What’s the deal with all the orange chassis paint?

[Rock Star Eddie]

The warmer weather has just started to arrive and I am in the midst of power washing my chassis etc.

My power washer is blowing the grease - and in many cases - black paint off of the springs axles and frame.

Underneath there is orange paint everywhere. Wondering if it is the primer, a project by a previous owner who owned an orange paint factory, or if this is an odd scenario on mine.

Any thoughts?

[geoff]

Probably just a case of someone tarting up a Land Rover in the past and they thought orange would look " cool "

Thankfully fashions come and go 

[diffwhine]

Either the PO owned an orange paint factory or crashed into one, but it's not original.

[autorover1]

My old 1961 Rover P4 was painted all over the chassis parts with a similar colour paint & it had lasted well as an extra layer . Underneath was the original chassis black. I think the orange  was a common chassis paint at the time .  Yours is showing the orange paint on the bolts and dampers , which was not a production process , therefore an after sales process by a previous owner .

[Wittsend]

Back in the day when we were allowed "dangerous" substances one thing not mentioned in our recent topic was Red Lead paint. It was often used as a primer for steel things, such as the Forth Railway bridge.

Red Lead is a darker and duller colour than that seen in these pics.

Looks to me like someone got a few tins of orange paint "free" from work 
It also looks like it's been applied over unprepared parts as it seems to have been chipped away in patches.

 

[John]

When I bought my 11a in early 1990 all the chassis was painted in bright orange, the PO said it was a lead based marine paint, it was in a coastal area.
Over the years it has gone to black paint/black waxoil

[Richard]

Or minium maybe? A PO trying to protect metal parts from rusting?
Richard

[Oddjob]

The Coolnvintage company built a defender with this chassis.
I quite like it. Would be a conversation starter and maybe even be a theft deterrent as it's pretty identifiable!

[Old Hywel]

A local machinery dealer supplied a number of items in a muddy brown colour. It was reported to be anti-fouling paint. Must have been good stuff, we never had barnacles on our bale sledge.

[Rock Star Eddie]

Thanks everyone for the comments.

[Daisythelandie]

Way back when Red Lead was 'banned' we had a new primer for our steel products which was bright orange as per the OP's chassis so I would suggest it's good to last this long.

Dave.

[NoBeardNoTopKnot]

Ah, back in the day that sort of thing was de riguer.

Halycon days when favourite boy-racer colour was grey or red primer, and as LRs dropped down the food-chain all sorts of abortions were a norm. See this on eBay. The herd-choice from the era can be seen with cover-pix for late 90s editions of LRO. It's still happening, the current trend is 'drug-dealer' black, and from the same demographic.

At root has anything changed? Nope.

[Beowulf]

Was it JLR who predicted "The Futures Bright, The Futures Orange"? 

[Clifford Pope]

https://www.traditionalboatsupplies.com/index.php?id_category=33&controller=category&id_lang=2

Lead-based paints, fillers etc are still available from marine chandlers, and also I think for use on listed buildings. "Red" lead is not really red, but a kind of reddy orange. Various other lead products, chromates, oxides etc ranged in colour from white, yellows, oranges, almost to red.

That's not to say that the chassis in question isn't just a one-time fashion accessory in ordinary Dulux.

[Richard]

Was it JLR who predicted "The Futures Bright, The Futures Orange"? 

Or JFK in 1962...
Richard