Engine colours, measured.

Body colours for classic cars are compiled everywhere. Engine colours are compiled nowhere outside the United States: the answers sit in forum threads that never conclude and in retailer product names that cite no source. This reference compiles them, one record per engine family, market, span of years and part, because colour followed the engine and the era rather than the car. Look a colour up by engine, year or colour, or start from the car.

• BMC

  A-series, B-series, C-series

• Ford (UK)

  Essex V4 and V6, Kent, Pinto, Sidevalve

• Jaguar

  AJ6, V12, XK six

• Rover

  P6 four, V8

• Triumph

  Standard SC small four, Standard wet-liner four, straight six

The engine colours people ask for by name, and the record each one is. Where two names mean one colour, the record says which is older.

• BMC engine green

  BMC A-series · 1951–1970

• MG engine maroon

  BMC B-series · 1962–1971

• Healey engine green

  BMC C-series · 1956–1968

• Ford Kent green

  Ford Kent · 1959–1968

• Ford Pinto blue

  Ford Pinto · 1970–1976

• Jaguar duck egg

  Jaguar XK six · 1957–1967

• Jaguar pumpkin orange

  Jaguar XK six · 1957–1961

• Rover engine grey

  Rover V8 · 1967–1976

• Rover duck egg blue

  Rover P6 four · 1963–1977

• Triumph black

  Triumph straight six · 1962–1977

Chips with a dashed edge are approximate: the colour the name describes. Screens differ too.

Preparation, application, curing and safety, with every instruction traced to the maker's own data sheet. Engine paint that fails usually failed before the lid came off the tin.

• Preparing an engine for paint

  Decide, record, strip, degrease, mask: the preparation that decides whether engine paint lasts one season or ten years.

• Applying engine enamel

  Conditions, coats, recoat windows and curing for one-pack engine enamel, from an aerosol, a brush or a gun, with each maker's figures side by side.

• Painting manifolds and exhausts

  How very high temperature coatings go on, and why the first heat cycle decides whether they harden or peel.

• Isocyanates and engine paint: the safety page

  What isocyanates are, which paints contain them, what HSE says a workshop needs before spraying 2K, and why one-pack aerosols still need respect.

• Masks and breathing apparatus for spraying

  Which filter mask suits one-pack engine paint, what the letters on the filters mean, and why two-pack paint needs air-fed breathing apparatus and nothing less.

• Choosing a spray gun for engine paint

  Which engine paints go through a gun, what size gun and tip to buy, how much compressor it needs, and how to keep water out of the finish.

• Spray booths, tents and extraction

  What a professional spray booth does, what a pop-up tent does instead, and how to spray one-pack engine paint at home without filling the garage with mist.

Ranked picks for one search each, and one review per product rated on the maker's sheet against five stated criteria. No star ratings borrowed from anywhere, and no "in our tests".

Can engine enamel go on a manifold?

No. Engine enamel is rated between 140°C and 300°C depending on the tin; manifold coatings start at about 650°C and harden on their first heat cycle. Read painting manifolds and exhausts.

Does engine paint need a primer?

Sometimes, and sometimes the maker forbids it. A bodyshop primer is the weak layer on a hot part, so the data sheet decides, not habit. Read primers for engine paint.

Why can't engine paint be posted?

Solvent paint and aerosols are dangerous goods. Royal Mail refuses them, and the carriers that take them do so for businesses on contract, by road, which is why carriage decides the price of a small order. Read why engine paint can't be posted.

Is two-pack worth it on an engine?

The trade uses it, and it carries isocyanates. HSE sets out what a workshop needs before spraying it, and a one-pack aerosol still asks for respect. Read two-pack under the bonnet and the safety page.

How sure are you about a colour?

As sure as its sources, and the record tells you how sure that is: a grade from A to C, a Disputed flag where sources conflict, and the sources themselves listed beneath. Read how the reference is made.