swazispencer

But it looks so good when its clean! Haha

gregsf150stx

RED! mine is dirty now, but doesn't look dirty.

scorpio333

You nailed it. I've had grey cars in the past, this is my first black vehicle. Wash it, pull in the garage and dry it, get all the drips. Now wait five minutes and the truck is now dirty. The tuxedo black does 'hide' the dust a bit, but man the dust just takes 5 minutes to start appearing.

Ssls6

I had a very different experience with a 93 Red F150. Here in the TX sun, it turned pink-orange after 5 or 6 years. With each waxing after the 2nd year or so, my polish mit would be red looking. I really loved that SWB 4x4 but swore I would never get red again down here.

ghoyt87

I have Grey, It never looks dirty, I only wash it twice a year before I wax it. otherwise it may get a car wash every other month. And paint is still in perfect condition and looks brand new.

AreL11

My '10 was Sterling Gray and my '11 is Tux Black. I'm pretty handy around the detailing cart and I don't regret the black for a second. If you're careful when you wash it, it won't get swirled to $h*t. Both colors are great though.

21RRF150

iTrader: (1)

Yes, I can see how that would happen in your situation. Your talking about early base coat/clear coat paint. In addition to the TX sun. But clear coats and their UV protection have come a looonnngg way since '93.

When we paint older red vehicles at my work, we usually go with the "bluer" variant. Because a lot of the time older reds will fade bluer.

Slabo

Black is by far the most difficult color to keep. I own both a Black GT500 and a Tux Black F150. The Tux Black is a bit easier. As mentioned, the key is to prevent the swirls as much as possible. Never touch a black rig without something very slick between your microfiber and the truck. Never use the brush at the auto wash. You also just have to learn to ignore the dust until you can either wash it or detail spray it. If you really care you will also have to polish it occasionally.

Viking1204

I have Sterling Gray and it is amazing how easy it is to keep clean. It can be covered in dust and from any distance you can't hardly tell it's dirty. After a good wash it shines up good and you don't have to worry about it looking bad in a day or two, love it! My first truck ever was a black Ford Ranger and that was enough to convince me I'd never own a black vehicle again especially living in Florida! Pain to keep clean and hot as hell 8 months out of the year. My Sterling Gray with tinted windows stays 10 times cooler.

GatorMedic

The red fading seems to be relegated to very old trucks. Like mentioned earlier a '93 truck. Truck paint jobs have obviously progressed a lot since then and I have yet to see a 2000+ red truck that's faded. For the record I've also seen other colors on really old trucks be faded as well. Just cause something happened to vehicles 20-30 years ago doesn't mean it's happening to vehicles these days