Maintenance for Pearl White color and Midnight silver.

[Maximilien]

I narrowed down the choice and I can't decide
• the pearl white
• silver metallic
• midnight metallic silver
for my M3 purchase. Initially, I thought about another clone of silver metallic but I feel like changing the color is not a bad idea.

I see in the forum that both white and silver colors hide the scratches and good for hot summer temperature.

The pearl white gives the futuristic feeling whereas metallic silver gives me the elegant and classy feeling, imo. I am thinking that midnight silver gets both flavor but to lesser degree of each?

For those who have Pearl white or Midnight silver for model 3 or (other models), how easy is it to maintain from cleaning and scratches and road dirt? Do you find the pearl white worth $2000 or ($500 above metallic silver or midnight silver?) If you have had silver metallic in the past and have pearl white or midnight silver, the comparison would be appreciated.

 

[P85_DA]

Pearl white very easy to clean ...only other color I had was 2 diff MC Red ..MSM being a darker color will show dirt more ...not sure if u plan on doing a ppf and ceramic ..but that makes cleaning so much easier ...

 

[Maximilien]

Pearl white very easy to clean ...only other color I had was 2 diff MC Red ..MSM being a darker color will show dirt more ...not sure if u plan on doing a ppf and ceramic ..but that makes cleaning so much easier ...

How was the maintenance for MC Red vs. Pearl white? I comtemplated the red because my mother likes the color, but I feel that it gets too much attention on the street.

 

[Regenshire]

I love my pearl white. The paint job on my car was perfect and it is really easy to keep clean. I quick spray of an instant detailer and a couple minutes will make the car look great. Right now I am trying to wash her once a week, but dirt is not very noticeable on her.

I had rented a red model 3 back in May, and the road dust was real obvious on that car. I am really happy with the white.

 

[P85_DA]

How was the maintenance for MC Red vs. Pearl white? I comtemplated the red because my mother likes the color, but I feel that it gets too much attention on the street.

Red is similar to MSM or darker colors easier to see swirls if not properly cared for ...which is why I went white for third car ...red is a nice color though

 

[KenF]

Paint swirls and other minor scratches are a problem on red. It is virtually impossible to avoid them over the long-term without PPF. They also are a problem on MSM, but to a lesser degree. If you opt for one of these colors, take great care in washing your car (avoid car washes) and, if you intend to keep the car for more than a few years, seriously consider PPF and ceramic.

White and metallic silver are largely immune to visible swirls and other minor scratches (you can’t see them due to the light color). Metallic silver is by far the the best at hiding minor dirt/dust followed by either white or MSM depending on the area/climate (white shows bug splatter whereas MSM hides it). Even with white or metallic silver, I would consider PPF on the front and a ceramic coat to simplify washing.

My opinion on “wash frequency” passed on past ownership without a garage:

Black: daily
Dark blue: 2-3 times a week
Red: 1-2 times a week
Dark gray (MSM): once a week
White: 3 times a month
Metallic silver: 2 times a month

 

[0ptions]

I love my pearl white. Rained on the car the other day and only way you can tell is the glass roof.

 

[nvx1977]

very happy with how MSM hides bug splats, which I've noticed is particularly bad on this car on the front bumper.

 

[Maximilien]

Paint swirls and other minor scratches are a problem on red. It is virtually impossible to avoid them over the long-term without PPF. They also are a problem on MSM, but to a lesser degree. If you opt for one of these colors, take great care in washing your car (avoid car washes) and, if you intend to keep the car for more than a few years, seriously consider PPF and ceramic.

White and metallic silver are largely immune to visible swirls and other minor scratches (you can’t see them due to the light color). Metallic silver is by far the the best at hiding minor dirt/dust followed by either white or MSM depending on the area/climate (white shows bug splatter whereas MSM hides it). Even with white or metallic silver, I would consider PPF on the front and a ceramic coat to simplify washing.

My opinion on “wash frequency” passed on past ownership without a garage:

Black: daily
Dark blue: 2-3 times a week
Red: 1-2 times a week
Dark gray (MSM): once a week
White: 3 times a month
Metallic silver: 2 times a month

Thank you for the detailed info.

Now, I am down to two choices: Pearl White and Silver Metallic. This is a tough one, but leaning toward the pearl white.

 

[P85_DA]

Only positive between silver is won’t be as many on road ...lot of folks get pearl white , red, msm

 

[Maximilien]

Only positive between silver is won’t be as many on road ...lot of folks get pearl white , red, msm

True. There are many silver colored cars for other brands but for Tesla, silver is rare on the street.
Here in Irvine, as far as I see around, white and midnight silver are most popular for Tesla, followed by red.

