Paint code A3E

[anonymous-user]

Right, I have a Y reg MX5 mk2 NB which needs a front wing respraying. The chassis plate says the paint code is A3E which could be either classic red or eternal red. Some sources say they are the same colour with the only difference being a lacquer applied to the latter.

I don’t see how that’s right because the can of Halfords branded classic red I got with the car is much darker than the car and no lacquer is going to make it match the rest of the car. I’ve tested it on the old wing and it’s just not the right colour. Is eternal red, available marked as such by some places, a brighter colour? Some places sell A3E as “classic/eternal red” others appear to sell a specific “eternal red”. My local motor factors have A3E as “classic/eternal red”....

Are they two different colours? Etermal red appears to be an mk2.5 NBFL colour rather than an NB? I can’t find any eternal red mk2s?[url]

I appreciate the difficulty in determining a colour from a picture but here’s one of the car. It’s shiny, very shiny, which could be years of polish and a good factory lacquer?

|https://thumbsnap.com/56jzW6A4[/url]

[Sbloxxy]

In my experience (I buy and sell MX5s for a living), a Mk2 will be Eternal Red. As you say, Classic red is quite different and much darker. If you want to be sure, find somewhere local that mixes paint, then remove the filler flap and take it in for an exact match. I did this on a 'Classic Red' car recently and discovered Eternal Red was the better match.