A colour library containing over 250,000 shades, original paint formulations that extend back over 75 years and archives that cover virtually every factory finish in the history of automotive manufacturing in this country, mean that Manchester-based HMG Paints represents an invaluable resource for classic vehicle restorers and refinishers. One enthusiast who discovered how helpful HMG can be is Richard Jones, a website developer from Nantwich, Cheshire, whose latest classic vehicle restoration project has taken over thirteen years. Now entering the final coachwork panelling and paintwork phase in the capable hand of specialist refurbishers Cheshire Racing & Restoration (CRR), the vehicle’s topcoat and original paint system has been analysed by HMG paint experts, so that it can be faithfully restored to its authentic finish.

The cherished vehicle in question is a Dodge VK62B truck, originally built in Detroit in 1940, and it is thought to be the oldest original racing car transporter, once owned by former British hiillclimb champion and a competitor in two post-war F1 Grands Prix, Dennis Poore. Not only was Poore an accomplished racing driver, he funded the launch of motor racing magazine ‘Autosport’ and was formerly Chairman of Norton Villiers Triumph, then the country’s biggest motorcycle manufacturer, and Carbodies, builders of the iconic black London taxi, so his place in British motoring history is assured.

Paint systems play a key role in protecting and preserving historic vehicles of this kind, at the same time helping to minimise their ‘dust-to-dust’ environmental impact, and HMG Paints’ MD, John Falder, who is also Chairman of the British Coatings Federation Vehicle Refinish Group, is committed to maintaining suitable supplies.

“There is great concern amongst restorers and enthusiasts about the continued availability of classic car finishes,” he says. “So we have invested around £100k in taking our nitrocellulose car paint scheme back to the 70’s, ‘retrofying’ it if you like by removing modern tinters and colours, leaving only authentic shades and pigmentation. We’re launching this scheme through our network of independent retailers, to ensure local availability, but serious enquirers can always talk direct to the factory for technical advice and supplies.”

That was the case when Richard Jones contacted HMG to determine the precise shade of green used on the Dodge’s panelwork. After the war, Dennis Poore had purchased the former RAF crewbus to transport his ex-Nuvolari Alfa Romeo 8C-35 racing car to circuits, modifying the truck for its new role with a winch, ramps and canvas side awning. The car, truck and streamlined trailer were all painted the same shade of green and Poore competed successfully in many race meetings until 1955, when he hung up his racing gloves. The vehicle was stored inside for many years, although by 1995, when Richard first came across it, the Dodge was parked outside and in a seriously dilapidated condition.

With the understanding support of his wife Lidia, Richard embarked on a painstaking restoration process, scouring the world for original parts, actually moving to a new house with a large enough garage, and eventually enlisting the help of specialist restoration firm CRR of Newcastle-under-Lyme, to move the project along at a faster pace. Through CRR, Richard made contact with HMG’s John Falder, who has a keen interest in vintage motor vehicles and agreed to inspect the Dodge’s panels himself, in order to determine the historically-correct paint colour.

A suitable paintwork sample was found for initial analysis by John and, later, Richard visited HMG’s Collyhurst Road, Manchester works with several more panels, enabling the company’s experts to identify the main system and topcoat. The bodywork colour was revealed as Westminster Green, a shade originating in the late 40’s, early 50’s, which predated modern mixing schemes and was made by blending two shades of Brunswick Green with Black and Turkey Red Oxide.

Thanks to what HMG describes as ‘the ultimate in weathering’, the green topcoat had changed radically to blue over time, an effect caused by the lead-chrome yellow pigments darkening and weakening due to exposure to sulphurous and nitrous oxides in the atmosphere. The other paint layers were identified as two primer coats of India Red Oxide, followed by a light brush-applied undercoat and two coats of an earlier Light Beige finish.