 

[chronopc]

Only positive between silver is won’t be as many on road ...lot of folks get pearl white , red, msm

Metallic Silver is super easy to keep clean. Even when there is a ton of dirt on it, you can't really tell.

I can also confirm that there's not too many on the road. Where I'm at I see red and msm all the time.

 

[timk225]

My 3 is pearl white. Bugs on the front bumper are very obvious, and if you drive on wet roads, the mud / dirt spots on the rear of the car also show up very easily.

 

[StellarRat]

I've owned silver, white, midnight silver, green, light blue, tan, and dark blue cars...by far the best dirt hiders were pure silver and tan. The worst was dark blue.

 

[follow.johnny]

I have Pearl White and I love the clean and simple look of this color and combination of the dark glass room makes it super slick.

Pros and Cons for both colors:

Pearl White
Pros: Best color option, goes well with chrome, hides swirl marks/micro scratches well
Cons: Bugs are noticeable on front bumper and rear wheel wells collection more noticeable dirt/dust, more noticeable paint chips

Midnight Silver
Pros: Classy color, hides dirt very well from far away, goes well with dark color wheels, not many on roads, color combo goes well with chrome delete
Cons: More noticeable swirl marks/micro scratches

Hope this helps narrow down your decision!

 

[chronopc]

Midnight Silver
Pros: Classy color, hides dirt very well from far away, goes well with dark color wheels, not many on roads, color combo goes well with chrome delete

There's actually quite a bit of MSM Model 3 on the road. It's definitely one of the more popular color options.

 

[UnitaryExecutive]

My 3 is pearl white. Bugs on the front bumper are very obvious, and if you drive on wet roads, the mud / dirt spots on the rear of the car also show up very easily.

Same experience on our white X. Maybe I haven't had a black car in awhile, but I feel like there is dirt on the car after a few days. Still looks good from a distance, however.

 

[OptAdam]

What you will notice on both Silver and White vehicles is that while they hide swirls, scratches and dirt very well you will overtime notice brake dust or rail dust on them very easily. This is something that still happens on the darker color but you don't notice it because of the dark color. You will start to notice little orange spots all over on the white and silver colors.

With Opti-Coat Pro+ this is a breeze to take care of. Without it it is a matter of claying and possibly polishing the vehicle.

 

[Glamisduner]

I narrowed down the choice and I can't decide
• the pearl white
• silver metallic
• midnight metallic silver
for my M3 purchase. Initially, I thought about another clone of silver metallic but I feel like changing the color is not a bad idea.

I see in the forum that both white and silver colors hide the scratches and good for hot summer temperature.

The pearl white gives the futuristic feeling whereas metallic silver gives me the elegant and classy feeling, imo. I am thinking that midnight silver gets both flavor but to lesser degree of each?

For those who have Pearl white or Midnight silver for model 3 or (other models), how easy is it to maintain from cleaning and scratches and road dirt? Do you find the pearl white worth $2000 or ($500 above metallic silver or midnight silver?) If you have had silver metallic in the past and have pearl white or midnight silver, the comparison would be appreciated.

Silver will be the easiest to maintain IMO.
Then white.

Silver hides rock chips and swirls very well and it's harder to see dirt on it as well.
White also hides swirls and light scratches well, but dirt shows more on it.

White will force you to want to clean your car though It's not a bad choice but they are charging too much for paint so I would go silver. But I got in before the price change and the wife wanted white.

Silver also shows off the lines of the car THE BEST, again IMO.

 

[SMAlset]

We have a MSM MS and really love the color and overall classy look. When it came time to order my Model 3 however my husband really didn't want to have 2 MSM cars in the driveway. Didn't bother me but whatever. Change is also nice. I was tempted by red but went with Pearl White and arranging to take delivery now. I also think it's a nice classic look. Never had a white car before but have had a silver one. We'll be getting mine filmed and coated so don't expect to have any real issues keeping it clean. We live in an area with a lot of construction going on right now and lots of dust in the air so imagine it will need cleaning more often until things settle down construction wise.

One thing I will mention that seems to be an observation among owners here who ordered their car in silver, it can take longer to get. Presumably because it's not as popular so they wait for a certain volume of orders for that color before doing a run (which makes a lot of production sense and lessens downtime for setup and cleaning). Sometimes though it's nice to have something that you don't see all over and it certainly would be spotted more easily among a parking lot with lots of Telsa's and Model 3s in it. If you do go silver, I think either black interior or white would look great.

Let us know what way you end up going.