TF 85 stripes/decals

[F3eng1911]

Hi . If there is anyone out there who has a TF85 I would be interested to know if they have bought a new set of stripes and from where, which can replace the originals suitably colour match etc. Cheers.

[Rob Bell]

Original decals are as rare as Hen's teeth. You may need to get fresh details made (plenty of vinyl printing companies out there) - others may have already been down this road and be able to provide some advice?

[c13amb]

If memory serves me correct get yourself over to the Tbar.com forum.Theres a member there who has a lot to do with the tops over the peaks every year...his forum ID is sundanceuk and ask about door decals.I got mine in the 85th style but with the MG logo instead of the "85" and there very good quality in various colours too.I got mine about 18 months ago and cost somewhere about £35 ish. good luck

[nigelandjo]

XPart may still have a set ~ I know there were none available in purple a couple of years back and had to source a supplier. Used a company near Liverpool who had supplied a fellow Register member. Any vinyl company should be able to supply a near match. Is it just the stripes across the bonnet / boot that you need?

[Neil Rushton]

Lee Pudney who organises the Friends Round London run used to be the guy for stripes on Fs & TFs I think he's usually on mgrover.org.

[redbeard57]

Contact "info@apmcustoms.co.uk", they are based in Saltney near Chester in Cheshire.
This is the company that I used and I think it is the same one that Nigel used. They should already have the patterns for the stripes.
Don't use the originals now as we found out via a close contact at MG that the spare sets were stored badly and had become damp, which caused issues when they are applied. Also they were a colour printed onto a white background material, which results in the stripes breaking down and the white background coming through. I negotiated a discount for MG CC members when I went originally, but that was about 5 or 6 years ago now.....

[Rob Bell]

That's very useful to know!

Interesting that the OE vinyls fade to white - particularly given the efforts that the company made to ensure vinyl longevity...

[F3eng1911]

Hi. Thanks for the above contacts. I will certainly be looking into each of these. It is a shame that these LEs. Although having nice paintwork, are brought down by poor stripes. Given that they are contrasting colours for the original 85 scheme i didnt want to replace with just anything. Faded or discoloured in some way stripes just dont cut it, It lets them down a bit. I'll keep you updated as to any success in following up on this. Thanks again.

[redbeard57]

That's very useful to know!

Interesting that the OE vinyls fade to white - particularly given the efforts that the company made to ensure vinyl longevity...

It is not so much that they fade to white, it is more that accidental damage occurs to the top surface which results in the white coming through...in our case the car went into the dealership for some work and while it was there the dealership kindly "cleaned" it with something, we never did find out exactly what, and when we got it back the stripes were scratched and damaged with the white coming through. The garage may have used some sort of steam cleaning device on the car which had softened the surface of the material, and then a rotary polisher which scrubbed and damaged the surface, we will never know as they claimed that "the stripes had been like that when it arrived"....needless to say we didn't use them again!!