Hi All
Thinking about buying a nearly new supermini for SWMBO (either a Yaris or Sirion). The non-metallic red is generally a few hundred cheaper than metallic. We like red, so this isn't a problem.
But SWMBO keeps her cars for 10 years, and we used to have an old red Polo which faded quite a lot over the years. Does non-metallic red on new cars still fade over, say, a 10 year period? If so, we'll pay the extra to go metallic.
Thanks in advance
Edited by Pugugly on 19/02/2009 at 21:50
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All paint fades.
Assuming the car is kept outside and not washed, polished or waxed on a regular basis then yes, red will still go pink. If the car can be kept under cover and the paintwork waxed a couple of times per year, it will limit the damage.
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If the car can be kept under cover and the paintwork waxed a couple of times per year it will limit the damage.
I will 2nd that
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red is I would say the worst colour for fading, but looking after it, as others have said, will help.
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Do whatever you can to avoid copying my neighbour. He used fairy liquid with a scourer (like anyone does before they understand these things) and now bestowes upon us a blotchy burnished pink BMW. All I know about car paint is thanks to its now wiser owner.
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Last Ford I had was a red Escort. Terrible paint, might have been abused by previous owners, it was only a spare family banger for emergencies. The bonnet used to braze up very nicely but in spite of being Autoglymmed straight away, was usually a disgusting pink in a couple of days. The rest of the car was ok...perhaps the engine heat had something to do with it. My Jowett has clear rear light glasses (originals in red not available ) I have to paint them with red glass paint regularly as they fade to an orangy shade.
Ted
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I think you'll be perfectly OK with red.
It will have a clearcoat finish that protects the paint from oxidation and UV which are the causes of fading. A coat of good quality polish every now and again will give added protection.
The paintwork on my 13yo "Bright Red" Chevy Z28 is still perfect even though it spent most of it's first three years parked outside my office in Texas getting a good suntan.
Kevin...
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I was told by a body-shop owner that those red cars you see that are horribly faded have been caused by ammonia in some polishes and especially T-cut.
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I appreciate that some of the pink cars we see around (eg vauxhall Corsas) may be due to lack of cleaning/polishing, but I don't see faded blue. green or black cars around. I've certainly never seen a grey car in the way that pink cars exist.
I like red, but I avoid it for reasons of fading in the real world (i.e. parked outside, irregular washing or polishing).
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Not if looked after.
We sold a 6 year old Corsa last year, regularly washed & polished by my son.
Clayed and polished before sale - looked a very flamy red!
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The red pigment absorbs most of the ultra violet and blue end of the spectrum, and reflects the red that you see. The most damaging energy is at the blue end of the spectrum - think sun tan.
Cars with obviously pink panels - bonnet, wing, door, etc are probably cheap/poor repairs with inappropriate paint or no protective lacquer.
I'd argue (almost)any new car will have water based paint, and consequently will have protective coating and no fading problems if not abused.
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I was told by a body-shop owner that those red cars you see that are horribly faded have been caused by ammonia in some polishes and especially T-cut.
The trouble is if you have a Ford with the old 'Radiant Red',as they jokingly called it,T-cut and polish is the only way to make it radiate again.The car then needs a 'fix' of this every few months.Until all the paint has been T-cutted away probably.
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I would hope that 21st-century red paint may last better than 1980s red. Then (IIRC) Peugeot reds kept their colour rather better than Ford or VW, but as has been said already, to look at its best red had to be polished regularly but not too often. Maybe Pug paint was thicker than the others, so the pale undercoats (used to add to the brightness) took longer to show through.
Only time will tell. Red and white seem to be about the only colours you don't have to pay a premium for.
Edited by Andrew-T on 20/02/2009 at 11:19
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I would hope that 21st-century red paint may last better than 1980s red.
Quite the opposite in some cases. Due to legislation all car paints are now water based, and they are much less durable than their solvent based predecessors.
As stated by someone above, there are clearcoats and the like applied in an attempt to better them, but the paint itself is much more fragile.
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I thought everybody knew that red saw the worst colour for fading, generally.