As its corporate statement declares, HMG is ‘passionate about paint’ and the firm will be donating the paint system for Richard’s project free of charge, because it is happy to support the preservation and restoration of historic vehicles and structures, from famous houses to warships, and since this provides a perfect showcase for HMG’s revamped classic car finishes. Once it’s applied, the topcoat will be its M99 High Gloss Cellulose, an automotive nitrocellulose delivering ultimate gloss straight from the gun, although in the meantime CRR has painstakingly repaired and primed the Dodge’s chassis, coach body frame, cab and front panels.

Once it’s complete, Richard and Lidia plan to display the Dodge at historic motoring events, like next year’s Goodwood Revival meeting and the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, especially as there has been a revival of interest in historic race car transporters of late, with Mercedes Benz recreating its high-speed vehicle of the 1950’s and Audi constructing a replica of the transporter used to carry Auto Union grand prix cars in the 1930’s. But with a fuel economy of just 5mpg, such outings will be restricted to ‘high days and holidays’.

“This is the biggest classic vehicle project that I’ve taken on to date, by a long, long way,” says Richard, who also boasts a collection of 30’s, 40’s and 50’s classic cars. “With all the time, money and effort that has gone into this project, I can’t see me ever parting with it!”

Contract packaging and toll manufacturing facilities are widely used by brand owners, private label companies and others, when producing short runs for market testing, trialling an unfamiliar packaging format, where there is no in-house equipment or expertise for a particular job, there is a short- or longer-term need for extra production capacity or even where there is a requirement to outsource the entire manufacturing function. Such undertakings require a flexible and efficient manufacturing partner, with expertise in a number of product areas, a highly confidential approach to R&D, production and supply chain management, and sufficient production resources to handle a constantly-changing menu of customer contracts, with short lead times.

Long-standing British surface coatings manufacturer, HMG Paints operates a dedicated formulation, design and contract packaging facility at its Manchester headquarters, which annually fills and packs containers for thousands of trade customers at home and overseas, including retailers large and small, consumer and specialist brands, own label manufacturers and automotive companies. Last year, it recorded a 30% increase in business year-on-year, representing the fourth successive year of continued growth for this operation.

Focusing mainly on high performance and decorative coatings, hobby & craft paints, automotive products, adhesives and sealants, and speciality inks, mostly manufactured on-site to individual customer specifications, HMG packs product into CFC-free aerosols, screw-top and lidded tins, metal tubes, touch-up packs, complex multi-part kits, glass pots and bottles, in sizes extending from 15ml or less, to 5 litres or more. Volumes can range from tens or hundreds of thousands of containers, to literally one aerosol or a single can, making this service viable for even the smallest trade customer.

Last year, HMG invested substantially in its packaging line, increasing production capacity and making its fully-automated filling and labelling system suitable for an even wider variety of contracts. Thus, it was able to produce a new test market line for a leading household name, which resulted in substantial market growth. It also filled thousands of small paint tins, in dozens of different shades, for a customer in America; in addition to toll manufacturing speciality primer aerosols, for an automotive brand distributed across Europe.

With almost 80 years paint manufacturing experience, HMG’s expertise naturally centres upon surface coatings, covering everything from flammable products needing safe handling and storage, to water-based finishes requiring precise formulations to deliver the right technical performance. It offers all manner of primers, sealants, topcoats, compliant air-dried paints, cellulose products, machinery enamels, gloss lacquers, PVC coatings and more, in a choice of matt, satin, semi-gloss, gloss and sheen finishes to suit customer specifications. Such is its manufacturing heritage that the company has a 75 year-old Formulations Book, listing contracts from a whole host of familiar company names, some no more, many still proudly in business.

HMG’s packaging team can source hundreds of different pack types and arrive at the optimum format for each particular job, such as wide-mouthed cans for thicker, difficult-to-dispense product, or droplet bottles for extremely thin formulations. Precise colour matching is also a particular HMG forté, a considerable asset for those customers looking at producing automotive touch-up products, toy and modelmaking paints.

