What car paint colors are the easiest to take care of?

Car Paint Maintenance Guide: The Easiest and Hardest Colors to Care For

We think that everyone can agree that Cherry Red and Jet Black look super slick. However, if you’ve ever seen those colors after a single trip down a dirt road, then you know that they get really dirty, really fast.

So then, which automotive paint colors are the easiest to care for?

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The Easiest Colors to Care For

Most variations of gray or silver are the lowest maintenance colors, followed by whites and other lighter-shade hues. Gray and silver colors don’t show dirt, swirl marks, or scratches. These colors also tend to be non-premium, meaning you won’t have to pay extra for the paint job, unlike you might for pearl coats or bold colors like red or yellow. Other lighter colors, like tan or light blue, are usually just as good as grays and silvers when it comes to car care, but they usually cost more. White is similarly resistant to showing defects, but not so much with dirt. Take one look at a white car near the wheel wells and you can tell where it’s been recently because dirt shows so easily.

The Hardest Colors to Care For

Black and red are—by far—the hardest colors to care for. They need to be cleaned, waxed, and buffed often due to how easily they show everything. Dirt, mud, scratches, dents, dings…you name it, it’s clear as day on a black or red paint job. The trade-off is that black and red are stunning when properly cared for. Pearl coats and metallic colors also tend to show defects and dirt, though this isn’t true for all colors. For instance, a metallic gray won’t really have this issue.

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