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If your TD, like most others, has been refinished a number of times some of the little details may have been lost. In fact you may not even know they exist unless you have compared your car to another. The details I refer to in this section are found in the form of etchings and decals. These decals and etchings were part of plates from the MG Car Company or their suppliers. Some of these are available as replacement parts and offer good substitutes. Many of these parts are not available or perhaps just need to be restored.
Within these pages I will describe these decals and etchings and provide a digital image of the item so you can create your own or restore the etching on your original part. I will also describe how you might go about the etching process or where you could have this done. The items that I deal with in these pages are:
This decal was affixed to the top of the smooth topped air cleaners. Note the image is not full size.
Found on some of the late model TD's.
The Auster windscreen builders plate was attached to the bottom frame member of the windscreen via two tiny round headed rivets. Make sure that this plate is on the inside of the vehicle as many times you find it on the outside of restored cars. This plate is unusual in that it is done in two colors. Bright red for the Auster bracketed by black decorations to the sides.
This part is available from suppliers such as Moss Motors and Abingdon Spares but they did not etch the part. Instead they just silk screened the image onto a plate. If you want a more realistic copy then you will need to etch the image into the plate.
The original over the dash review view mirror that was used on the MGTD was supplied by Desmo. They included their logo on the back of the mirror (towards the front of the car) at the top. The metal parts of the mirror where plated chrome.
Found on early (1951 and earlier) cars with both painted and chrome headlamps.
The chassis ID plate designates your car and engine numbers. There are at least two different versions of this plate. Reproductions of this plate only support the early version and do not have the 2 on the TD/ that later cars had. You may need to add this etching to a reproduction plate. These plates were nickel and filled with black paint.
The body plate contained the body type and body number stamped into the surface. The plate itself was plated in nickel with filled letters in black. These can be obtained commercially.
The body number was also stamped on the body frame just under the left hand floorboard.
This plate was a little different in that it had a painted background (black) with raised patent numbers. The plate was done in nickel. You can obtain these commercially.
This plate was attached to the right hand door's sidescreen at the top cross member. It sported a black background with natural raised lettering.
This plate was affixed to all Tecalemit filters (late TD's) and was photo etched. I do not have an easy way to restore this plate. You might want to consider doing the artwork on a computer and then contracting to an etching shop.
Octagonal plate with inner circle ring. Raised letters riveted to the engine block. Includes stamped engine number that is match on the chassis ID plate. Note there were TD, TD2 and TD3 inner tags. These pictures also show the correct type of flat headed rivet to hold the tag in place onto the block.
Etched around the oil cap filler were popular brands (recommended by the factory?) of oil. This part was nickel plated with etched and black painted letters.
The tappet (rocker) setting clearance plate was affixed to the left side of the rocker cover and was unfinished brass. The plate came with either .019" or .012" clearance depending on the engine.
This one may have been stamped on but an etching may be a good facsimile just in case. Not painted to my knowledge but you could if you wanted more contrast. Most have this chrome plated.
Found on the upper right corner of the radiator core on the engine side. Painted with the core but you could treat it in brass and paint for an enhanced effect. Each plate carried a stamped serial number.
Another plate found on the tank top generally on the right hand side. These plates were soldered to the tank and painted black overall.
Note: These plates may be available in limited quantities. Please contact Jim Threadgill for more information.
This plate was put on some export cars. It was found on the left end of the tool box just below the band that the clasp is attached to. The plate was made of brass and etched with the MG logo in front with the words MADE IN ENGLAND along side it to the right. Not all export cars seem to posses this plate. Certainly if you do not have two little holes on the left end of your toolbox you probably are not a candidate. Finished in nickel and black paint.
OK. These are not original for TD's (MG TA's?) but everybody has them. These were not plated but were natural aluminium that was polished and filled with black paint.
To restore or create a reproduction you have to go through a few steps. First you must obtain an image of the original. This page should help you in that regard. Secondly you will need to create a mask and then etch the item. After this process you may need to have the item plated depending on it's original finish. And finally you will have to fill in the etching with paint to make it stand out (or conversely fill in the background). A few etchings were really a photo chemical coloration and are not really painted on (ex: Tecalemit oil filter plate). This article does not cover that process.
Etching is the process of removing a specified amount of material from an object by using acid or some sort of abrasive. Etching is generally done via some sort of mask either directly with an acid or using the mask to photochemically treat the material first. In the case of the MGTD many of the etchings were done over brass but other metals were used also. A very popular use of etching is in the creation of printed circuit boards. In fact you may find that process most useful to you. You can find a brief overview of the etching process at this site.
Warning: Anyone considering doing their own etching should realize that it is a fairly difficult and dangerous process and your results will not be guaranteed. I would suggest that you consider sending your part and mask template (image) to a professional when etching is required. If you do decide to try your own hand at etching you should experiment on like materials as the part you will be ultimately using. Also I do not recommend trying to deepen or re-etch existing parts, at least not by a layman.