For aerosol sprays, HMG uses what is widely regarded as the optimum propellant, DME (dimethyl ether), its wide-ranging compatibility giving complete flexibility of choice over the paint system to use; this means that whatever the original finish, whether powder coating, cellulose or enamel, HMG touch-up aerosols will achieve an exact match, with no residual paint left in the can. Standard sizes are 750ml, 400ml and 150ml, although other containers can be sourced to order. Similarly, HMG offers a full range of metal tubes, for waterproof glues, acrylic adhesives, balsa cement and similar products, all of which the company has experience of producing.

Typically, a toll manufacturing or own labelling contract begins with a confidential meeting between the client’s product development team and their opposite numbers in HMG’s dedicated contract packaging department, then centres around a detailed manufacturing specification and signed non-disclosure agreement. Suitable containers, such as lithographic printed cans, are sourced from reliable specialist suppliers and a bespoke label design service is available when required, with all types of paper, plastic and metallic labels applied automatically. Finished containers are boxed, palletised or shrink-wrapped and held on site for despatch, with dedicated facilities for low flash and hazardous goods. Delivery is via HMG’s transport fleet, registered carrier or freight forwarding agent and meets current ADR and IMDG safety regulations.

Innovative British paintmaker, HMG Paints of Manchester, has developed a first-class solar reflective coating for Royal Mail double-deck trailers, being built by commercial vehicle bodywork specialist, The Cartwright Group of Altrincham. Based on a specially modified version of HMG’s A211 clear acrylic polyurethane paint, it incorporates special interference pigments, which permit a high transmission of natural light, while limiting levels of solar rdiation. Applied to the clear fibreglass roofs of trailers used for distributing and sorting mail, it ensures a cooler, more comfortable working environment for staff carried inside and, unlike whitewash or other shading systems, does not reduce visibility.

HMG’s Translucent Solar Reflective (TSR) modified coating was developed in partnership with Cartwright for this particular purpose, although the paint technology is equally relevant to architectural, domestic and horticultural applications, such as skylights, glass walls, conservatories and greenhouses. TSR has now been successfully applied to a fleet of 140 Royal Mail trailers, with another batch currently under construction, and has proved superior in performance and durability to conventional treatments, with an expected eight years to first maintenance. HMG has also developed a technically-advanced thermal coating for the aluminium walls, again to counteract heat build-up, and additionally supplied all the bodywork finishing systems for these distinctive red trailers.

One of the UK’s leading designers and manufacturers of commercial vehicle bodywork, the Cartwright Group provides many of the country’s best-known names with progressive and cost-effective transport solutions. It has developed an extensive range of double-deck trailer configurations to suit various logistical and loading configurations, at the same time enabling operators to maximise the quantity of pallets, containers and roll cages carried and reduce the number of journeys required. Some double-deckers, like the 13.6m long, tri-axle, straightframe trailers built exclusively for Royal Mail, incorporate a hydraulically-powered moving deck for the faster loading of product.

To help reduce the trailer’s unladen weight and admit natural daylight, the Royal Mail double-deck trailer incorporates a lightweight GRP roof, but the operators who work inside, sorting the mail and parcels, complained that conditions were sometimes too warm, while the trailer walls also heated up in bright sunshine. Classic shading solutions, like whitewash and absorption pigmented paint, would have removed the overhead heat element, but reduce the visible light also, so Cartwright’s Paintshop Manager, Ian Teal, consulted long-term supplier HMG Paints, regarding a solution that would combine high light transmission with low solar heating.

HMG’s technical department developed a formulation incorporating multi-layer interference pigments, which give a high transmission of photosynthetic active light (PAR), but a low transmission of near infrared light (NIR) to keep heat out. This was incorporated into HMG’s high performance A211 acrylic polyurethane, without any other pigmentation that would compromise light transmission. The resultant modified coating is applied by spray gun, to give an even coverage, requires a wet film thickness of 40-50 microns, to deliver the desired properties, and its translucent finish has excellent durability and abrasion-resistance.

