I have been told that the Red will fade quickly. Is this true?

Your opinion on a Mini:

CR/BL

LY/BL


Thank you.

 

My Red/Red MCS still looks fine after nearly two years
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Tom Clark, Clarksville MD: CR '02 MCS

 

car usually fade when they are not taken care of i.e. washing and waxing ........
so if you take care of your car on a regular basis. you will be fine...


btw i wash my mini once a week..........and wax 2 -3 times a year.........



motor on

tony

 

have been told that the Red will fade quickly. Is this true?


Your opinion on a Mini:


Which color do you all vote for?


CR/BL or LY/BL

Thanks.

 

today i ordered my first mini it is LY/B i was in the same dilemma i was choosing between those two colors also it was a hard decision but i went with my gut feeling. Good luck choose what makes you feel good

 

From my limited understanding, it was very true of older red paints in 60's-80's. Not true of new paint technology.

The older paint jobs did not have clear coats from the factor like most current cars do. My Saab (my winter car) is a good example, in 1995 it did not come with a clear coat. It is red. It was hit and run. New FL quarter was re-painted, with clear coat. Now I have to really work at keeping up the rest of the paint with wax and cleaner to look as good as the new paint. Although I now own the MCS and really do not care about the Saab as long as it runs in the winter....

At least this was what was explained to me by a couple of car collector/car detail nutcases that I know. I think they eat carnuba on crackers.

Of course exposure to the sun and elements is the main culprit. Is the car going to be garaged? Do you live in an area with consistant sun exposure (like AZ)? Do you keep your car properly waxed and cleaned?


Get the Red. Get the Red. Get the Red. Get the Red.

 

lol...the sun? What's that? I live in the rust belt. We don't have nearly as many sunny days as most other places, at least not the intense heat. Yes, I have a garage. I will be obsessed with cleaning the car I get, no matter what color. My last SUV required a ladder to wash the roof and I will look forward to a smaller car that I can reach without using a cherry picker.

 

Get the CR ,,,but the LY is good get that,no no no get the red ,maybe,,,,,,
sorry not helping eh

_________________
03 MC BRG/W,15" 7 hole white...
Black Lab navigator

 

Our CR/W sits in the sun all day, everyday. It is holding up pretty good after 2 years. We are also pretty close to the beach and the salt air hasn't caused any problems.
Here is a pic from last Saturday.



I wash it once a week and have it waxed every 3 months. IMHO, the Mini paint is excellent.

 

>>Our CR/W sits in the sun all day, everyday. It is holding up pretty good after 2 years. We are also pretty close to the beach and the salt air hasn't caused any problems.
>>Here is a pic from last Saturday.
>>

 

Thank you for posting your pretty car!

How's the fishing?

 

fishey72 is quite right. In the pre-clearcoat days red paint faded much more than most other colors, but modern paint technology has eliminated the fading associated with red.

With any color, proper paint care is essential to maintain that new car look. With a little extra care your paint can look better than it did when delivered - - your dealer most likely installed many minor swirl marks (free of additional charge) when doing their pre-delivery prep - - and you can easily make improvements. I suggest that you visit the detailing forums here on
NAM and on Autopia.

IMO Chili Red/White is the combo of choice, but LY/B and LY/W are a close second.

 

Hey it looks like Alpine Dam in Marin?

I agree about the lack of upkeep (washing and waxing) leading to a premature fading of a red paint job. I'm no paint expert but I suspect the lack of UV resistance is an inheriant property of the pigment used. Maybe the paint has improved since the 60's as suggested, but I see many modern red cars with faded colors especially on angles that are directly facing the sun eg. bonnet and roof.

Cheers :smile: Erik

 

I love my LY/B MCS. The Sin City MINI Club took part in the Henderson Heritage Parade this last weekend with 12 MINIs attending. Of those 12, we had 5 yellow, 1 gold, 2 red, 1 DS, 1 PS, 1 PW and 1 silk green. Yellow is the most popular colour in the club, with 1 yellow car not making it to the parade. Weird, since for the 1st 6 months, I had the only LY car in the club!

