1960 BMC Touch Up Paint (4 OEM Colors)

The 1960 BMC Vibe

Welcome to 1960, the year the British Motor Corporation decided to change the world one tiny wheel at a time. This was the dawn of the Mini's global takeover and the heyday of the big Austin-Healey 3000 screaming down the bypass. At the shop, we've focused our efforts on the survivors-the colors that define the era. Whether you're spraying a fresh coat of Healy Blue on a roadster or touching up the Old English White No. 2 on a Morris Minor, you're working with the royalty of the British palette. Throw in Dove Gray and a deep, bottomless Black, and you've got the full "Mod" starter kit before the psychadelic 60s turned everything neon.

Paint Health Check

Back in 1960, we weren't wrapping cars in thin layers of factory plastic. You're looking at the Single Stage Era, where the color and the shine were one and the same. These paints were applied thick, but they have one mortal enemy: the sun. If your BMC has been sitting in a driveway since the Beatles' first record, that paint isn't "patina," it's dying. Without a clear coat to protect it, the pigments undergo Oxidation. That's that chalky, white haze that makes your deep Healy Blue look like a chalkboard. It's not peeling-it's literally drying out and turning to dust.

Restoration Tip

Here is the hard truth from the booth: Single stage paint is like a high-maintenance relationship-it needs wax or it dies. If you're seeing that chalky fade, you can usually buff it back to a mirror finish because the paint is thick enough to take a beating. But once you bring that shine back, you have to seal it. Use a high-quality carnauba wax or a period-correct sealant immediately. If you leave that fresh solvent-based finish exposed to the elements without a barrier, the oxygen will start eating your hard work before the weekend is over. Wax it like you mean it.