which paint color is holding up the best?

[BLW2]

Just curious if any of you that have really been paying attention have onions on the various paint color choices specifically regarding the durability....

are any of them tending to look better in the long run after minor "life happens" events... small scratches, little sand/rock chips and such from just normal highway driving, etc....

I really like the red color, but I honesty prefer a basic plain old white color for my cars/trucks. Mainly because it's just cooler (temperature in the sun) but also it's very forgiving.

The tesla's white is that pearl color though, which I'm not overly excited about.....still I guess it has to be my 1st choice (closest to a basic white and also the cheapest!)

Of the tesla choices I'd have to rank the grey "midnight silver" as my 3rd choice.

Anyway, as I was looking at them in the showroom yesterday I was thinking that the red has shuch depth that it may not be very forgiving for little dings....and since the white has depth as well it might not either....

So what is experience showing so far?

 

[MY-Y]

1000 miles and the red looks great. The color won't impact the car temperature much with the glass roof and hatch as the primary sun-baked surfaces.

 

[BLW2]

I was thinking the same...and that's what got me to thinking about potential benefits or issues with other colors.....
such as do some colors show little dings worse than others?

but the other day I saw a picture similar to this one and while not as much as a painted roof possibly, color still looks to be a factor.

 

[azentropy]

Tesla got rid of the color for the 3 and never had it for the Y that held up best IMO (Sliver Metallic). I live in AZ so prefer light colored cars, it does make a difference. While the White on the Y is pretty it shows imperfections, dust (big issue here), chips much more than my Silver Metallic 3.

 

[BLW2]

how well does the white take touch-up paint? Does it stick out like a sore thumb?



I sure do with they offered a plain jane "work truck white" paint, with a lighter color but not white upholstery....a light grey or a tan interior would be nice....

 

[azentropy]

how well does the white take touch-up paint? Does it stick out like a sore thumb?



I sure do with they offered a plain jane "work truck white" paint, with a lighter color but not white upholstery....a light grey or a tan interior would be nice....

When Tesla announced they were moving the base color from Black to White they were originally planning on doing a base white. But then decided adding a new color would be too expensive so just made the Pearl White the base (even though at the beginning I think it was actually the most expensive color option). Not to beat a dead horse, but they should have made the Silver Metallic the base color. Since it was the "least popular" if that would have stuck they would have got more $ from people upgrading.

My 3 is with Black interior and my Y is White interior. I definitely like the look of the white better but can already tell it is not going to wear as well and will need to be cleaned more often since it shows everything. I too wished they offered a grey option.

I do have some Pearl White touch up paint, but haven't used it yet.

 

[JCLee]

how well does the white take touch-up paint? Does it stick out like a sore thumb?



I sure do with they offered a plain jane "work truck white" paint, with a lighter color but not white upholstery....a light grey or a tan interior would be nice....

Yes, it sticks out even with the Tesla's own paint touch-up kit. The original paint is much brighter and shiny than the touch-up paint which is closer to light gray, not white. That might be due to the lack of the final glassy coat layer. It would have been nicer if Tesla offer the same multiple coats in the touch-up kit.

Disclaimer - the touch-up kit comes with two bottles, the main paint and the cleaning solution to blend the color with the surrounding paints. Because I already have the ceramic coating, I haven't tried the cleaning solution yet. That might help alleviating it a little bit.

 

[LevelHeaded]

My black is holding up pretty well... but every painted surface is covered with matte PPF

 

[Levelheadsteve]

I’ve found that interior color affects heat more than exterior color. Black interior is just terrible in the sun/heat. Many people have documented that the white interior holds up perfectly over years of use (try YouTube), yet somehow people still think it doesn’t. That’s fine. Get black like 90% of the cars in the world. The white interior is amazing and blows people away when they see it, including me when I drive it everyday.

 

[Trustedpro]

I plan on ordering a MY next week after the Battery Day announcements. I'm on the fence about which color to order. I've read numerous posts of people complaining about white color mismatches, black shows swirls, scratched and dirt easily, and I don't care to spend $2K on a red paint color and attract the fine men and women in blue. My choices are narrowed down to blue and MSM, which are both metallic paint and look great. I'm not a big fan of grey but the MSM seems to have a lighter silvery shine in sunlight. I don't recall reading any complaints about the paint quality of those two colors.

 

[VT_EE]

I plan on ordering a MY next week after the Battery Day announcements. I'm on the fence about which color to order. I've read numerous posts of people complaining about white color mismatches, black shows swirls, scratched and dirt easily, and I don't care to spend $2K on a red paint color and attract the fine men and women in blue. My choices are narrowed down to blue and MSM, which are both metallic paint and look great. I'm not a big fan of grey but the MSM seems to have a lighter silvery shine in sunlight. I don't recall reading any complaints about the paint quality of those two colors.

I love the white, but with all the crappy examples of mismatched paint on TMC, I'd be hesitant to order white a the moment. I'd go with red and apply ceramic. You are not going to get pulled over more often because your SUV is red.

 

[LineWaiterPST]

There's no right answer but if you're looking for opinions I think:

Best looking color: Red
Second best looking color: Blue
Holds up the best when dirty/beat up: MSM

That being said I ordered white because it's free and I've never had a white car. I don't think you can go wrong with the colors on this car, the black is really nice too I've seen a few in person.

 

[smariner]

I think the best looking color is Red; second choice is Midnight Silver Metallic.
Good to know that MSM holds up well.

 

[Quorky]

With Pup:

1. MSM
2. White
3. Rest

 

[phil4791eng]

My white paint is great. No defects since day one.

 

[Pilot1226]

I'm liking the white, and plan to give it the "Stormtrooper" look by hitting the emblems with HyperDip. Maybe the Gemini covers, too. Someone on reddit did that and it looked awesome.

Undecided if I'd want to debadge the "Dual Motor" though, that makes it look nasty after washing/rain/snow.

 

[phil4791eng]

I'm liking the white, and plan to give it the "Stormtrooper" look by hitting the emblems with HyperDip. Maybe the Gemini covers, too. Someone on reddit did that and it looked awesome.

Undecided if I'd want to debadge the "Dual Motor" though, that makes it look nasty after washing/rain/snow.

I bought the matte black dual motor emblem from Abstract Ocean. They should have done a chrome delete on the white IMO.

 

[ArcticStation]

Red July 2018 build. Still looks great. No ceramic or PPF. Keep it washed (me or the touchless place down the street) and waxed (the inexpensive, easy to use spray on/wipe off kind). Always parked in a garage when at home and under covered parking, if available, when travelling. Took a hit last year to the driver's door from road debris that exposed bare metal (doors are aluminium so not worried about rust). Used touch up paint from Tesla and it looks almost like new (only I really notice it).

IMHO the key is to limit sun exposure. Red cars I have owned in the past suffered significant damage from sun exposure, so I avoid it when practical. And if I lived in a place where the sun always shines and temps in the 90s or higher are common, I would probably avoid the red.

 

[Fidalgo]

Happy with blue so far but only 2,000 miles. Really sharp with two coats of spray on, wipe off ceramic. (Turtle Wax product.)

 

[KyleATMn]

I'm liking the white, and plan to give it the "Stormtrooper" look by hitting the emblems with HyperDip. Maybe the Gemini covers, too. Someone on reddit did that and it looked awesome.

Undecided if I'd want to debadge the "Dual Motor" though, that makes it look nasty after washing/rain/snow.

I've had the Hyperdip waiting for a month. I'm going to do the Dual Motor badge, both emblems, and geminis then add some vinyl for the "silver ring". Love the black/white Stormtrooper look