Maybach Green – Part 2 - Inside Track | Renault TSF Tank Kent

The results are back from the analysis of the paint on the early Maybach block. The paint chips removed from the block have been analysed and the report on the findings is ready. We have been looking for confirmation on the colour of the block which was completed some time in 1937 prior to being fitted into the engine bay of the Befehlspanzer 1 of the Tank Museum. The badly applied top coat, initially ignored as modern, has been confirmed as a modern synthetic polymer, potentially an Alkyd type paint. According to the report Alkyd paints were introduced after WW2, so this layer can be ignored. Three further layers of paint have been discovered beneath the modern light blue green top layer. The initial base layer is a revelation – a very thin clear layer that fluoresces and emits a strong red pink under ultra violet light, suggesting a lacquer. This may have been used as a primer or rust inhibitor. We are unable to definitely establish whether Maybach allowed the blocks to corrode to cure the castings and then treated them with a solution – possibly what has been described above. Above the lacquer layer is a deep charcoal black. Within this layer we found the NL38TR lettering in red (40mm high) confirming the charcoal black was the original finish layer. A final later layer is ‘a slightly less intense’ deep grey /black which could have been applied at some point during maintenance or an engine rebuild between 1937 and 1943. We have selected the deep charcoal black as the colour to follow. This is the colour we have often encountered in our previous restoration projects but without this scientific confirmation.

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