There is something different about red pigment.
We apply a two-part plastic jacket to wires and cables at work and there is often a problem with the red not sticking together properly.
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I thought everybody knew that red saw the worst colour for fading generally.
I've had four red Fords and two red Citroëns, and none of them faded. I wish I could tell you why they didn't fade, but I'm afraid I just don't know.
Edited by L'escargot on 20/02/2009 at 14:46
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Perhaps you did not keep them for very long?
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Perhaps you did not keep them for very long?
My current Focus is just coming up to 6 years old.
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Thanks for all the replies. If the price is right, we'll probably go for the red and hope for the best......
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Remember all the blotchy pink Astras you used to see a few years ago!
We've got a red 1994 VW Golf Mk 3 and the paint hasn't faded noticeably although the clear lacquer coat has peeled off in places.
Edited by Sofa Spud on 20/02/2009 at 17:00
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If the price is right we'll probably go for the red ..........
Good choice. Much more visible to other road users than the more popular silver.
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> We'll probably go for the red ..
I would have gone for a bright red 207 SW before Christmas, except the only two I found were two grand more than the bright blue metallic that I ended up with. Despite allowing for the metallic 'premium'. Funny people, dealers ...
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if you like red go for it, in 10 years time nobody else will be too fussed if its faded or not.
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>> Perhaps you did not keep them for very long? >> My current Focus is just coming up to 6 years old.
Looks like you do not keep them for long, then.
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had a 92mk3 golf 1.8 cl in red. Sold it at 12 yr old (180000m)was faded and clear lacquer coming off in patches.
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in contrast (literally) my xsara 2000 model year looks superb in its metallic red with no sign of fading.
SQ
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 21/02/2009 at 02:39
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I don't think metallic reds fade anywhere near as much as solid reds. My Xantia is 10 years old and is "Dante" red. that hasn't faded either.
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Must be a VW thing.
I have had six red cars, three FIATs, one Vauxhall, one VW and current Volvo.
Only car which faded was the roof and bonnet of my Mk2 1990 Golf GTi. T-Cut, polish and wax had it back to original Tornado Red and no further problems.
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Only time will tell. Red and white seem to be about the only colours you don't have to pay a premium for.
What colour does white fade to ? (transparent ??)
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I have heard that some of the "Hand Car Wash" places using TFR (Traffic Film Remover?) will not apply this to red cars because it is known to make the paint go pink.
Perhaps this is why faded paint seems random even on red coloured cars from the same manufacturer; i.e. those which have been sprayed with TFR and those which have not.
Occasionally you see cars with red-painted brake calipers which look very faded. This could be due to the use of aggressive alloy wheel cleaner, i.e TFR.
Just my thoughts.
Regards
Paul
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Occasionally you see cars with red-painted brake calipers which look very faded. This could be due to the use of aggressive alloy wheel cleaner i.e TFR.
SQ
Alloy wheel cleaner is usually a mild acid. If a hand wash place is spraying any sort of acid on your car as TFR then I would be looking for another hand wash place.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 21/02/2009 at 21:27
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I had a red 2000 reg Mitsubishi which had faded quite a bit by the time I sold it a year ago. A quality wash and polish/wax with Meguiars did bring the paint back a bit, but I wouldn't have another red car. It was parked on a south facing drive most of the time though, which didn't help. I think a good wax can help prevent paint fading.
I don't know why I bought a red car, actually. I had already read that modern red and black paint is a lot softer than other colours and I had seen how pink red cars can get in places like Menorca.
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my P reg Fiesta (red) has only faded on the plastic filler cap. Rest of the paintwork looks like new. Maybe the secret is that it has probably only ever been washed about 3 times!
p
Edited by pmh2 on 21/02/2009 at 21:28
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No one likes being done and I think I was on a red Sierra in the mid-80s.
I bought it from an earlier incarnation of what is now a large supermarket to the west of London.
Looked fine for a day or two, but then went as flat as a (pink) pancake.
The car itself was reliable.
I'm told solid red no longer oxidises in this way, but I've stuck to metallic non-reds ever since.
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