29-12-2017, 10:03 AM
(This post was last modified: 29-12-2017, 10:05 AM by Mike Costigan.)
On reflection (and aren't those beautiful reflections in that paint job!) I think I need to add to my comment above. First of all, I'm relying on my memories of vehicles seen fifty years ago - not a good start! But let's look at 'Old Smokey', seen here in 1969:
1969 Ashgate Road.800.jpg (Size: 167.65 KB / Downloads: 458)
As you can see, the original Maroon was chalky and far from glossy, and the Black wings only slightly more glossy; it's relatively easy to buff-up a matte or semi-matte finish to give it a bit of a sheen, maybe those window frames were not, as I recall, faded gloss, but well-preserved matte?
As for that original photo, again we need to take evidence seen on period photos with caution. Why was the photo taken? Was it for publicity purposes, in which case it may represent finishes as presented to the public, or was it taken for evaluation purposes, to assess whether a proposed treatment was satisfactory? As Robin points out, this car has early trafficator arms, and the reflections show a row of cars possibly with chrome radiators, so my guess is it's probably a 1934 car, maybe a pre-production model, in which case this may not represent normal production line finishes.
And, yes, Robin, it looks to me like the starting handle is not located in the usual position.
1969 Ashgate Road.800.jpg (Size: 167.65 KB / Downloads: 458)
As you can see, the original Maroon was chalky and far from glossy, and the Black wings only slightly more glossy; it's relatively easy to buff-up a matte or semi-matte finish to give it a bit of a sheen, maybe those window frames were not, as I recall, faded gloss, but well-preserved matte?
As for that original photo, again we need to take evidence seen on period photos with caution. Why was the photo taken? Was it for publicity purposes, in which case it may represent finishes as presented to the public, or was it taken for evaluation purposes, to assess whether a proposed treatment was satisfactory? As Robin points out, this car has early trafficator arms, and the reflections show a row of cars possibly with chrome radiators, so my guess is it's probably a 1934 car, maybe a pre-production model, in which case this may not represent normal production line finishes.
And, yes, Robin, it looks to me like the starting handle is not located in the usual position.