Have a look here for a few yellow MINIs.

 

>>I have been told that the Red will fade quickly. Is this true?
>>
>>Your opinion on a Mini:
>>
>>CR/BL
>>
>>LY/BL
>>
>>
>>Thank you.


They are wrong, red fades no more quickly than any other color. I've had many red cars over the years and the last one that faded any significate amount was a 55 Chevy. What you were told about red fading hasn't been true in many years.


R.E.

 

Non metalic colours just require a bit more work to keep the new look, that is why everything is metalic these days. Clear coat helps with solid colour but waxing is the key to new looking paint. So if you are not good about waxing your car and you want a new paint shine you should think about a metalic colour.

 

Me? I'm a CR/W guy so I think it is the best choice. But if I had a LY I'd be happy and be for that one. You've just got to go with your own taste. I also like BRG but ended up with CR when I saw what a true red red it is.

Like the others I really doubt red fades faster than others. All I have to add is that putting 9 coats of Zaino polish on help it really shine, wash easy, and protect the paint.

I second checking out the detailing forum. Part of the fun is attending to your Mini's appearance.

 

LY black of course. :smile:



Jack

 

IMO the yellow MINI is using is not deep or rich enough. Yellow is also just as prone to tickets as the red, so why not get red?

P21 wax and paint cleaner makes up-keep a dream. I was never much of a car care nut until my boss introduced me to it. It is so easy to use.

 

My chili red MINI is just as bright & shiny as the day I got him 14 months ago. I am partial to red but the yellow is nice too. Reminds me of daffodils.

Lois

 

>>My chili red MINI is just as bright & shiny as the day I got him 14 months ago. I am partial to red but the yellow is nice too. Reminds me of daffodils. :smile:


Jack

 

We have several CRs at our local club meetings but only one LY. LY/B is a less common combo around here and is probably more rare in general. If you go that route, I hope you're comfortable standing out, because LY defintely does that. I do like CR/B, though....its a wee tad bit less in-yo-face and a wee tad bit more classic Mini (...if you're into that)! Best of luck on your choice...you've got two winners there!!

 

so you'll have a visual to compare..

personally I preffer LY/B

 

Older acrylic enamel paints were very prone to fading and oxidizing, especially silver and red. Silver was a problem because the metallic pigments would oxidize quicker than the rest of the paint, leaving it dull – 1980s Hondas are a good example. The new generation of silver is much better with the clear coat offering UV and weather protection. Red paint also faded and oxidized easily, possibly because of the type of pigment that was used in the older paints. I haven’t squirted a car in almost 20 years but we used to paint a car either in silver, white, or gold before painting it red because the red paint was basically clear. The same was true with yellow, but from what I have heard the new generation of paint doesn’t require undertones. The best stock paint I have ever had on a car was my 1987 VW GTI. It has gone through several hands (almost every one of my friends have owned it at some point) and it presently has over 350,000 miles of neglect, but the red paint is absolutely like it was when I bought it brand new. I hope my MINI paint holds up as well!

 

I have a 7 month old CR/W '04 MCS and the paint still looks factory fresh. Keep in mind the car lives under the blistering Florida sun and has never seen a cover since I bought it. I have made a point to keep it washed and waxed often. I have been using exclusively Zaino products and the car has several coats of Z2, Z5 and Z6...absolutely amazing...the rich red color depth and shine is second to none!


We also have a 20 month old 2002 PW/B Cooper CVT and the car has not seen a cover either since new. The solid Pepper White paint still looks amazing and the Zaino has been tremendous help to maintain the shine and protect the finish against harmful UV sun rays.


IMO, solid paint finishes are much easier to upkeep than metallic paints.


At one point I considered a LY/W MCS but decided to stick with CR/W as it is a fast looking color and more in line with MINI tradition and heritage. Still LY is not so common. We only have 2 LY/W MCS in our local club amidst a sea of Red and Dark Silver MINIs.


Whichever color you decide to get, fading should be the last of your concerns, but keeping the car clean and with several coats of good quality wax should help you maintain that beautiful finish for a long time.