catchthepigeonmutley Posted June 3, 2018 Report Share Posted June 3, 2018 Hi all... I'm starting to look for a new car and my needs are for something with good boot space for my shooting stuff etc. We're not bothered about rear passenger leg room as the kids are driving now and we rarely have passengers. My wife however, wants something in red. I'm a bit dubious about this as I have seen plenty of formerly red cars around which are now going much lighter, if not a strange shade of reddish pink. About 15 years ago I remember talking to a chap who worked for an automotive paint manufacturer and he said (if I recall correctly) it was something to do with red pigment not being as durable or longlasting. I've lost contact with him now, so am wondering if this is still a problem with red vehicles or if it has now been overcome. Anyone any thoughts? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted June 3, 2018 Report Share Posted June 3, 2018 Go for a nice red metallic paint it won't show fading as much. Or buy any colour and have it vinyl wrapped in the red you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted June 3, 2018 Report Share Posted June 3, 2018 My wife's red Hyundai i30 is 9 years old now, and still looks like new. Admittedly 40 years ago when I had a new orange Chrysler Alpine, the paint faded within the 3 years that I had it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol p Posted June 3, 2018 Report Share Posted June 3, 2018 Red obsorbs more low energy uv radiation as it is more common in our spectrum. These days improved uv protected clear coats over red base coats will not let this happen as much. Gone are the days of low solid red colours due the VOC laws in automotive manufacturing. If in doubt polish and then wax it as often as possible. And keep it away from Romanian bubble monkey car washes that will strip the **** off of your finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerCat Posted June 3, 2018 Report Share Posted June 3, 2018 The problem with red cars is finding them in the car park as suddenly everyone has one. Having had 5 red cars you'll do well to heed my advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted June 3, 2018 Report Share Posted June 3, 2018 (edited) Red paint does fade, my OH's Honda Jazz is showing signs of it but, (and this is not as silly as it sounds), wraps, as figgy said, are becoming so much cheaper and more adventurous you can vary your car's appearance very cheaply, not like a respray Edited June 3, 2018 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Callahan Posted June 3, 2018 Report Share Posted June 3, 2018 46 minutes ago, GingerCat said: The problem with red cars is finding them in the car park as suddenly everyone has one. Having had 5 red cars you'll do well to heed my advice. Have you tried finding a silver or dark grey car in a massive car park ? I had 3 red cars on the bounce - my first 3 cars infact - between 2001-2006. I never had any issues of too many going about. Personal favourite was the deep met. burgundy of the Peugeot 306. Saw one the other week, still looks good today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted June 3, 2018 Report Share Posted June 3, 2018 Yehh but numpties can see them, as with yellow or white. In the 70s I did a rough calculation. I pulled all the road accident details up I could find in our force area and checked car colours. Grey, silver grey and pale blue had more impacts than yellows, reds, whites. They blend with the road surface, particularly in low light and poor visibility. Seeing everyone seems to drive around today with headlights on (man with red flag next) I suppose colour is not such a problem but i would still pick red, yellow or white. OK, I drive a multi green camo Land Rover, but if someone cannot see that coming then they should not be driving. My wife's Nissan was a bright red but that began to lose it's colour by the time it went to the scrap man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerCat Posted June 3, 2018 Report Share Posted June 3, 2018 15 minutes ago, Harry Callahan said: Have you tried finding a silver or dark grey car in a massive car park ? I had 3 red cars on the bounce - my first 3 cars infact - between 2001-2006. I never had any issues of too many going about. Personal favourite was the deep met. burgundy of the Peugeot 306. Saw one the other week, still looks good today! Didn't have a problem with my silver quasqai or the xtrail. Just red ones. I always say I'll never get another red one however I have a dark red now but being dark it doesn't blend in with the rest. On the subject of fading, not had an issue with anything from 2000 onwards. The paint is clear better than it was as it did used to fade quite badly but now I don't notice . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnytheboy Posted June 4, 2018 Report Share Posted June 4, 2018 Red still fades, as does green metallic, however not as much as the old days, it has a protective clear float over it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norfolk dumpling Posted June 4, 2018 Report Share Posted June 4, 2018 If you buy a red Renault you can have matching nail varnish which doubles up as touch up paint! Yes really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mice! Posted August 2, 2018 Report Share Posted August 2, 2018 On 03/06/2018 at 19:07, Walker570 said: Yehh but numpties can see them, as with yellow or white. In the 70s I did a rough calculation. I pulled all the road accident details up I could find in our force area and checked car colours. Grey, silver grey and pale blue had more impacts than yellows, reds, whites. They blend with the road surface, particularly in low light and poor visibility. Seeing everyone seems to drive around today with headlights on (man with red flag next) I suppose colour is not such a problem but i would still pick red, yellow or white. OK, I drive a multi green camo Land Rover, but if someone cannot see that coming then they should not be driving. My wife's Nissan was a bright red but that began to lose it's colour by the time it went to the scrap man. This has made me smile, everyone laughs at my still red Mondeo, but I've always said its fine because all the other Muppets on the road can see me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted August 2, 2018 Report Share Posted August 2, 2018 4 hours ago, Mice! said: This has made me smile, everyone laughs at my still red Mondeo, but I've always said its fine because all the other Muppets on the road can see me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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