1970’s XJ Whites

[SimonH450P]

In particular a 1977 XJC 4.2 but any white XJ up to ‘78.

Am I correct in assuming that the shade of white used is Old English White? Or were there other variations.

I always thought that OEW had a slight creaminess to it, yet some of the white cars that I have seen look closer to a Polar white….
I cant find a paint code anywhere on the body, if there was one, where might it be?

[mike020150]

Old English White was the original colour name. Undoubtedly, over the years since, some owners have veered away from the original Jaguar shade and you have seen some of those cars.
Thanks to our XJ coordinator's information, the correct paint codes for Old English White were NDB, BLVC / JBC number 250, originally supplied by ICI under its code 2379, from 1973-1977. Try asking for NDB 250 at paint suppliers. Mike.

[Dave Eynon]

I have a white S1 XJ. From the JDHT certificate the date of manufacture was 31/12/69 and the paint colour is Cream ICI code 3100. After struggling to have paint mixed to that code some years ago, the car received paint repairs using OEW cellulose from a paint factors in Derby, which is a lighter shade. As the car was bare metalled it is only the engine bay that now shows its original paint and with the heat etc that has darkened over the years. Was Cream the name Jaguar used for OEW in 1969?

[JimMann]

In addition to the top coat colour, there is the question of the primer colour to set the correct hue. In a recent quiz, 6 samples of "red" painted panel were physically passed around and all were slightly different, because the primer colour had been varied for each test panel. Light grey, dark grey, black, white, etc. All produced marginal variations.

If you are trying to match an existing panel, then using a bodyshop that employs spectrometer checks is a reasonable way to go, if working from bare metal and total respray, go with what looks best to you.

Jim Mann

[mike020150]

In response to Dave E's comments, prior to 1970, there was a different shade of white used on Series 1 cars. It seems variously to be called cream or Old English white and hence the different paint code. Mike.