Hello. I was wondering if anyone with a silver car in the past (let's say 10 years) had it fade or lose its luster due to the sun or other factors. Do the new silver with clear coat not have this problem? I'm thinking of getting either the Classic Silver Metallic or Magnetic Gray. Thanks.
I am now on my third silver vehicle: 1) VW 411 Squareback, 2) Toyota 4Runner and 3) Toyota Prius. I like silver because the paint holds up well, holds wax well and maintains a good finish. I just sold the 1991 Toyota 4Runner with 180k mi on it - the finish still looked like new. I keep the 2005 Prius (23k mi) clean and waxed and the finish looks great.
My last car was a 1990 Ford Probe (bought new). The color was called "Ice Crystal Blue," but looked silver. It had a clear-coat. It did fade, but I should've done more to protect the coat so I'm more to blame than the color. Another reason, I suppose, was that the finish was bad and Ford repainted it for free, but maybe not as good. I live in San Diego. Your location and whether you have it covered will make a difference too.
Since the advent of both clear coat, and better metallic paints, there are no more silver turning gray issues. Pretty much the same with red, which used to turn orange after a while.
Thanks for the input. I remember an old Honda Accord my parents had. It was a mid-80s and the paint started to oxidize and it looked like the car had cancer because it just spead from one small spot to larger and larger spots on the roof and trunk. I don't think they waxed it very often, but it was in the garage when parked. That's one of my concerns, but it looks like the silver paint and clear coat are much better these days.
Every colour fades if you don't take care of it. I thought our 4 year old silver Camry looked good... until I waxed it.. then it looked much much better. I know my neighbour has a Ruby Red Pearl 98/99 Corolla LE. His paint is soo faded.
There's fading and then there's clearcoat failure, and it's apparent that not every respondent in this thread knows the difference. When the paint gets blotchy and appears white around the edges of the blotches, that is clearcoat failure, not fading. Fading is when the color shifts (typically a desaturation), usually as a result of UV exposure. It's often hard to see unless you park the affected vehicle next to another car painted exactly the same color, but newer so it hasn't had a chance to fade.
so is my neighbour's car failure or fading? Cause it's ain't dark red any more... more like whitish red.
I had a silver 1979 Toyota Corolla station wagon. I always had to keep it parked outside and it most definitely oxidized. It went from silver to flatish grey.
I have had three silver cars, all of which have been parked outside in the mild San Jose, CA climate: 84 Toyota Corolla: Gave away in 2004. Paint had faded in most places from a shiny silver to a whitish more subdued shine. 97 Honda Accord: Gave away in 2006. Paint faded where sun hit it the most, but not nearly as bad as the Corolla. You had to get at an angle to really notice it. 2006 Toyota Prius: My new baby is super shiny! Obviously, I prefer silver even if it fades a bit. I just don't find the other colors appealling (except black, which I'm too lazy to deal with). Stealthgirl
