1960 Austin Touch Up Paint (5 OEM Colors)

The 1960 Austin Vibe

Welcome to the dawn of the sixties, where the Austin A40 Farina was showing off its Italian lines and the very first Minis were starting to buzz around London like caffeinated bees. In 1960, Austin wasn't trying to blind you with metallic flakes or neon gimmicks. They were all about class, offering a sophisticated palette that looked as good in a village driveway as it did parked outside a jazz club. We've focused on the five survivors that actually matter-the essential quintet of 1960. Whether you're spraying a heavy-hitter like Old English White No. 2 or the unmistakable Iris Blue, you're dealing with the colors that defined an era of British motoring before things got loud.

Paint Health Check

You are firmly in the Single Stage Era. Back in 1960, we didn't hide the pigment under a plastic-looking clear coat; the color was the protection. This paint was thick, rich, and loaded with the kind of solvents that would make a modern factory safety inspector faint. But here's the rub: because there's no clear coat, your paint is fighting the sun on the front lines. If your Austin looks more like a dusty chalkboard than a showroom gem, you're looking at Oxidation. The UV rays eat the oils right out of the finish, leaving behind a "chalky" fade that makes colors like Dove Gray look like a dirty sidewalk.

Restoration Tip

Since this is an old-school single-stage finish, you've actually got a lot of "meat" to work with, but you have to treat it like a living thing. If you're touching up a survivor, your biggest job is feeding the paint. Before you apply your fresh match, you've got to get rid of that dead, chalky layer of oxidation with a light polishing compound-otherwise, you're just painting over dust. And here's the Salty Painter's golden rule for 1960 metal: It needs wax or it dies. Without a regular, heavy coat of high-quality wax to seal those pores, the sun will start the "chalking" process all over again. Treat it right, and that Maltese White will still be glowing long after the modern enamel cars have peeled away.