- Red paint is a pain, honestly. I had a cherry red coupe for a while—looked amazing when it was spotless, but every little scratch or swirl stood out like crazy.
- Tried those touch-up pens too. Sometimes they just make the spot more obvious, especially if the shade’s even a little off.
- Lighter colors definitely hide dust and dings better in my experience. My neighbor’s silver car always looks cleaner than mine, even after a week of rain.
- If you want to keep a red car looking good, regular waxing helps a bit, but it’s a commitment. I just accepted the “character marks” after a while... kept me from stressing every time I parked under a tree.
Red paint is like the high-maintenance friend of the car world. I had a used Mazda years back—“Soul Red,” they called it, which sounded fancy until I realized it was basically “shows every fingerprint and bird bomb red.” I swear, I’d wash it and by the time I finished drying one side, the other side already had dust on it. And don’t get me started on those touch-up pens. Tried one after a rogue shopping cart left its mark, and the spot ended up looking like a weird lipstick smear. Not sure if it was the pen or my technique, but either way, it didn’t blend in at all.
I’ve noticed what you said about lighter colors too. My neighbor’s got a beige sedan that always looks halfway clean, even when it’s not. Meanwhile, my red car looked like it’d been through a windstorm if I skipped a week of washing. Waxing helped a bit, but honestly, who has time to keep up with that every month? Between work and fixing stuff around the house, I just started calling the scratches “personality.”
Funny thing is, every brand seems to have their own version of red—some are orangey, some are almost maroon. Makes finding matching touch-up paint a nightmare. I guess they want their cars to stand out, but for those of us on a budget who just want to keep things looking decent without spending half our weekend detailing... it’s kind of a pain.
If I ever buy another car, I’m going silver or gray. Less drama, less stress, and you can actually see out the windows when it’s dusty. Red looks great in the showroom, but in real life? It’s like owning a white couch with toddlers—nice idea in theory, but not worth the hassle for me.
Isn’t it wild how much more work some colors are? I had a red Civic once and honestly, it felt like I was washing it every other day just to keep it looking halfway decent. Makes me wonder—do car makers actually test these colors in real-world conditions, or is it all about what pops under showroom lights? Also, has anyone figured out if the fancier reds (like those multi-layer ones) are any tougher, or just even more of a pain when you get a scratch?
Red paint is a pain, no doubt. I had a Mazda with that fancy “soul red” and it looked amazing, but every scratch was super obvious and touch-ups never matched. I’m pretty sure most brands just care about what looks good under the lights, not how it holds up to dust or scratches. Those multi-layer reds seem even worse for repairs—cost me way more to fix a door ding than plain old silver ever did.
That “soul red” is wild—my buddy’s got a CX-5 in that color and he’s always griping about how every little rock chip stands out like a beacon. I get why they do it, though. You see those cars under the showroom lights and it’s like, wow, gotta have it. But yeah, nobody tells you that fixing a scratch means three layers of paint and a prayer that the sun hits it just right.
I had an old Chevy truck in fire engine red back in the day. Not as fancy as these new reds, but even then, touch-ups never matched. Ended up just ignoring the scratches after a while—gave it “character,” or at least that’s what I told myself.
Funny thing is, my current ride’s silver and I barely notice any dings. Maybe boring colors are underrated... or maybe I’m just getting too practical these days.
