Hey all, I'm a long time lurker of this forum and I finally am ready to pull the trigger on my new F150. Right now I've found two trucks I like, one in shadow and the other in ingot silver.

I was wondering if any of you guys with shadow black (or any other color) trucks have any regrets getting that color and why or what they wish they bought. I've heard the black is tough to keep clean. My new truck will sit 80% of the week as I have a company vehicle and I don't want to spend every weekend cleaning a black truck if is truly that difficult to keep clean.

 

My last truck was a 2014 in Tuxedo Black. It would look good for about 2 days after I washed it. Truck before that was silver. I didn't wash it for two years and it looked fine.

New truck is Blue Flame and the dirt is not nearly as noticeable.

 

I have no regrets with the Ingot Silver. Although the black is my favorite color, this silver hides the dirt great. Like the poster before me, I had black and it would look great for a few days then depression would set in after thinking of all the work you did to make it look flawless.

 

If you do a good detail and wax, the dirt it collects from sitting should be easily sprayed away in 5 minutes time, no matter the color.

I have tuxedo and I just take it and spray it off every few weeks or let the rain take care of it. Mines intended for daily use, not the showroom. Though every once in awhile I dress him up real nice for the ball.

 

I have shadow black and it looks great but is dirty all the time because of pollen, dust and the fact that I own a white dog who sheds. I wasn't sure whether i would be 100% happy with another black truck but i am.

 

I just got a 2016 Shadow black Lariat. Same situation where mine sits all week home and is a weekend truck. Because it's sitting, only dust will set on truck. I bought some sort of a sheep synthetic cloth that is specifically made to remove surface dust. My fear was that it would show permanent swirls on black paint using it. None so far after many use. The static keeps dust deep inside cloth for a no contact. Is it more maintenance absolutely, is it worth it oh yeh! My previous was 13' FX4 Blue flame, I would say it was mid-high maintenance compare to black
Silver is the best for low maintenance-appearance..for sure..

 

Tuxedo black is very pretty when it is clean but it is too hard to keep clean imo, I have it and to hard to keep it clean. I would get red silver or white easy to keep clean and shows less scratches.

 

If they still had tuxedo black I don't think I would have as much reservation as I do about the shadow due to the metallic flake which would hide some dust. Shadow seems to be a much more neutral black which would show more. My biggest concern is 2 or 3 or 4 years down the road the black showing all the scratches from washing or normal wear and tear.

 

I wouldn't worry about the keeping clean part, it's the defects, swirling, marring, and scratches that is what is very noticeable on black.

It is beautiful when clean but it's hard to hide life's little mishaps and "love marks" you create cleaning it.


Being a detailer, there is nothing you can do to stop swirling 100%. Just touching the paint (no matter how careful you are) will inevitably cause swirling. It's just a matter of how quickly induce swirling by minimizing it the best you can. You can swirl the paint in 2 washes or 20, depending on how careful you are.

That being said, Ingot makes these defects less noticeable. Doesn't mean you're any less careful but the color is more forgiving.

 

I've personally had four silver vehicles. Silver is the lazy man's color.

Black is the boss and he demands complete attention. Gotta love the boss though!

No regrets!