1971 Bentley Touch Up Paint (1 OEM Colors)

The 1971 Bentley Vibe

1971 was a year of grand transitions in Crewe. While the rest of the world was experimenting with paisley vinyl roofs and questionable polyester, Bentley was doubling down on dignity with the T1 and the freshly christened Corniche. It was an era of "earthy" sophistication-think deep golds, muddy browns, and heavy greys. But let's be honest: in our database of survivors, the only color that truly mattered was Racing Green. It's the definitive look for a 1971 Bentley, capturing that perfect overlap between "I own a racing stable" and "I'm about to buy your company."

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the Single Stage Era. Back in '71, Bentley was still using "modified cellulose"-a thick, honest, and delightfully smelly concoction that modern robots couldn't spray if their lives depended on it. Because there's no clear coat to peel off like a bad sunburn, the paint is surprisingly durable, BUT it has a fatal flaw: Oxidation. If left in the sun or ignored in a damp garage, that deep Racing Green will start to "bloom" or turn into a chalky, hazy mess. It doesn't just lose its shine; the paint literally dries out and dies on the vine.

Restoration Tip

Listen close: this paint is hungry. Since it's a single-stage finish, it's porous compared to modern plastics. My advice? It needs wax or it dies. If your '71 is looking a bit "flat" or chalky, you've actually got a lot of "meat" on the bone to work with. You can buff a single-stage finish back to a mirror shine much easier than modern thin stuff, but once you find that glow, you have to seal it immediately. Use a heavy carnauba-based wax to "feed" the pigment and keep the oxygen from turning your Bentley into a very expensive chalkboard.