Having satisfied Cartwright’s and Royal Mail’s performance requirements with TSR, HMG then developed a thermal insulation paint for the trailer walls, to re-emit solar energy and prevent the metal becoming hot to the touch. A modified HMG alkyd coating, aluminium in colour, it incorporates hollow ceramic microspheres, each containing a vacuum, which create a reflective barrier against radiant energy; these reduce the amount of solar heat conducted through the metal trailer walls, at the same time minimising moisture condensation. The painted surface dries to a tightly packed layer of microspheres, which is highly resistant to corrosion, abrasion, mould and mildew.

“HMG Paints provides a good service and the support we have from their technical people is excellent,” says Ian Teal. “We presented them with a technical challenge and together we arrived at innovative coatings solutions that are both cost effective and easy to apply in volume production.”

HMG Paints’ high performance Acrythane commercial vehicle finish is adorning a 60ft long, bright yellow, bendy bus that is now offering medical care and general assistance for those enjoying the vibrant night life in Belfast. Manned by volunteers and paramedics, the SOS Bus sits in the city centre every Friday and Saturday night, providing a refuge for anyone in distress or at risk due to drugs and alcohol. The bus was adapted, refinished and fitted out by Browns Coachworks of Lisburn, one of Ireland’s leading coach building firms, and paint was supplied by HMG’s Northern Ireland CV coatings distributor, Coachfinish of Belfast.

Based on a successful scheme launched earlier in Norwich, the Belfast SOS Bus is a multi-agency initiative supported by the Northern Ireland office, the police and ambulance services, and the commercial sector. The not-for-profit project was initiated by a group of local businesses, including Brian Brown, Chairman of Browns Coachworks.

The vehicle’s deliberately eyecatching yellow and purple paintwork was achieved with Acrythane XSC98, HMG’s high solids, 2-pack acrylic topcoat system, which is widely specified for bus and coach liveries where a premium finish is required. Certainly, it should retain its high gloss finish and brightness of colour, no matter what the Belfast weather brings. HMG Paints also provided an anti-slip coating for the vehicle floor, to prevent accidental slips and falls by weekend revellers.

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Browns has fitted out the interior, also finished in Acrythane paint, with a medical suite for dealing with minor injuries, an area devoted to drug and alcohol counselling, and a ‘safe haven’ for those awaiting a taxi or lift home. It is also equipped with a defibrillator and other medical facilities, plasma TVs and DVDs, an external display screen and an extensive outside awning. During the daytime, the SOS Bus provides an educational role, screening programmes on sexual health, self harm, domestic violence and drug and alcohol abuse, contributing to the NI Learning for Life and Work curriculum.

The SOS Bus was launched amidst tremendous local publicity, with the regional TV, radio and press covering the event and dignitaries including the Lord Mayor Belfast, the Deputy Chief Constable and NI Criminal Justice Minister. Among the invited guests were Edward Craig, Director of Coachfinish, and HMG’s CV Technical Sales specialist, John Emery.

Ted the Sprayer favours HMG’s cellulose paint for rock stars’ guitars.

‘One name that covers everything’ is the long-standing slogan of Manchester paintmaker HMG, reflecting the fact that over almost 80 years its high performance coatings and adhesives have been applied to virtually every kind of structure, vehicle, building, boat, furniture, painted product, even museum artefact. Yet would anyone associate the somewhat prosaic business of paint manufacturing with the heady world of rock and pop?

But in the British musical explosion of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, HMG’s cellulose lacquer graced the guitars of bands like 10CC, The Hollies, The Searchers, The Mindbenders, Roxy Music, Adam & The Ants, King Crimson, Ultravox, Human League, Moody Blues, Simply Red, yes even The Beatles. In fact, there is a distinct possibility that HMG’s nitrocellulose paint was used to refinish John Lennon’s iconic Rickenbacker 325, regarded as the ‘holy grail’ of guitars, in its distinctive and much-copied black.

The key to this rock & roll fantasy is Ted Lee, now in his sixties and living near Holmfirth, Yorkshire, who was part of the early Manchester and Merseyside music scene and known as ‘Ted the Sprayer’, because of his unquestionable skills with a paint spraygun and his creative capacity to transform electric guitar bodies into any colour desired.

