Is silver metallic the best color for a car?

[Alberto Michelatti]

I wolud like to explain because for me white but above all light grey metallic (silver) are the best choice.

1) white and silver metallic are two neutral classical colors that don't suffer the fashions, so you have more possibilities to earn more when you sell your car;

2) with white, but above all with silver metallic, dirt is less noticeable and you can avoid to wash the car also for a month, while with black and dark colors in general your car will be always dirt and you will have to wash it two times a week, drying it by hand with a cloth;

3) in summer white and silver metallic reflect very well the hot sunny light beams and the car is more fresh inside, the air conditioning works less and so fuel consumption is lower; the opposite happens with black and dark grey;

4) white and silver metallic are two bright colors and with sunny light little scratches, dents and notchs are less visible, while with black you will always notice every small defect, also in the twilight.

5) at the twilight a car in black or in dark grey is less visible on the road, because it mix up with grey tarmac, while with white and silver metallic you will never have this problem;

6) silver metallic is the color that bring out the lines and the design of the car and is the color preferred by the designers to show their concept cars. For example, silver metallic is the preferred color of the Car Designer of the Century, the Italian Giorgetto Giugiaro;

Shortly, I would reccomend firstly silver and secondly white and I would absolutely advice against firstly black and secondly dark grey.

Alberto.

P.S.: please don't say this to anyone, but this is the untold reason why to never buy a black car...

[Leighcm]

Silver is an excellent choice. It hides scratches, dirt, etc. However, metallics can be difficult to match if paint work is necessary, and there seems to be a lot of trouble with older silver paints peeling, oxydizing, etc.

Black is one of the best colors for resale, but silver is not bad. White, assuming a pearl and not a flat white is also very good for resale, but very difficult for paint repairs.

[Alberto Michelatti]

In relation to the fact that metallic paints can be difficult to match this is true, but the solution is easy: it is sufficient to go only in bodyshops that spray a test panel before painting the entire area (Mark Clark "More Efficient Autobody Operations"). This method is almost completely fail safe. The human eye is able to distinguish about 16,000,000 of colors, so confronting the painted test panel to the paint of the car, better if in daylight, you can safely achieve a tint that is "blendably" close.

The steps to create a test panel are quite simple:

1. Identifying the color code on the vehicle;

2. Locating the paint manufacturer's part number;

3. Mixing a small quantity (3-6 ounces) of the color;

4. Adding solvent;

5. Spraying a test panel. If the subject vehicle is clear coated (as are most cars today) the test panel needs to be cleared as well.

Performing this technique on a test panel rather than re-shooting the entire repair each time saves material, time and emissions.

Alberto.