Car Colour choice

Hi Andrew, I think most government cars are white for just that reason, They look ok clean and dirty, easy to repair and touch-up. I actually agonised over the colour of my current Patrol, my last Patrol was boring white. I really wanted the Burnt Silver but practicality told me to get another white one( I hate myself for being so practical). In years gone by if you scratched a metallic car, it left a white or grey colour exposed, i'm not sure what happens with modern water based paint on cars now.. Michael

Like Michael said Government fleet cars, especially 4bys are white because they hide minor scratches better than any other colour.

My Rodeo is white and it is great for hiding scratches and small dents. However our work F250s are both metallic silver and their scratches look like pin stripes at 100 feet!!

However I have been able to polish the scatches out with very minimal effort. They look good as new. However there is one deep scratch on one of them that has left the scratched line white. Must be the colour of the undercoat.

I'd go the white everytime. Means you don't need to colour code any bolt ons either to keep the car looking good.

Andrew, I concurr with Michael above in regard to the white ones but have a gold one anyway. Yes, it catches branches and fence posts around the farm.

The insurance companies will probably tell you too that all colours other than white are driven more aggressively anyway. I guess it costs less to match white paint when the scratches are painted over that just escapes their notice. Obviously if you listen to the media 4bys are just the added extra for the agression and colour.

Just remember they are "not perty til they are dirty" I don't think that just applies to John Deere tractors, just pardon the american accent... Mine had Mad Max tints of desert mud below.

Gday Andrew,

Had the burnt silver patrol for about 8 weeks now, already had the 'touch up guys' out to hide a few chips that surfaced after dirt road travelling past Millmeran a few weeks ago. Also, scratches are really a problem as anything that touches the shiny metalic finish leaves it's mark.

Go the white, or the baby poo brown, had that in a tojo a few years back and found that even better than white!

Cheers

Chris.

I totally agree with responses.....White is smart mans colour for cars....
I also did some testing last year on what temperatures different colours get when sitting in the sunshine....

Arctic white which is by far the best reached 30 degrees c sitting in the sunshine on a 28 degree day....
Another car was painted in a typical white which wasnt quite arctic and it was 36degrees.....Blue was in the 50's and red was 60's.....

Thanks for all the replies fellas - so it comes down to looks over practicality!!
Cheers
Andrew

I got over pretty colours years ago. I only buy white for the above reasons.

Andrew,
Like the others have said go the white for the reasons stated.
A TIP fefore a trip go to the car wash and wax the paintwork thoroughly and just leave the wax to dry, don't wash of then the next time you wash the beast use a soft cloth and the results are great. Helps a lot with those little scratches from the scrub. Also often with coloured vehicles the undercoat is white which shows up when a decent scratch happens.

You are all forgeting that red ones go faster!! lol. Only joking I have two white cars for the above reasons.

Athol.

White is also safer.....more visable on the road!!!!!!

Brian

Just to be different!

I got the champagne brown/beige colour on my Prado because it was the only colour that came with the tan interior. I spend most of my time INSIDE the car and I hate grey interiors - they are drab and and soak up the heat. The lighter tan colour gives a much airer and spacious feeling and the brown/red dust does not show up as bad as it does on grey dash plastic.

As for the outside, I have been though some pretty tight scrub and heard the scrapes of branches going down the side. So far though the scratching seems minimal and I am not seeing any of the problems with light coloured underpaint showing through.

Also the dirt does not seem to show too bad on it and being a pretty light colour the duco does not seem to get too hot in the sun like it does with darker colours. It is a little more interesting than plain white and from some recent reports in the media it seems that a beige/tan coloured vehicle is among the safest in terms of visibility on the road - ahead of white and red, but behind yellow!

Just my 2.2 cents worth (incl GST!)

Muddy 'doe

How come you get to choose?

Not married huh?

Andrew

I choose boring white because it is cooler than a darker colour, and the most visible - grey black blue or any dark shade cars in shadow bands "melt" into the bitumen, browns reds and yellow according to the light can be less visible on dirt roads - haven't driven in snow!

Hi Andrew,

I've had white 4WD's for the last 12 years and went the Moonstone with my GU as I reckoned it looked far better and I was sick of white cars. While I reckon the GU still looks great, I already regret my decision. It shows up the scratches far too easily and if I was to buy again I would go the boring white.

So yes, it does boil down to the pratical but boring white vs good looking silver/brown/red/blue (whatever takes your fancy). But I reckon a scratch free white looks better than a pinstriped colour!

Just my 2cents worth.

Cheers

Captain