If you wanted a custom red Strat, a black Rickie or a golden Gretsch, Ted was your man and many rock stars beat a path to his door and that of trendy music store, Barrett’s of Manchester, where his specialist repair and refinishing services were also championed. And the cellulose brand he used exclusively throughout his guitar refinishing days, and later when lecturing in musical instrument technology at Leeds College of Music, was HMG Paint, or ‘Marcel Guest’ as it was commonly known in the early days.

“Although I was playing bass in a band called The Olympics, I started repairing and refinishing guitars in around ’58, at first for mates, then it grew into a business as word spread,” says Ted Lee, who is now in his sixties and planning to emigrate to Australia with his wife Brenda (yes really!). “I did some early work for Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman when they were with The Mindbenders and later, when they formed 10CC, I even toured with the band, looking after their instruments. When I resprayed Lennon and Harrison’s guitars in black, Alan Clarke from The Hollies wanted the same finish, then other well-known bands followed suit.”

The refinishing of John Lennon’s 1958 Rickenbacker 325 is still the subject of endless speculation, even a dedicated blog called Baby’s in Black, but Ted believes he was the man who effected the original colour change and Brian Higham, who worked at Barratt’s during that time and played with Manchester band Harbour Lights, supports this assertion.

Writing on the 60’s music nostalgia website Manchesterbeat.com, Brian recalls: “In late 1962 Ted was asked to do a special job for the shop. It was to spray black a Rickenbacker model 325 that belonged to John Lennon and also a Gretsch Duo Jet that belonged to George Harrison. The Gretsch was already black but was in need of a re-spray. The job was done quite quickly, as I recall, as The Beatles were getting very busy, but despite the urgency, the job was done to Ted’s usual high standard. This had all come about through a conversation between myself, George Harrison and John Lennon at The Playhouse in Hulme, Manchester, and in early 1963 we saw the first pics of John’s Rickenbacker, in its new black livery. Another job well done by Ted the Sprayer.”

During the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, even 90’s, Ted worked on many other ‘iconic axes’, including those wielded by former Roxy Music lead guitarist Phil Manzanera, Adam & The Ants co-creator Marco Pirroni, former King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp, Justin Hayward, singer and composer with The Moody Blues, Simply Red co-founder Tony Bowers, Hollies and CSNY superstar, Graham Nash, even folk guitarist Mike Harding. Then Ted took his undoubted technical skills to Leeds College of Music, where he helped found courses related to the repair and construction of musical instruments, first as a part-time lecturer and eventually as Head of Department, until his recent retirement. Throughout, he remained loyal to HMG’s cellulose lacquer, prizing its quality finish, forgiving properties and superb ageing characteristics, latterly using the company’s M99 high gloss nitrocellulose, an automotive-grade product developing ultimate gloss straight from the gun.

“In the early days, I mixed my own colours, but when other lads in the same band wanted their guitars in the same shade, I was in trouble. So I started using Marcel Guest’s colour matching specialist, taking along bits of old guitar, catalogues and other samples,” recalls Ted. “HMG served us well over the years and I remember John Falder (the current MD) when he was just a young chemist and have a lot of respect for him and his company.”

Ted, who will soon be joining his daughter Samantha’s family in Australia, concedes that his respraying activities inadvertently helped to make Fender’s legendary Stratocaster now highly collectable, in its original Fiesta Red finish.

“They called it red, but most lads in Manchester reckoned it was salmon pink, so I ended up spraying hundreds of them in different colours Which is why the original spec is now so rare,” says Ted, who has accumulated much rock memorabilia of his own. “Later I met Leo Fender himself in the States, but he seemed very happy with what I’d done with his instruments and, I must say, I always worked to the highest possible standards, helped in no small way by HMG’s excellent paint.”

Further enquiries to HMG Paints, Riverside Works, Collyhurst Road, Manchester M40 7RU, telephone 0161 205 7631, email sales@hmgpaint.com