1963 MGB - Features of an early MGB

If you flick through a MGB sales brochure from the 1960’s, you can see there was a multitude of different interior colour combinations available to prospective buyers.  There were 3 base colour themes to choose from for early a MK 1 MGB: Black, Red, and Blue, which were used to colour the interior panels, seats and floor areas.  These colours could be combined with White, Black, Red or Pale Blue piping to create a colour scheme to suit the customer requirements.  More interior colours were added when the MK 2 MGB was introduced in 1967.

Interior trim, such as door cards and seat covers, are being reproduced in their original colours, apart from the rubber mats covering the inner sills and floor areas.  Sill mats are being reproduced and are available from a variety of MG parts suppliers, but they are only available in black.  The MK 1 floor mats are also being replicated, but by only one supplier – Sportsparts in Sydney, Australia (sales@sportsparts.com.au).  The Sportsparts mats are also only available in black.  The reproduction sill and floor mats are being produced in a polyurethane composite material rather than the original rubber.  This can be regarded as a positive change, because Polyurethane is more durable than the rubber mats produced by Dunlop in the 1960’s, and they have the same look as the originals. 

It should be noted the foot rest rubber mat covering the transmission tunnel by the starter motor was only produced in black from the start of production in 1962.  No other colour option was available from the factory.

My Iris Blue MGB left the Abingdon factory in June 1963 with a blue interior, including blue panels, seats and floor areas.  The original blue Dunlop rubber mats from 1963 had not survived 50+ years of use, and could not be restored.   During restoration of my MGB I discovered there are no colour coded reproduction rubber mats available from any suppliers, thus my options for restoring the floor areas back to its original blue specification appeared to be limited.  I wanted to maintain originality as much as possible, so the challenge facing me was to purchase a set of black reproduction mats, and find a suitable product and process to colour them.  As a consequence I have come up with what seems to be a solution, which should work for other MGB owners.

If you have a MK 1 MGB that came out of the Abingdon factory with a black interior theme, including black floor area, you have a relatively easy job restoring the original colour scheme, as black reproduction sill and floor mats can be purchased off the shelf.

Finding and purchasing a set of sill mats was easy.  But getting a set of floor mats from Sydney, Australia to the UK was a little more complex, although Bruce Smith from Sportsparts was extremely helpful.  By the time I had purchased the 4 floor mats and our government had added on import duties, the mats turned out to be quite expensive, but they are very high quality, because they are produced on the original tooling.  They even have details like the correct part number moulded into them, so I have no regrets making the investment.

Having acquired the black mats I started to research how to colour them blue to suit the blue interior on my Iris Blue MGB.  I tried various products including flexible paints that claim to penetrate or dye the surface of various plastic materials.  However, I struggled to find a paint product that would stick when applied to the Polyurethane material, and not crack when the mats were flexed.  I was beginning to lose hope when I read an article on an internet forum that someone had tried a product from a company called SEM.  SEM Products, Inc. is based in the USA and after approaching them they provided me with the contact details of their dealer in the UK.  I gave them a call and they were extremely helpful and recommended a process that would provide the best chances of achieving what I wanted – i.e. blue floor and sill mats in my 1963 MGB.

If you would like to maintain your factory colour scheme, here is the process that was recommended and I have followed.  The process is quite simple and based around aerosol products.

The first step was to thoroughly clean the surface of the polyurethane composite material.  I mixed a detergent with warm water, and used this with a very fine scuff pad, to remove all traces of dirt and oil.  I rinsed with clean water.

When the mats dried, the second step was to apply of SEM Plastic and Leather Prep, making sure the prep fully wetted the entire surface before wiping off with a micro cloth.  This removed any final traces of dirt and oil, and left a clean surface.  I then masked off areas with masking tape and paper that did not require painting, such as the heel areas on the front mats. 

The third step was to apply SEM Plastic Adhesion Promoter, which was done in two stages.  The first was to apply a thin mist and let it dry for 5 minutes.  This was followed by a second stage where a full coat of Adhesion Promoter was applied to the mats so they appeared wet, and then left 15 minutes to dry.  My feeling is this step is critical to the process.  The Adhesion Promoter provides paint adhesion to difficult and problematic plastic surfaces such as Polyurethane.

The fourth and final step was to apply the Color Coat.  The Pacific Blue colour was built up over a series of light applications, leaving a few minutes between each application to dry.  I ended up applying 5 coats so there was no black visible through painted areas.

The process seems to work and I have noticed the SEM Color Coat is quite flexible and durable.  The sill mats took quite a bit of manipulating during installation and the Color Coat did not flake off or crack.  The only real issue I had was with the Color Coat spray nozzles.  They did not produce a quality fine spray mist.   Instead blobs of paint started appearing on the mats.  I found a better quality spray nozzle from another manufactures spray can and this solved the problem, and allowed me to apply even coats of Color Coat.

Overall I am very pleased with the finish, and I am another step closer to achieving factory spec for my 1963 Iris Blue MGB.  Time will tell whether the Color Coat will cope with the wear and tear of use, but I can always remove the mats and repaint them to smarten them up.