Elephant skin colour code

[Aussiecsi]

I couldn't find anything relating to this , My vinyl "skin " is in great shape save for some stains here and there which cannot be removed , I'm looking at respraying in the original colour and wondering if anyone has gone to the trouble of scanning the skin colour ?. If not, I intend to go down that path and will post the result. Cheers, Simon

 

[Honolulu]

Whatever the original color, I think it fades toward a yellowish-something with age. Look on the underside of your most hidden panel. It's even possible that resprayed to the "right" color, no one who has not seen the correct original color would recognize it. This, on the other hand, provides some freedom in color choice.

Something else to think about- it's probably brittle so 1) be careful in removing/reinstalling 2) consider whether whatever you spray it with can provide some a little strength and/or elasticity to the brittle umpty-year old plastic.

 

[Aussiecsi]

...well, this may prove to be my only meaningful contribution to this Forum.. I have a dealer installed aircon system ( boot/trunk type ) .and the evaporator takes up most of the space between the wheel wells . When it came time to remove the evaporator as part of the restoration process, it revealed the most pristine elephant skin panel behind it ( the panel where the light is mounted ) ...it looked like it was brand new The experience at the time was like opening an Egyptian tomb ! Anyway, i will get it scanned for posterity as it may prove the the best reference point for those who seek the original colour .

 

[milwaukeesk]

One of the SEM color coat colors is a good match. I’ll let the experts chime in on which one as I recall two of them being close but one was spot on.

 

[bavbob]

Storm grey was one of them.

 

[autokunst]

And SEM Warm Grey was the other. I did a little study when I refurbished my tool shell. Results posted in my resto thread:
https://www.e9coupe.com/forum/threads/the-raven-e9-project.26879/page-3
I personally found the warm grey to be an almost exact match to the never-saw-the-light-of-day underside of the tool shell. I think the elephant skin is similar in coloration. I am away from my car to do a comparison of the two together.

 

[Markos]

Unless you plan on purchasing color matched paint, just go with one of the documented and established colors.

 

[HB Chris]

Or go over the top like me on my NK, I had it color matched and put it in spray cans, most auto paint stores can do this. I used Storm Grey on the coupe, pretty close but not perfect.

 

[Aussiecsi]

Or go over the top like me on my NK, I had it color matched and put it in spray cans, most auto paint stores can do this. I used Storm Grey on the coupe, pretty close but not perfect.

...that's what i plan to do ( match the colour and put in spray cans )

 

[Aussiecsi]

....well, this is the result for the paint code . The sprayed a corner of my elephant skin panel at the paint shop and when i got home I was hard pressed to distinguish where the painted surface was . This was matched to a specific panel from my '74 car so caveat emptor. Cheers, Simon