Need help choosing paint color

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07bsmcrewmax

New member
I am about to buy a new truck and want some help choosing a color. I have narrowed my choices down to red or white. From a maintainance point of view which color would you choose and why? What issues will I run into with each color(fading, surface scratches and so forth).
 
Without even going into a detailing discussion, there is a reason that so many work trucks are white, because they don't look as bad when they get dirty. This is particularly important during the bad weather when you can't keep a vehicle clean. This isn't to say that a clean white truck does't look much better than a dirty one - it is just that you can get away with it for longer.



The flip side of that is that even the best detailed white truck will never be nearly as impressive as a properly detailed red one.



I buy white vans for my business because they are lower maintenance than dark colours, with the possible the exception of brown. But then everyone will think you work for UPS:D By the way that is why they chose that colour for their trucks.
 
Thanks for the input. All of the work done on the truck will be by hand because I do not own a PC or do I know how to use one. I really like red but the swirl marks will be a problem I think without a PC.
 
As long as you take care of it well, and stay on top of things, you should be good with the red.



Even if you only have minor swirls, you can get a product with filler to cover them up :)
 
As I mentioned, the choice of white is a choice for ease of maintenance in a lot of cases, but if you are going to put the work into the truck...well you can get a PC and learn to use it. New skills come with practice.



I choose white vehicles for my business because it is not cost effective to put the work into them. We run them through the local car wash every week or so and that's it. If it made sense to put the time into detailing trucks painted burgundy and gold I would (those are the business colours), but I wouldn't want to have vehicles those colours if we couldn't keep them showroom quality. Hence the choice of white.



If this is your personal vehicle and you have the time and inclination to do the work and learn the skills go for the red.



Just my $.02
 
My utility vehicles are and will always be white because:



White shows swirls and scratches less than all other colors



White shows oxidation less than all other colors.



White shows dirt less than most other colors.



White is the easiest color to match if repairs are ever needed.



White doesn't fade with sun exposure (unless it's an off-white which might fade a little bit but is still superior to all other colors).



White cars run cooler in the desert.



If you're in the desert while it's 120 degrees and you're only wearing swim trunks you can load a Jet Ski into your white truck without worrying too much about brushing your legs against the truck and bursting into flames.



Most cars really do look good in white.





PC.
 
Instead of talking about all the negatives that white aviods let me say that a white car/truck all polished up and waxed looks amazing, especially metallics. I currently have black and am thinking about getting it repainted in Cadillac White Diamond.
 
One more vote for white. While some vehicles *do* look great in white (and yeah, that Cadillac "White Diamond" is really, *really* nice), I'd go with it for the maintenance. Even with all our silver vehicles, I wish I still had *one* white one just so I could have a decent looking beater that I could maintain easily (as in, more easily than silver, which is saying something).



IMO you have to *really* want red for it to be the best choice. Besides showing marring, fading is a huge issue and just one more reason you'd have to be a lot more "invested" in its upkeep.



Only thing to really watch out for on white is "rust blooms". Get some ABC or at least clay, the blooms really show up on white vehicles.



When it comes to repainting, I find white is easy to come *close* to matching, but actually very hard to match *perfectly*. But red is really pretty much impossible to match because of the fading issue. Even if it matches when it's shot, it won't after a while. With white, only an Autopian will spot it if you use a good shop.
 
Thanks again for all the input. I am considering a '05 Tacoma Doublecab and really like the way white looks on the truck. I have always owned silver vehicles so white is a new on for me.
 
I've owned 4 work trucks...1 Silver, 1 Medium Blue, 1 Dark Blue and my current truck is White.

My choice, if I had to buy another work truck would be White. It usually looks good even if it's not real clean, stays cooler in the summer and doesn't show all the swirls/water stains like my Blue trucks.
 
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