Well it’s only been a year since I brought the Elan to the paint shop. There was a lot of prep work, and it was not really in the schedule for awhile. I was in no hurry either, and I enjoyed the extra space in the garage, while the Lotus was at the shop.
The paint matching effort also took considerable time. In any case, this is THE WEEK FOR PAINT. Yay. The car is in the booth awaiting a primer coat. I have researched and reviewed and now its just time to hope for the best. I tried to replicate Jaguar colour Opalescent Silver Blue without success. However I am pleased with the blue metallic color that we mixed. My painter has done work with Corvettes and has had good success. I am going to stop worrying and just see how it goes. There are so many techniques, and opinions on preferred methods and materials, but my painter feels confident with the way forward. The custom color applied will be a SPIES HECKER paint, and clear coat.
As a side note, I always wanted to paint one car in my lifetime.
This will be it, …as it will take me the rest of my lifetime, to pay for it.
Primer has been applied. Blocking,sanding in progress. To be followed by a 2k Urethane primer.
Car has been at the shop almost a year. But the guys are cool and do some good work after viewing the other cars also in progress. I just hope I remember how to put this thing back together.
Well this has got to be one of the most fragmented posts, since my car has been at the paint shop since October 2024. My apologies. Some good news. This week we are going to apply a real paint color to the car. After 18 months, this is the week! The outside temps are acceptable, the car looks ready, (and my wallet is empty.)
Final finishing has been done, and I should have something this week to post, “in living color.”
Then comes the small task of major restoration. Stay tuned.
As promised the first photos from the shop have emerged! I will be going there tomorrow to review the car, the paint and take some more photos! Let me know what y’all think.
Thanks for the post. The final formulation is an interesting color. Initially, I tried very hard to duplicate Jaguar Opalescent Silver blue, and after a lot of time and frustration, I moved on from that idea.
This color is a blue-gray. In the bright sun it is a very nice “silvery-gray-blue”. But mostly blue.
In any shady or overcast lighting it seems to goes gray. I think it has a hint of green in the formula to change the gray tones from being too gray. I know this is a lousy explanation, but after 4 different paint formulations, and samples over many months-this is where we ended up. Hope you like it.
@mjbeanie The color looks fantastic. My S2 is currently in the paint shop and will soon be painted a very similar color. I chose to go with the same color as original on my 1970 Mercedes 280se cabriolet (pics below).
Mercedes color codes
Elan Body Color
Grau blue / Gray Blue Metallic - Mercedes Paint Code DB-906
It is really a crazy color, depending on the light it is seen in. Here are some daylight photos when the car color appearance becomes blue, from gray. Today was a very sunny day which changes the appearance considerably. Hard to believe they are all the same color.
Looks great in the sunlight! Quite something how different the Wedgwood, blue-grays can look so different depending on the lighting. My S4 hasn’t any metallic in it but it also can appear either grey or blue.
Well its back from the paint shop. YAY. (It left Oct 18, 2024 and arrived back April 15, 2026.)
I am very pleased with the outcome. Very reflective finish and I really like the final color. Take a look and let me know what you think. Also would like recommendations as to what color to paint the cam cover. Thanks
Lots of work to do, basically everything needs review, refreshing, and repair for proper operation This should be fun. Cheers, Mike
Fantastic! Initially I was excited to see it going to the paint shop so quickly, and then scrolled while it sat in “paint jail” … a term I have heard a lot lately when it comes to these restoration paint jobs…
but joining this thread now, I have to say it looks amazing! Enjoy!
The cam cover would have been blue for a standard Elan, or green for a S/E. If you type “Cam cover colour” into the search box, you should find a number of old threads on the subject.
I know you’ll show us when it’s ready. I was also hoping to see it at the LOG
color!
