Door escutcheons protect the paintwork around the door handle and lock barrel, the areas most vulnerable to scuffing, key scratches, and wear from regular daily use. Over fifty years of inserting and withdrawing the key, and operating the handle, causes significant paint damage in the area immediately surrounding the lock and handle aperture, often progressing to bare metal and eventually corrosion, which an escutcheon prevents entirely. On the MGB, the push-button exterior door handle was introduced in 1965, replacing the pull-type handle fitted to early Roadsters from 1962 to 1964, the push-button sitting in a rectangular chrome-plated casing recessed into the door skin, with the handle assembly revised on the MkII from 1967 to a central position just above the door pull.
Fitment
Stainless steel escutcheons surround the push-button door handle aperture, sitting flush with the door skin, and suit all push-button handle cars from 1965 onwards, covering both chrome bumper and rubber bumper Roadster and GT, held in place by the door handle assembly itself and requiring no modification to the door skin. Chrome-finish escutcheons are also available to match existing door handle brightwork, providing a neat decorative surround to the lock barrel and key slot. The mirror-polished finish complements the car's existing chrome and brightwork, and stainless steel requires no maintenance or replating over time.