Introduced: October ???
Discontinued: October ???
Lotus Parts#: ??? This paint was an original color option in the S1. If you have any information about this paint, please provide it.
Cross Reference
ICI: P0303192
Autocolor: 3192
PPG Concept Formula (per pint):
code
DMC900
446.8
DMC904
83.5
DMC937
40.9
DMC901
60.1
It’s listed as “Lotus Light Blue” - no Lotus L code was allocated, but PPG in the UK lists it as used from 1960-1963, which overlaps the S1 introduction.
P030-7FS5
A 100ml (4 ounces) formulation is as follows.
Code
Description
Grams Cumulative
P030-9900
WHITE
86.9
P030-9903
FAST BLACK
89.2
P030-9930
BLUE LAKE
93.4
P062-9965RT
VIOLET
104.2
Also Used By
Triumph (1958-1963)
Name: Powder Blue
PPG:12163
ICI: 8013
Dupont: 83738
Martin Senour: 25105
Photos of Elans Painted in this color
If you have pictures of Elans painted this color, please post them. If you have the paint codes associated with the paint used, please post the info with the photos.
Catherine de Medici (1519-1589), the Queen of Henry II of France, was a great patron of the arts and brought artists and craftsmen from Italy for her schemes. Philibert de L’Orme relates how she discussed with him the plans and decoration of the Palace of the Tuileries.
Marie de Medici (1573-1642) was also a patron of art and was the means, aided by Richelieu, of bringing from Italy into France decorative painters, who became associated with the Luxembourg and Gobelin Tapestry factories.
The Riccardi Palace in Florence, once the house of the Medicis, is, and ever was, a treasury of antiquity and of the arts. The passion for art for this family of many generations, with all its co-lateral branches, either as collectors, patrons or builders, marked an advance in the arts which posterity has perpetuated with the family name.
Medici Blue is essentially a decorative colour, especially useful for architectural work to emphasise the features of the structure or as a background for ornaments.
Frank doesn’t have the formula for his fabulous version of Medici blue. (waiting for him to chime in) I wish he could have it scanned and color matched for the rest of us!
It does not surprise me that the exact shade is debated after all these years unless the original Lotus colour system mix is known which I don’t think it is. I am sure that the cars originally coming out of the Lotus paint shop in the 60’s had some significant variation depending on how much trouble the painter on the day took in mixing up the colours. Any colour being establish by comparing old paint may still be variable due to this.
So while I’ve been recouping from an operation I did a little more checking. I have no actual paint samples to compare anything to, but I keep coming up with PPG 12873. This is the same as the Triumph spitfire “Powder Blue” and the “Gulf Blue” as used on the GT 40’s and other Gulf racing cars. Looking at Internet pictures makes it impossible to tell though. There are several Elan written sources that mention Triumph Powder Blue as being the same as Medici Blue. As an edit, this is also the exact same color as Rootes group cars of that era. So Sunbeam Alpine and Tiger Powder blue has the same code. It would be interesting to get a sample and compare it to some Medici cars.
FYI, I’ve said it before, but cabc26b’s car with the silver hardtop is the color I imagine when I think of Medici blue, and what I hope mine will look like some day.
I finally got around to spraying the CBU on my s1 ? - I finished the paint up about 4 hours ago ? I rolled her outside for a couple of shots and took off some masking and placed the front bumper in the slot for contrast ( I am not using the OEM silver, but one that is closer to a Porsche Zermat silver . I painted the Hardtop to match the bumpers color -i may end up shooting the wheels this color also -
Looking really sharp…what a great colour. Like your car, the Medici I’ve seen in the flesh have an almost pearlescent quality in certain light…a couple of your pictures show that up. I guess it’s the white pigments reflecting the light somehow.
I hope that the engine bay will be satin black though
Mark
Good call on the white content - there is a ton of it in the make up. Not to worry about engine bay - it is painted matt black epoxy, I will have some touch up there as the blue managed to slip under the masking . the blue you see is for where the body wraps into the engine bay .
Can’t make up my mind on the fender wells though - black, blue of lt gray
I will post some more shots after I color sand and buff.
I think that the fender wells look best when they can’t be seen…so I do them in a satin black. If they are the same colour as the body or a light colour, it detracts from the overall shape of the car, to me at least. I’d also loose the floor lip under the sill with satin black.
I agree , it was pretty hard to go with the original color given the options you have with new paints ( the silvers are pretty amazing) the picked a true silver, it may not show up as light as it is in the photo - it was odd paint to work with because of the amount of particals/solids suspended in the urathane. It took the purchase of a very expensive LVLP gun that was able to “fog” that suff on - i am sure base clear would have been easy to apply - but had to try it “old school”.
Mark - agree black wells make them disappear - but the oem treatment appears to be have been a combo of overspray and the gray-ish gellcoat / release agent in use on the molds - The lip that lets you know when to stop washing the car will be black, but gloss , not satin, satin does not look right there , but will be great in the fender wells -