Red paint a problem?

Nope. Red paint is more fade-prone, but most modern waxes have UV protectants to prevent fading (think of it as sun-block for your car). If you use a good wax and *keep* it waxed, you stand a chance. epbrown

How about a car cover? It helps with the interior as well.

R / John

Red is more susceptible to UV colour fade than most other colours but then this really depends on what type of paint you use and what the preparation is like.

Personally I would choose to use a "2 pack" polyurethane type paint followed by a few coats of UV resistant clear.

However, if the US is like Euroland then the choice of paint is going to be very limited. Over here water based paints are the norm with a clear hard wearing UV cover coat. the base coat is warm air dried ( new "ovens" are required for this) and the clear is applied after the base is totally 'cured'.

If considering a total re-paint then also consider taking the entire original paint off and then this will so expensive you might as well go and buy a NEW car.

Write to "OVERHAULIN" and perhaps Chip Foose will rebuild it for you with a

As I was too cheap to spring for the metallic paint, my '99 328i is red. It has never been garaged in the nearly 9 years I've owned it and yet the finish garners many compliments, especially from non BMW owners I attribute this to the prompt removal of bird droppings and application of Zymol paste wax every 4~6 months.

Tom K.

I dunno if the paint has changed, but there's an early '90s E34 round here in red which has faded badly. But of course any regular waxing will help stop this.

It's a quandary. Many suppliers will tell you their paint won't fade - but

If this stuff works as advertised, it sounds promising.

Red paint is very prone to this, the worst seem to be older VWs which go light pink!

All three of my 1990 318iS's have been red. One was almost new so it wasn't a problem :-) On the others I've taken a power polisher and G3 (or G7?) cutting compound to the car. Works wonders!

They've not deteriorated since but then they are garaged.

In 1991 I had a 'bronze' 83' 735i fully resprayed after it was attacked by a nutter with a machete.

The new colour was slightly more gold, and you could tell it was not quite the original colour when you looked under the bonnet etc.

The respray was quite cheap and the new paint noticeably softer than the original. The car was garaged, but in 2000 when I sold it the paintwork was still in good condition and people actually remarked on how good it was.

The reality is that you would probably be better spending $3,000 and part ex on a newer 3xx in five years time.

Actually Mike you can buy this stuff at a fraction of the cost that 5* do it for and in the UK. A starter kit cost £35 but you can buy trade 2, 3 & 5litre packs.

It's the same stuff that BMW charge £300 on a new car.

I'll try and find the URL so watch this space.

However, it won't help the OP as his paint is trash already by all accounts.

I have put this stuff on my NEW E65 and it's so slippery even a newspaper slides off the roof by itself!

Ok so the car is 6 months old but after 5K miles in Euroland and commuting I have only washed it once and then with a hose and sponge - no suds! and it still looks NEW

Hugh

Thanks Hugh. That would be great. I looked and '5 Star Shine' didn't seem to be available in the UK Certainly sounds like good stuff though. Mike.

As I said earlier

Nice little business venture if you have the time.

Thanks all.

I'll get it sprayed with 2-pack red and a couple of coats of UV resistant clear coat. Hopefully that will ward of the Australian sun for a couple of years, and longer if I regularly use a good quality polish.

I have to remind myself that the car isn't depreciating at thousands of dollars a year, so I can afford to spend a little of what would have been depreciation on keeping it in good condition. Except for the dash, of course.

Then, as you say, I can get another 318is in 5 years time. Maybe - if anything's gone seriously wrong with the current one.

Regards

James

On Mon, 5 Nov 2007 21:31:41 +1100, "James" waffled on about something:

Aussie sun? Ouch, that's gonna hurt...

Has that big hole in the ozone layer gone away, or is it still hovering about near you?

As others have said, the problem is the UV. Red paint reflects red light, and absorbs the rest. Red, being the furthest away from UV in the visible light spectrum, absorbs the most UV. UV destroys the pigment.

Best colour for a car would be a Blue or Purple, as it will reflect more of the UV.

The same occurs with cloth. If you have stripy curtains, the red stripe always bleaches first. If you grab the cloth and pull to tear it, invariably the red will tear first as the UV damages the fibres in the cloth.

Nasty stuff that daylight.

Dodgy.

Thanks Hugh. Might have a go with the stuff when the weather warms up. Mike.