulose lacquer from Lechler (BMC Iris Blue MAC5) and bought 8 litres. It may have been over the top quantity wise but at the time I was worried about future availability of cellulose. This quantity was increased drastically when I opened the tin, found the paint was much darker than the original patches on the car and had to lighten it with white to get the match spot on. So I have quite a bit left over!

I was interested when you said you have also found patches of the original Iris blue on your car. Can I ask a favour before you strip it all - if I sent you a colour swatch of the final blue I've used would you compare it with your original colour. There's always been a doubt in my mind about the colour because the car may have been resprayed in the past or it may have faded.........................Mike
m.j. moore

Yes of course I would be only too pleased, can you see my email . if you email me I;ll send you my details
Kind regards
DJ Joy

jonathanjoy@uwclub.net this is the correct email

Yes of course I would be only too pleased, can you see my email . if you email me I;ll send you my details
Kind regards
DJ Joy

Mike. Just an interested comment from me. Accepting that I am only looking at my iphone and ipad screens, and they may not be true colourwise, but your photo does look somewhat glacier blue rather than iris blue. Have I got it wrong? Looks nice anyway!
Bruce.
Bruce Mayo

Bruce, I think you may be right because the colour on my monitor is approaching glacier blue. And in a photograph I produced on my printer it was even more so.
I believe glacier blue has a strong green component but I think iris blue also has a little bit of green in it.
When I was mixing the Lechler Iris blue paint I noticed, when stirring, some very faint traces of green dye which had settled to the bottom of the tin.
But whether I have got it right by matching the paint to areas of original paint on the car I don't know. There were no signs of colour change between areas which had been 'in the dark' and others more exposed to light.

This is why for posterity it would have been nice to have RAL or BS numbers for these shades because I suppose the appropriate standardization authorities would keep a check on the colours spectrographically so that they are unchanging over time ........................Mike
m.j. moore

Jonathan, I've sent you an e-mail just now...........mike
m.j. moore

Iris blue originally contained mostly Titanium White with a small amount of Blue Lake, Phthalocyanine Green and Black pigments. A match today would probably sub Phthalo Blue for Blue Lake and could be an excellent match. Glacier Blue is a much more saturated colour with similar pigments but the photo looks nothing like it on my Ipad - its too pale. Its a good approximation of Iris blue.
Dave H
Dave Hill

On my monitor Mikes and mine look similar. I originally took blue color chips from DuPont and compaired them to John Twists original paint chips back in the early 80's. I picked the one that was the closest and happened to be at the time a Dupont Centari factory mix. Did not have to rely on a local jobber getting it right.Fast foward around 15 years,I had a paint remover can spring a leak on a shelf next to the car,where else? Damaging the rocker panel,door and front fender. Same guy did the repair that did the original job. Was never able to match it 100% because we were told Dupont removed the lead that was in their paint. Because it's mine I know where to look but to anyone looking at it,it's almost impossible to see. If I did not tell you what happened,you would not even know. Now Dupont does not even make Centari. My point being,pick the color that you like and is the closest.If someone says it's wrong have them prove it,no two are alike anyway!

gary starr

My Iris Blue Mk2 Coupe-repainted in 1995
Paul

P D Camp

This thread was discussed between 24/08/2015 and 28/08/2015

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