Spitfire 1500 rear wing/boot trim

[charlieb]

When I restored my Spit some years ago I painted the rear wing & boot lid trim & it looked pretty good but now the paint is flaking off.

Anyone know what the original finish is, is it black chrome? Anyone had them re-finished?

[DanMi]

I believe it changed from chrome to black so we really need to know the year. I have a mk2 so am not sure of the dates

[Mjit]

Looking around I'd say both Mk IV and 1500 rear wing trips should be matt black, while the one on the boot rear lip/around the light panel should be stainless on a Mk IV but matt black on a 1500.

I think you'll find the 1500/black ones are exactly the same as the Mk IV/stainless ones, just painted black.

[Gully]

Not sure about the wing finishers being matt black - they are gloss finish on the Mk III GT6 and I would have thought the parts were common?

Gully

[charlieb]

They were definitely shiny black originally but they weren't painted.

I wondered if anyone knew the original finish.

[Mjit]

Yep, not sure where I got matt from...

[Waynebaby]

3 minutes ago, Mjit said:

Yep, not sure where I got matt from...

The John Thomason guide to originality states that from FH 100,020 onwards the door handles were finished in satin black, so perhaps that is what is prompting the memory. I'm wracking my brain to try to remember the finish on my 1500 spit back in 1980. It was definitely black, but I can't remember if it was shiny or not. Sorry charlieb

[chrisbladen]

I have seen before on some original sales brochures that early mark 4s, early 70s, had black on the wings and chrome/stainless around the boot.

http://www.triumphspitfire.nl/brochure_flemish.html

(Thats a belgain translated brochure but uses a british car in the photos)

On the last brochure leyland produced in 1980 the 1500s had all black trim.

http://www.triumphspitfire.nl/brochure1980uk.html

 

I like the look of all the rear trim being chrome/stainless and i think this is what i will go for on mine. With both options being used at some point i suppose you could go for what you like and it still be true to the original.

Hope this helps

[Colin Lindsay]

It's been a while since I saw Spitfire trim but are the black ones simply silver versions that are painted over, so removing the black paint leaves you with shiny trims?

[chrisbladen]

1 minute ago, Colin Lindsay said:

It's been a while since I saw Spitfire trim but are the black ones simply silver versions that are painted over, so removing the black paint leaves you with shiny trims?

Thats how mine look 2 be fair, i havent got to the stage of putting the car fully back together yet so i havent looked into removing the black paint. Im hopeing they am in good condition underneath the black so i can just put them straight on. Wishful thinking though i reckon

[Simons3]

I bought my '72 mk4 over 10 yrs back and the trim was black on rear wings and chrome on the rear

Still the same but the Triumph  bit was replaced for new., ie not held on with tie wraps

I always thought the wing tops had at some point been replaced for mk5 items.

I like the look as is tbh.

I guess chrome/chrome would smarten the appearance up.

[KevinR]

The wing top finishers on all mkiv and 1500 spitfires should be black.  The door handle surrounds and rear trim on the mkiv spitfire are chromed, but on the 1500 spitfire they are black.

[Colin Lindsay]

11 hours ago, KevinR said:

The wing top finishers on all mkiv and 1500 spitfires should be black.  

SHOULD be... but don't have to be   I've seen silver versions in the past and they look very nice, almost as good as early GT6 with the silver trims... and to be honest I think the owner just cleaned the black paint off and left them as they are underneath. It can be a very nice contrast with certain colours.

[charlieb]

On 22/10/2020 at 22:17, KevinR said:

The door handle surrounds and rear trim on the mkiv spitfire are chromed, but on the 1500 spitfire they are black.

To be pedantic only the late 1500s had black door handle surrounds, early ones like mine were chrome.

It was actually not the colour I was asking about but how the black finish on the wing finishers was achieved, was it paint, black chrome or something else?

I'll probably end up painting them again or maybe get them powder coated...

[KevinR]

1 hour ago, charlieb said:

It was actually not the colour I was asking about but how the black finish on the wing finishers was achieved, was it paint, black chrome or something else?

I suspect that it was some form of chemical deposition process as its very tough and doesn't come off like a coat of paint would.

[Graham C]

Late 1500 had black trim on rear section.

Had mine since 1983/4 and not altered them.

May be satin black, need to check, could have be anodized, not painted.

Will try and post photo tomorrow.

Graham

[chrishawley]

As above, Mk IVs (and GT6 IIIs) had black wing trims and bright chrome (horseshoes) and stainless steel (lips) rear surrounds. The 1500's had shiny black all over expect door handles which were mid-satin.

The black is black chrome. Same as regular silver chrome but using additional salts in the electroplating. Black chroming is still used for cosmetic finishing but places that do it are few and far between and I don't know of any that will help will small scale jobs.

But the finish can be exactly replicated using 2-pack spray in gloss. A paint factor will supply something form the RAL chart which is 'the blackest black available' (I have the exact code but would have to look it up). A fine touch-in spray gun would be needed with an 0.8mm or smaller needle. Surface would need to be keyed (400 grit) and defects filled with a generic filler. Prime in black (paint factor again, any black rattle can primer like proXL). Then 2-pack aiming for a 'from the gun shine' with no dust, runs or inclusions.

I've done this and it replicates the original finish exactly and is tough and durable. Unlike previous (penny pinching) attempts with 1-pack rattle cans which buy their very nature result in a thin and weakly adherent coat.

P.S. And what about black satin door handles? The solution here is to use the same 2k as above with a matting agent or (better) use polyester which is supplied of grades of mattiness e.g. 5%, 10% etc. All standard stuff at a reputable paint factors.

[James_D]

Hi Chris, this is really useful information and we will be spraying out trims as you have suggested. Would you have the exact RAL code please for the black trims?

Many thanks, James

[chrishawley]

I'll have a look for the code I used tomorrow.

C

[chrishawley]

I used RAL9005 which is about as black as black gets. Hope you get a good result.

C

[James_D]

Thanks Chris, I appreciate your help. We are undertaking a restoration at the moment which we hope will be near concours.