Does the gold color hide the dust and dirt? I am deciding between colors and feel like the gold would be somewhat easier to hide the dirt compared to gray and black...Just wondering...most of my travels are in the deserts of the southwest. Can't seem to find a white one...thanks much
Sonora Gold Owners?
- Thread starter mpho
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RET2
SILVER Star
You are correct my friend, the gold color does hide quite a bit of dust-scratches
I've owned gold/tan cars in the past. It hides a lot. But man if you ever need to repair... Golds in particular are very hard to fix and match because of how much each layer reflects/shimmers in the light. A retired buddy of mine collects and rebuilds cars. He used to own a body shop so I've been given quite the education.
I currently own the gray and find it to be the best comprise among all the choices.
Glosses show imperfections in dark colors. (Orange peal, scratches) Glosses are easy to fix and match vs. metallics/pearls. Lighter gloss hide imperfections. Metallics/pearls help hide imperfections in dark colors. (Orange peal, scratches) But Metallics/pearls are harder to repair than gloss. Lighter metallics show more mismatch vs. darker metallics. Darker colors show dirt more than lighter colors.
White is the best for matching repairs and hiding imperfections / dirt. It's also cooler in hot climates. But while very practical, many see white as boring. Gold is good looking, hides dirt, is metallic so it hides orange peal. But it's hard to repair. Silver too, but not as much.
Most folks pick the color they like rather than how easy it is to keep clean or repair.
Color depends on preference and goals.
Metallic, not too dark: Hides orange peal, some dirt. Medium difficulty to repair.
-Gray
-Red (Brandy, Salsa)
Light gloss: Cool. Easy repair. Hides orange peal, dirt.
-White
Light metallic: Cool. Hides dirt and imperfections. Medium/hard to repair.
-White Pearl
-Silver
-Gold
Dark metallic. Holds heat. Medium to repair. Hides some imperfections. Shows dirt.
-Black metallic
-Blue pearl
Dark gloss: Holds heat. Easy to repair. Shows imperfections and dirt. Looks really good clean. Hard to keep clean.
-Black gloss
I currently own the gray and find it to be the best comprise among all the choices.
Glosses show imperfections in dark colors. (Orange peal, scratches) Glosses are easy to fix and match vs. metallics/pearls. Lighter gloss hide imperfections. Metallics/pearls help hide imperfections in dark colors. (Orange peal, scratches) But Metallics/pearls are harder to repair than gloss. Lighter metallics show more mismatch vs. darker metallics. Darker colors show dirt more than lighter colors.
White is the best for matching repairs and hiding imperfections / dirt. It's also cooler in hot climates. But while very practical, many see white as boring. Gold is good looking, hides dirt, is metallic so it hides orange peal. But it's hard to repair. Silver too, but not as much.
Most folks pick the color they like rather than how easy it is to keep clean or repair.
Color depends on preference and goals.
Metallic, not too dark: Hides orange peal, some dirt. Medium difficulty to repair.
-Gray
-Red (Brandy, Salsa)
Light gloss: Cool. Easy repair. Hides orange peal, dirt.
-White
Light metallic: Cool. Hides dirt and imperfections. Medium/hard to repair.
-White Pearl
-Silver
-Gold
Dark metallic. Holds heat. Medium to repair. Hides some imperfections. Shows dirt.
-Black metallic
-Blue pearl
Dark gloss: Holds heat. Easy to repair. Shows imperfections and dirt. Looks really good clean. Hard to keep clean.
-Black gloss
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Mine hides the dust (and in the winter the salt) quite well from a distance.
As @NC237 points out, color matching is impossible. I have a couple small scratches that I tried to touch up with two different Toyota paint code-matched touch up kits (one actually from Toyota and one aftermarket). Neither is a spot-on match, and the Toyota one is actually quite a bit "gold-er".
White probably hides light scratches the best, black is the worst, and gold is somewhere in between. Scratches are typically seen because the scratch in just the clear coat reflects the light, which is why white vehicles don't really show light scratches all that much unless you look close.
IMO the gold is a throwback to the desert tan 40s. If I ever had to repaint I'd consider doing the roof white, just because.
As @NC237 points out, color matching is impossible. I have a couple small scratches that I tried to touch up with two different Toyota paint code-matched touch up kits (one actually from Toyota and one aftermarket). Neither is a spot-on match, and the Toyota one is actually quite a bit "gold-er".
White probably hides light scratches the best, black is the worst, and gold is somewhere in between. Scratches are typically seen because the scratch in just the clear coat reflects the light, which is why white vehicles don't really show light scratches all that much unless you look close.
IMO the gold is a throwback to the desert tan 40s. If I ever had to repaint I'd consider doing the roof white, just because.
Mike- You've seen my gold 100 series and how pin striped it is. Hold out for a white one!
The downside to white is dirt collects in the door jams and around the tailgate, it really shows and looks terrible. Every time you wash the truck you have to be super diligent to clean these out.
I've had my Gold 200 in snowy New York winters and now i live in AZ and it really hides everything. I've noticed even after all day in AZ dirt it mostly doesn't even look like i've been off roading. Good point about touch up paint no matching though, i haven't ever tried
