Help! - Paintt Choice Advice Required.

[Caleguy]

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts/advice etc. on the pros & cons of different paint colours for cars?

In the past, I have tended to go for red, partly because it often looks good, IMO, but also, red tends to be one of the few non-metallic options, and I don’t like metallic paint, aesthetically or practically (at least, potentially, as I have never actually owned a car with metallic paint, so maybe maintenance isn’t as bad as I expect?).

Unfortunately, as I am currently considering an Avensis Colour Collection, I have no option but to go for metallic, which is further restricted to a choice of just four:

Silver Steel

Sliver Fern

Eclipse Black

Dark Blue

Would I be correct in thinking that dark colours, worst of all black, would be the most difficult to maintain? When new/clean, the black looks quite good, but I have always been told in the past that it shows dirt, surface scratches, chips etc. worse than other paints?

Do dark colour fade more over the years?

As I have been ‘keeping an eye out’ recently, I have noticed that there seems to be phenomenal number of sliver cars (of all makes) on the road – do people actually like silver, or is it because that silver is, I’m guessing, a particularly practical colour, from a maintenance point of view (dirt, scratches etc.)? I have never been a fan of silver, though Toyota’s silver certainly seems to look better than those of some competing manufacturers, IMO.

I have never been overly concerned with paint colour on previous occasions, due to the largely superficial nature of the choice (mainly to do wth appearance etc.), as well as the fact that I was able to choose (relatively speaking) without restriction, but now that my choice IS so restricted, it is proving surprisingly difficult to decide which to go for, so any advice, from a practical point of view, personal experience etc. would be much appreciated.

TIA.

P.S. How do I edit the title of this post, so that I can correct my typo?

[Dunkelmann]

I went for Dark Blue (the current 2007 not the pre-facelift Carlo Blue). I am very pleased with it. The colour looks different in each light. Like all dark colours it looks better when clean. I simply got fed up of seeing silver cars. What I did before choosing was to go to Toyota's site and search for all the Dark Blue cars for sale by their dealers. Then I'd go through the pictures to get a feel for the colour. But there's no substitute for seeing it in a showroom, which finally decided it for me.

[Desmond22]

I know silver is common but silver steel does look good and it looks clean for a lot longer than darker colours. Not a bother if you like washing the car I suppose but in the winter it does look smarter for longer. :D

[bjw]

I know silver is common but silver steel does look good and it looks clean for a lot longer than darker colours. Not a bother if you like washing the car I suppose but in the winter it does look smarter for longer. :D

Silver for me as well I know its a bit samey at the moment but after owning a dark blue car which showed every stone chip its what I would pick also I think its looks classy in silver

As far as looking after metallic paints I believe they are no different from solid paints but as paints are now water based (I think) so are softer it is important to get birds dropping off asap also a metallic colour car will be more attractive to dealers on trade in

[bristolmotorspeedway]

In the past, I have tended to go for red, partly because it often looks good, IMO, but also, red tends to be one of the few non-metallic options, and I don’t like metallic paint, aesthetically or practically (at least, potentially, as I have never actually owned a car with metallic paint, so maybe maintenance isn’t as bad as I expect?).

I'm not sure what you have heard about metallics requiring more maintenance?

I've had two red cars and four metallic cars. The metallic painted cars have required zero in the way of maintenance, whilst red requires regular polishing to prevent fading and to keep it looking sharp. Metallics do obviously look better after a polish, but they don't require it in the way that solids do.

Agree with you that a nice, new, factory-fresh red car looks great though.

Anyway, I plumped for silver steel on my Avensis, it looks good and hides the layers of grime brilliantly - the car only really looks dirty because the alloys turn black with brake dust. It also is not really a traditional silver, it has a kind of gold tint to it. Park it by a 'normal' silver, eg VW/Audi, and Silver Steel is a completely different colour. Downside is, almost every other Avensis you see is the same colour.

[Penfold]

paint and bird plop has always been a bad combination. get it off asap to prevent it crinkling the surface.

with non-metallic you get a primer coat and top coat.

with metallic you get a primer, base and lacquer.

guess which one is the more chip resistant..........

my only gripe with Toyota paint is that they don't spray the door/tailgate shuts properly these days. I'd be less worried about the colour than the quality of the application. That said,

Dark Blue - not liked by dealers as they don't sell very well 2nd hand (moody blue)

Green - lots of people say it is unlucky (i've been taken roughly from behind twice now in my green mk1 )

Silver, Gold & Light Met Blue - great at not showing dirt but hopeless to colour match a repair - go for total respray to get it looking right

White - 040 white = stunning but hardwork to keep it in tiptop condition

Guess it has to be dark gunmetal but that's just so borrrrrrrrring

Plain red it is then.

[bristolmotorspeedway]

Green - lots of people say it is unlucky (i've been taken roughly from behind twice now in my green mk1 )

Yikes! Silver proving unlucky for me - invisible apparently - I have been attacked from the front/side twice.......

Silver, Gold & Light Met Blue - great at not showing dirt but hopeless to colour match a repair - go for total respray to get it looking right

Yes, I'd heard that too, but following its clashes my Silver Steel example has had two separate front end repairs at two different bodyshops. New right wing and bumper at one; bumper and left wing respray at another. Both repairs seem to match the original paintwork perfectly.