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[jackjmccarthy]

I'm new to the forum. I am doing a ground up resto on my TR3. Have a spitfire as a daily driver.
The question:
I am painting a set of 48 spoke wire wheels for a TR3. Does anyone know the name or MFGR of the gray color that was so common on these wheels?
Thanks
Jack

[TomMull]

Piggott lists CD31568 as the original paint code and says he thinks it's Dockers. I've not been able to cross reference that number although I haven't tried too hard.Instead my paint supplier came up with Centari General Motors Code 12 1985 Silver Effect which looks good to me. I'm not a concourse guy and you should do more research if accuracy is your goal. Tom Mulligan

[jackjmccarthy]

Thanks Tom !
I appreciate your response and will go with that.

[vila]

First I must say I am a TR4 owner and this may be different for the TR3s. 

The Factory TR4 parts manual lists two different paints for the painted version of the TR4 48 spoke wire wheels each with a distinct part number. They came painted with either Aluminum Paint or Silver Lacquer finish. 

In doing research on when Triumph TR4s switched from 48 spoke to 60 spoke wires, some TR3B owners had contact me saying the late 62 TR3Bs had 60 spokes while the early 62s had 48s.  This agreed with my data on the TR4s so I assume that at least in 1962 both the TR3Bs and TR4s supplied with wire wheels could be ordered with either paint finish.

Bob Beers

[TomMull]

Bob is correct on several counts here. Since the TR3Bs were built concurrently with the early TR4s, it seems reasonable that some or most would have the same wheels although the 60 spoke were apparently available on earlier TR3s by special order. The paint on the TR3 wheels is the same as the paint on the TR4s and as far as I can tell the same on all TRs from 1957 through the late sixties at least. Prior to 57 of course, the TR wheels were the same color as the body. Aluminum Paint or Silver Lacquer are both  listed for wheels on most models. However, there is only one code in the records, CD31568, reportedly a Dockres Paint Co. code. I can't cross reference that code. Aluminum Paint or Silver Lacquer may have been different names for the same color or perhaps similar colors from different manufacturers. I find no evidence of two distinct wheel colors. ("Silver lacquer" may have been somewhat generic as it is the Wurth color for German car wheels of the same period.)
Several parts suppliers specializing in vintage cars sell a variety of spray cans for wheels, "silver- gray" "aluminum" and so forth but they don't discriminate as to marque and probably neither did the British car makers at the time. The silver wheels on Triumphs, MGs, Jaguars and so forth look the same to me. I don't like spray cans muck and that's why I settled for the GM color from an eyeball match. Tom Mulligan