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Can't decide on a silver or white car...

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Old 10-26-07 | 09:00 AM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Not with modern clearcoats...if applied correctly. Silver, decades ago, like some reds, used to be a notorious fade-em-out color after a couple of years, because, if you didn't keep it religiously waxed, the microscopic iron particles in the paint that helped give it its color were exposed to oxygen in the air that dulled it and caused oxidation, but modern clearcoats generally prevent that by providing one or more layers of clear insulation. .
I wish some of the manufacturers down here would do this, as my uncle always finds himself getting a few people a month that want to upgrade their silver.
Old 10-26-07 | 09:08 AM
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Get white, thats what I did.

Everyone and their moms has a silver car.
Old 10-26-07 | 09:47 AM
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White is bland as potato salad. Silver has a little flare and is much easier to keep clean. MUCH easier. The Jag has to be washed every 2 days, the Mercedes can go for a week or more.
Old 10-26-07 | 10:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Lexmex
I wish some of the manufacturers down here would do this, as my uncle always finds himself getting a few people a month that want to upgrade their silver.
Clearcoats are pretty much universal these days. Why would plants in Mexico not use them? Most, if not all, of the Mexican-built cars I've seen, like some VWs and Ford products, have it.
Old 10-26-07 | 10:36 AM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Clearcoats are pretty much universal these days. Why would plants in Mexico not use them? Most, if not all, of the Mexican-built cars I've seen, like some VWs and Ford products, have it.
Well, we are talking about cars that are about say at least 5 years old, but my uncle has been saying the same thing about the silver paint down here for about 10 years and no improvement in site. Not sure if is something related to the environment here.
Old 10-26-07 | 10:47 AM
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Originally Posted by Lexmex
Well, we are talking about cars that are about say at least 5 years old, but my uncle has been saying the same thing about the silver paint down here for about 10 years and no improvement in site. Not sure if is something related to the environment here.
Perhaps. Mexico City, Tokyo, and Shanghai are notorious for being among the world's most polluted cities. Acid rain can really do a number on paint jobs....even with clearcoat.
Old 10-26-07 | 03:42 PM
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Originally Posted by saelee39
I am on my way to college out of town and I am in the market for a new car. I am a college student who will commute and I will need a car that:

1. Hides water spots since it will be parked on the streets somewhere by the sprinklers and get rain on.
2. Hide scratches and light dings
3. Hide swirls since I will run it through the machine once a month
4. Hide rock chips...

This comes down to the two colors. Silver and white. Do these colors do the same job as far as hiding swirl, scratches and water spots? I prefer silver more since white is too bright. However, I will get either one if one can hide more of the imperfections listed above. I will need your help to decide since I never own any of these colors. I currently own a black 2000 GS and I pretty much babied it and my time has come to an end driving in my black beauty... thanks

Why even a new car, you are a brat Why not just get a used car since most of the time it's just gonna sit there and depreciate in the remote-est dirt lot that your campus would only offer to all the 1st year frosh?

Get a cool used car you like, and you won't have to worry about any of the above conditions you listed When you get a hang of the neck of your wood (LOL), maybe you'll get an apt. with more secured parking spot, and maybe you'll still get dings but who cares a car is a car, you don't wear it.
Old 10-26-07 | 04:25 PM
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I hate black!! I got 2 black lexus!!!
but hey, at least I got a white one too.
I wash my 2 black babies every other week. I haven't done a car wash for my white one in 5 months already...

I had 4 silver lexus too, they are required lot less manitanance too.

But my vote goes to white, especially pearl/chrystal white!!!
Old 10-27-07 | 07:57 AM
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I'm a big fan of silver and white and have owned many of each.

1995 White Trans Am
1995 White Cutlass Supreme Convertible
2003 White Expedition
1999 White GS400
1998 White Corvette Convertible
2001 White Corvette Z06

1993 Silver Thunderbird
1999 Silver Camaro SS
2004 Silver GTO
1991 Silver LS400


The silver stays cleaner looking a little longer, actually many times it was hard to tell from washed and not washed.
The silver shows water spots a little more.
The silver shows swirl marks a little more.
The silver is also a little more boring looking, but I guess that matters on which car.

You cant go wrong with either color, both pretty easy to maintain. The choice of car would sway me toward one color, some cars just dont look right in a certain color.
Old 10-30-07 | 10:43 PM
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Pdw Ftw!!!
Old 10-31-07 | 12:50 AM
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silver all the way. i'm really surpised to see all the fans of white. I think it is the most boring color, and is the least sporty IMHO.

My problem with silver: hardest to touch up

Best thing about silver: hardest color to see, (especially at night), so cops won't see you coming
Old 10-31-07 | 07:41 AM
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Originally Posted by 94lex83457
silver all the way. i'm really surpised to see all the fans of white. I think it is the most boring color, and is the least sporty IMHO.

My problem with silver: hardest to touch up

Best thing about silver: hardest color to see, (especially at night), so cops won't see you coming
White not sporty? Tell that to Carroll Shelby. Some of the most famous high-performance Mustangs in history were white with blue stripes....and vice-versa. same with the legandary Chevy Chaparral racing car.....painted in white U.S. racing colors with blue trim. And the famous white Camaro SS with orange trim.

You are correct that silver (and light bluish-silver) is probably the hardest color to match when painting. And you're also correct about silver being harder to see at night than white...but of course, black is traditionally the hardest color of all to see at night, not silver. That's why aircraft that were originally dedsigned for night fighting and today's Stealth aircraft are painted black.

Silver and gray are probably the hardest colors to see in the daytime, especially on cloudy, damp days because they blend in very well with asphalt road surfaces.....that is one reason for the headlights-with wiper laws in some states and one reason why most cars today have Daytime Running Lights.

And also keep in mind, when you try and be stealth-ish, that if cops can't see you, Grandpa and Grandma, with their aging eyes, probably can't either....and, of course, that means more chance of an accident.
Old 10-31-07 | 08:27 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
White not sporty? Tell that to Carroll Shelby. Some of the most famous high-performance Mustangs in history were white with blue stripes....and vice-versa. same with the legandary Chevy Chaparral racing car.....painted in white U.S. racing colors with blue trim. And the famous white Camaro SS with orange trim.

You are correct that silver (and light bluish-silver) is probably the hardest color to match when painting. And you're also correct about silver being harder to see at night than white...but of course, black is traditionally the hardest color of all to see at night, not silver. That's why aircraft that were originally dedsigned for night fighting and today's Stealth aircraft are painted black.

Silver and gray are probably the hardest colors to see in the daytime, especially on cloudy, damp days because they blend in very well with asphalt road surfaces.....that is one reason for the headlights-with wiper laws in some states and one reason why most cars today have Daytime Running Lights.

And also keep in mind, when you try and be stealth-ish, that if cops can't see you, Grandpa and Grandma, with their aging eyes, probably can't either....and, of course, that means more chance of an accident.
mmarshall is right--you should get white with big blue stripes.
Old 10-31-07 | 02:03 PM
  #29  
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flip a coin if you're really torn between the two colors!
Old 10-31-07 | 02:21 PM
  #30  
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get white for safety reason.
silver is almost invisible under certain lighting condition, especially in the shadow on a sunny day (i know, driving lights help).
but white is one of the most highly visible colors.



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