<< I see pictures of
restored Bantams
and GPs with very blue registration numbers. Is this another color other
than blue drab? >>
I don't think anyone actually knows exactly what shade blue-drab was
originally and of course different batches had different tints. Look at it
this way, they never put blue drab anywhere on a vehicle that wasn't
constantly exposed to the weather and sulnlight so none of what you see today
on unrestored vehicles is quite what it looked like when it was put on. I
didn't say it was almost white though, I said it fades to almost white. the
process of uncovering a registration # (sanding and chemicals
etc) no doubt fades it even more. The shade of blue that is used on the
vehicles you refer to maybe close to the actual shade when new, but through
examination of photographs and surviving #s I have formed the opinion that
the original blue drab was very, very flat. or to put it another way, very
drab. I think the paint that is used today is probably too shiny to match the
original shade but the actual tint is probably very nearly correct. We should
try an experiment; paint an old piece of sheet metal OD, then paint a trial
number on it in blue drab, then leave it sitting outside for one year.
One year outside here in Nebraska should reasonably approximate 50 yrs in a
lot of the rest of the country. Then we will spray it with carb and choke
cleaner and rub it with a rag. I bet we will have something very closely
approximating the shade you are seeing.
P.S. I have never seen an MA period. Restored or otherwise. I hope I get to
someday.