Finishing the 2022 Bentley Flying Spur

The Flying Spur is now available in Cambrian Grey. All photos: Bentley

Most automotive OEMs provide a palette of colors for their vehicles that is (a) sufficiently large to address what the anticipated choices of their customers will be and (b) not so extensive that it would require excessive changeovers in the paint shop.

Of course, many OEMs are running 60 jobs per hour.

Which isn’t the case at Bentley. It requires approximately 130 hours to build a Flying Spur.

Bentley hand paints its vehicles so as to provide a visual consistency across the body panels.

In the British marque’s production facility, the Pyms Lane factory in Crewe, where it has been building vehicles since 1946, the paint operations start with corrosion-proofing the body, then applying the primer and topcoat. Because the body has curves, which means that there could be perceptible color variances, Bentley technicians hand spray each vehicle so as to provide a consistent appearance. Following the final lacquer, the body is fine sanded then polished with lamb’s wool — for 12 hours.

For the new model year 2022 Flying Spur, Bentley has added an exterior paint color, Cambrian Grey.

So this means that someone who is configuring their Flying Spur has to consider that color along with the following (although it must be admitted that the Mulliner colors are special — of course, is any color on a Bentley not special?):

Anthracite
Anthracite Satin by Mulliner
Beluga
Black Crystal
Onyx
Royal Ebony by Mulliner
Spectre
Storm Grey by Mulliner
Titan Grey
Black Sapphire
Blue Crystal
Dark Sapphire
Fountain Blue
Jetstream II
Kingfisher by Mulliner
Light Sapphire by Mulliner
Light Windsor Blue by Mulliner
Marlin
Meteor
Moroccan Blue
Neptune
Oxford Blue by Mulliner
Peacock
Portofino
Sequin Blue
Silverlake
Thunder
Windsor Blue
Arabica
Bentayga Bronze
Bronze
Brodgar
Camel by Mulliner
Dark Cashmere
Havana
Khamun by Mulliner
Light Gazelle by Mulliner
Orange Flame
Pale Brodgar
Rose Gold
Sunburst Gold by Mulliner
Cumbrian Green
Midnight Emerald
Radium by Mulliner
Verdant
Viridian by Mulliner
Azure Purple
Black Velvet
Burgundy
Candy Red by Mulliner
Cricket Ball
Claret by Mulliner
Damson
Dragon Red II
Magenta
St. James Red (Pearlescent) by Mulliner
St. James Red (Solid)
Breeze by Mulliner
Cambrian Grey
Extreme Silver
Extreme Silver Satin by Mulliner
Granite
Hallmark
Ice
Light Grey Satin by Mulliner
Magnetic
Moonbeam
Silver Frost by Mulliner
Silver Storm by Mulliner
Silver Tempest
Tungsten
Arctica by Mulliner
Dove Grey
Ghost White
Glacier White
Julep
Magnolia
Monaco Yellow by Mulliner
Old English White
Patina
Snow Quartz
Special Magnolia by Mulliner
White Sand by Mulliner
White Satin by Mulliner
Alpine Green
Apple Green
Barnato
British Racing Green 4
Brodgar

Another finishing-related aspect to the new Flying Spur: open-pore veneer — Crown Cut Walnut, Dark Burr Walnut and Koa — are being offered.

It is being hand painted with three layers of lacquer: All three layers combined are 0.1 mm thick.

A layer of lacquer is applied, then the surface sanded. The resulting finish is described as being “wax-like,” and one that allows the tactile feel of the wood surface.

By contrast, the Bentley “High Gloss” lacquer coating, ordinarily applied to the wood trim, is 0.5 mm thick.