Hey everyone,

I recently ordered reproduction plastic panels that are part of the interior. The set that includes the speaker panels by the wheel wells, the dome light, the quarter windows and the rear brake light cover. I just got them today and was unpleasantly surprised to find that the butterscotch color that I ordered was nowhere close to the original. The butterscotch vinyl parts that I ordered were the original orangeish color but the plastic panels were beige to tan in color. It is obvious that the color is painted on as the back sides are black. I got them from Datsun Spirit and they were great to deal with but this is not acceptable. I have several questions for everyone.

1) Do I return them and try to get them from another vendor? They may all use the same supplier and get the exact same thing.

2) Has anyone ordered the butterscotch panels and what were your experiences and from who did you get them.

3) Do I say "screw it" and have the body shop guy or myself repaint them a color that matches the rest of the interior.

4) If I go with number 3, where does one go to try and get a custom paint made that will work with plastic and hold up over time?

h

I know thats a lot of questions but as always, I appreciate everyones advice.

carl

Carl,

I spoke with Les at Classic Datsun about the butterscotch panels recently. He sells the dye for the panels he sells which matches his butterscotch vinyl. I'd approach him about it first.

Preston

I would contact Eiji at Datsun Spirit and let him know the problem. He is a good guy and will most likely work with you to figure something out. I checked the Classic Datsun Motorsport website and it says "Available in black, blue, white and red. Any other colors can be dyed by you or your preferred paint shop". I'm not sure if they are made by the same vendor or not. I would use SEM plastic paint if you can find a close match (or can get a custom match made) if you keep them and go that route. Maybe Les at CDM can give you some insight into what a good color match for butterscotch would be.

-Mike

Thanks guys. I'll look into it. I have nothing but good things to say about Eiji and will take your advice and contact him.

carl

They are all made by the same company in black and then painted with SEM paint. Get some SEM in your color and repaint them.

Seems to me that the butterscotch I remember of 30+ years ago was more beige than I see these days. I wonder if the color has aged toward the orangish of your car over the years. It's possible that your new parts may be "correct" for new parts, but not a good match to old, aged parts.

They are all made by the same company in black and then painted with SEM paint. Get some SEM in your color and repaint them.

I noticed this also when I ordered a replacement rear tail finisher in the 73 off-white from MSA. The back was black and the front was sprayed with SEM Vinyl dye, which was fine because I had done the rest of the interior panels in the very same dye. What a coincidence!

Over the years of storage and the car being smoked in for 7 years, had turned brownish compared to the vinyl. Ordered 2 cans of SEM and took care of that.

You might consider doing the same to make everything match.

Bonzi Lon

Thanks again for everyones help. I am glad that I have options.

carl

When I bought my car in 1985 the interior was all black and I didn't know that wasn't original. Later I discovered that my car was originally #113 green with the butterscotch panels that had been dyed black. The backs of the panels are still butterscotch but I had good success removing the bulk of the black dye with acetone and then used SEM to change the color once again to my current medium gray. It could be that there just isn't a SEM color close enough to the original. To my eye 15173 CAMEL is the closest:

http://www.msitrt.com/SEMchart.htm

Mike,

That is really close to the color of the panels currently. The color of the vinyl and the parts originally was more orange. Almost a burnt orange. I am going to check with classic datsun.

carl

Your descrption of the current panels being "burnt orage" doesn't sound right to me. I think all of your originals have aged and color-morphed.

I will try to post some pictures tonight. In my car, the original vinyl was a close match to the color of the plastic panels. The new vinyl is dead on but the plastic is tan. Burnt orange was just my vague description of the color. I don't know if I have any of the old panels left to compare to. I think they were in bad enough shape that they were pitched long ago. I will look.

carl

I'll look for an original panel as well. I think some of mine were cracked so I replaced them.