[meddle]

I cant decide!!! Ive seen some badass pictures of both. I think the black looks sharper without a doubt, but im worried about two things. I live in Texas and the heat will be worse with the black. Also, ive heard lots of stories about how hard black is to keep clean. I dont mind doing the work (as in washing it all the time) but if those ugly swirly scratch marks are unavoidable ill just get silver.

Is there a 'correct' way to wash a black car to avoid the swirls and scratches?

 

[xither0ckxi]

avoiding swirl marks are impossible unless u use a cloth that is not cotton, also if u want black and u want to keep it clean 247 expect washing it ALOT

 

[xither0ckxi]

avoiding swirl marks are impossible unless u use a cloth that is not cotton, also if u want black and u want to keep it clean 247 expect washing it ALOT and dont forget to purchase your car duster to! that saves a few washes lol

 

[PB Pod]

I live in Vegas; you think it's hot in Texas? I don't have time to spend on cleaning. I love the looks of black, but my last four cars have been silver. They stay clean looking longer and are not as hard to clean. Yes, the color does make a difference when it is 120.

I ordered a silver SRT before I saw one. I was very happy to see how good the silver SRTs looked in the first pictures posted. I don't think there is a bad color as far as appearance; red, yellow, black, they all look hot.

 

[SRT-Hunter]

I have a black '00 civic si right now, and it has swirl marks all over Its impossible to avoid the swirl marks, and hard to keep clean (its dirty the day after a wash)....and I really babied the car too.

My SRT-4 will be silver without a doubt. I sorta like red too actually.

 

[BlackMSP]

black wins :X

 

[ajpsrt4]

live in fl
bought a silver SRT, looked at black but thought about heat, hard to keep clean

 

[meddle]

So there really is no way to avoid the swirls? The swirls to me look kind of dirt and sand scraping against the finish while being washed off. So unavoidable?

 

[abaddsm]

You can keep a car from getting swirl marks by NEVER taking it to an automatic carwash and NEVER washing a car with dirt in your wash cloth and NEVER wiping you car if it has any dirt on the finish.
No wipes! No abrasive cloths of any kind.
I have owned 3 black cars already and a emerald green one and although harder to keep looking clean, the end result of a really good wax and wash are amazing!

 

[Desmo]

MAN, dont worry about swirls and things, buy some ZAINO!!!Its like magic, make a 10 years old car look like she just drop out the dealership!!!Try this! :wink:

 

[SpitterGuy]

My neon is black, and just to keep it from swirling, I would have to let the car dry first, then take some wax renual, and wipe it down with an old silk shirt! :shock: I eventually gave up cause it took too long. And yes the black DOES get really hot, even up here in Ohio! Must be terrible for you southern ppl, it might also save you from having to reglue your cieling back up in later years. Your best bet would be w/ silver, any color is a cool looking :wink:

 

[lifeisdeath]

DAMMIT!! i keep on going back and forth from the black to the yellow.

black = gets really hot; swirl marks

yellow = would look good with carbon fiber pieces; it isnt black

 

[ohyeahwright]

DAMMIT!! i keep on going back and forth from the black to the yellow.

black = gets really hot; swirl marks

yellow = would look good with carbon fiber pieces; it isnt black

Time to flip the proverbial coin :wink:

 

[lifeisdeath]

yeah, i have done that numerous times..."okay, yellow wins. but, the other one..."

 

[SRT-Hunter]

DAMMIT!! i keep on going back and forth from the black to the yellow.

black = gets really hot; swirl marks

yellow = would look good with carbon fiber pieces; it isnt black

You mean like a carbon fiber hood??

I think a cf hood would look sweet on yellow....but it would also look cool on the red. I need to see that red in person, see how good it really looks. Otherwise im gonna go with silver. Yellow is cool...but I dont htink i have the balls to drive a yellow car.

 

[qwiksilvertrav]

I'd get black but I have a black neon right now. It looks awesome when it's freshly polished in a low light gleam and NOT in the sun. If it's in the sun, no matter what, you can see swirlys and every little scratch. I'm going with a silver SRT but I've had second thoughts lately. Have you guys heard about 3M's film that you put over the paint job of your entire car, and it protrects the paint for life. NO scratches or anything whatsoever. This stuff shines to and you can't even tell it's there. If i get black I'm definitly putting this stuff on. I think it costs about 300 or 400 with a lifetime warranty. You'll never see a scratch or anything on your paint ever. So black would definitly look sweet without all the touchups and extra work. Can't remember where the website is for it, I'll try to find it and post a link.

 

[PB Pod]

There is an optically clear protecting vinyl made by 3M, Avery, and a number of other people. It is very expensive and it is used primarily on the leading edges of the front of cars as an alternative to those ugly black Bras. I have always hated those particularly when I found out there weren’t tits under them.

I have never heard of anyone completely covering their car with the clear vinyl, but theoretically, since we wrap entire cars with printed vinyl, it is possible. My guess it would cost you something on the order of $4,000 plus for a SRT. Might as well use Imron.

We do some high-end sports cars every once and a while but it is a pain. We leave it to the little franchise guys. You would put it on your car’s nose, headlights, and air damn and maybe the mirrors. That would be a few hundred. Some times guys also put it on quarter panels to keep from getting rock chips thrown up by tires.

It is getting popular on road racecars. We just took a complete kit off a friend’s way cool Novi supercharged S2000. Man that thing shits and gits. It had yellowed and it was on a white car so he wanted it off. It was a bitch getting off and I think I charged him $300 for the removal. He didn’t have to pay for it, the manufacturer of the vinyl did. Another problem since the vinyl blocks the sun’s UV rays a car can fade at a different rate on the exposed and covered areas. That is not cool. We have had a problem with vinyl graphics on cars because when you remove it you can see the difference in the color of the paint.

Speaking of graphics, last month we did a silver Porsche in gray vinyl graphics and it looked HOT. I think I am going to some subtle gray graphics on my silver car.

If any of you guys have access to Adobe Illustrator in a few weeks I will have a CAD template for the SRT that will open in Illustrator. What is cool is you can play with different paint and graphics schemes. That is how we design the vehicle wraps. Just a thought.