To restore etched parts requires a few basic steps. First you must thoroughly clean all of the parts to be treated. This includes removing any existing paint and/or plating. Plating will generally have to be removed at a plating shop.
You will need some sort of mask that will indicate where the etching should/should not take place. One these pages I will attempt to provide you with images that you can use to generate your own etching masks from your computer printer. Generally the best way to mask your part is to create the mask with your computer. If you have a laser printer you can generate your mask directly otherwise you will have to first print your mask and then transfer the image to the mask material with a Xerographic copy machine. You can find photo generated mask material and instructions to make the mask here.
Once the parts have been stripped and cleaned you can begin the etching process. Follow the instructions with your etching materials and mask. Be sure to take all the environmental and personal protection precautions because acid is very dangerous to you and the environment. See cautions above.
Most of the ID plates on the MGTD were nickel plated. Nickel differs from chrome plating in that chrome plating is usually done in three layers. The first being a layer of brass which provides a smooth uniform surface that can also be lightly polished if needed between the first and second platting. The next layer is nickel which gives it the silver look. Nickel has sort of a yellowish tinge to it. Nickel can oxidize like any silver and can turn dark yellow and even gray or black. It needs to be polished frequently to retain it's shine. Finally in chrome plating the third layer is actually the chromium. This is applied in a very thin, almost transparent layer. Its' main function is to protect the nickel from abrasion and tarnishing. It also gives chrome plating that characteristic bluish look.
To properly plate your etched parts just have them nickel plated, straight over the existing brass. Be careful that you do not have the plate overly polished first otherwise you may remove some of the etching and/or your plate will look to shiny and be confused with chrome plating, at least until it starts to tarnish.
Most of the etched parts were painted after the plating process. Some may have been silk screened or photo etched as reported above. For those plates that were painted here is how you can replace the paint.
First it is important to realize that in some cases the paint provided a contrast for the letters and was actually used as a filler. In other cases the paint actually provided a dark background for the letters to rise above the background and stand out. In either case the principal is the same. You will need to put paint in the recessed or etched areas and leave the non etched areas to rise above for contrast.
Start by making sure your plated etching is free from all grease and oil. Use a good grade of commercial painting pre cleaner or alcohol to clean the surface. Next obtain the correct color of paint, black in most cases, in a lacquer base. Lacquer based paints work best because they are easier to work with after the paint has cured. Do not use a primer! You will need to spray the entire area of the plate. A good tool for this would be an artist or hobby airbrush. Build up a good deal of paint because the next process will remove most of it.
You will have to experiment a little from this point but the good news is that you can do this over and over again without hurting anything or seriously having to redo much work. The object at this point is to remove all the paint on the surface of the etching while still retaining the paint within the recesses. This will be easy to do on those plates where the etchings make up the text and figures. On the plates where the paint constitutes the body or background, this may be a little tougher.
There are many techniques to remove the unwanted paint from your etchings. Each has it's own benefits and detriments. You might find one useful for one type of plate but totally inappropriate for another. Try them as you see fit.
The easiest way to remove paint is through the use of a solvent. If you have used a lacquer type of paint then lacquer thinner is what you will use. Other types of paints may need another type of solvent. Use the solvent sparingly and remove as much of the paint on the larger areas as you can. For tools I like to use smooth cotton such as bed sheets wrapped in a mandrel or rod. I soak the cloth and then wrap it tightly around the rod. Then I carefully wipe this across the surface, removing a little paint each time. After each pass I would recommend you use a new piece of cloth or an unused portion of you cloth. Stop just sort of removing all the paint when you can see the raised portion coming through. At this point you will follow up with the polishing technique described below.
You can also use cotton swabs to carefully remove paint in stubborn areas. If you make a mistake and remove too much paint let the part dry for a while and then recoat again. You can concentrate your touch-up in those difficult areas and work it until you get the look you want.
This technique is much slower than the solvent method but is less deliberate in the removal of the paint. Start with a hard surface such as a 12 inch square plate of glass or metal. It must be perfectly flat and smooth. Cover it with a piece of smooth cotton. You can experiment with bed sheets or cotton T-shirts. Make sure there are no wrinkles or creases.
Using a fine hand polishing compound invert the plated piece and rub it over the hard surface covered with cloth. You will need to inspect the part many times during the operation to make sure you are only removing the paint that you need to. Press down firmly but evenly while rubbing. You may need to replace the cloth and/or add compound frequently as needed.
When you get to a point that you can just see the image coming through you should switch to a car cleaner wax or a lighter compound. You may also use finer tools such as cotton swabs or your fingered covered in cloth to work smaller areas. Once you have removed all the unwanted paint then buff with a clean cloth. You may optionally coat your parts with clear to keep the nickel from tarnishing and to protect your painted areas from wear.
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