NJRonbo

Looking to buy my first TL (more about that in a separate post)...

What color will hide dirt and scratches/nicks best?

Silver is always the best color for this, but that Anthracite
Metallic looks so sweet! My only fear is that the color is
dark and will need repeated washings.

Thoughts?

2003 Acura TLS260-Silver

Black is the absolute worst for hiding any type of paint flaws. White, silver and other types of light colors are best at hiding dirt. Blue, red are in the middle for hiding paint flaws. It depends on what type of owner you are. Do you want to spend a a lot of time and effort in keeping the car clean?..if so go with black. If you want low maintenance.. go with Satin Metallic Silver. Just for your info.. I am an x-detailer, so I have detailed a wide array of makes, models and colors. Generally, dark colors show all types of flaws, while light colors will show the least. Metallic paint jobs give the best shine and is usually considered an option with some other car manufactures. That's the general rule of thumb. Does that give you a general idea?

NJRonbo

Appreciate the response.

That helps -- but nothing I didn't already know.

What I need to know specifically is about Anthracite
Metallic.

Where does that color fall on the color spectrum?
To me, it looks closer to Black which means more
frequent washings and upkeep.

Silver would be my first choice for more maintenance-free
cleaning -- but if I can get awat with the Anthracite
Metallic that would be my choice.

Thanks again!

PS: What do people think of Anthracite Metallic with
the CAMEL interior as opposed to the EBONY?

JetJock

I've had 2 NBP(Black) TL's in the past. Both cars were beautifull, but they both were a nightmare to keep clean. I had swirl marks on both cars. I never used a car wash, every wash was done by hand and I still ended up with tons of swirl marks. Finally I gave up, and got a '04 Anthracite Metalic TL. My problems are over. After 14 months, I sill don't have any visible swirl marks. Anthracite looks great even when it's dirty. If you want a color that's easy to maintain...Anthracite is your color. True...it doesn't look as shiny and flashy as NBP, but it's sure easy to keep clean. Swirl marks are a thing of the past. BTW...my name for NBP=Nightmare Black Pearl. Some people might prefer Camel, but IMHO, the black interior with the brushed metal accent trim and the carbon fiber trim just looks awesome. Something about the fake wood trim and Camel just doesn't cut it for me. I like the Camel leather, but the wood looks like an old persons Buick.

mio

white.

lumpydog

I'm on week two of owning a new Anthracite TL with Camel interior - some comments:



1) The color is beautiful. Everyone that has gone for a ride with me over the last week has complimented the color. It's one of those colors that appears to change depending on the setting - it can appear to be more gunmetal bluish on a cloudy day, deep gray when it rains, metallic gray on a sunny day... It's just a great color.



2) The silver is very nice as well, but in my opinion is far less remarkable.



3) I got my TL pretty dirty last week (first rain in a while and only a quick shower - enough to get the road dirt that had built up in the past week spraying around). You could only tell the TL was dirty from about 3 feet away - farther than that and the TL looked great.



4) With regard to the interior - I have Camel and it is another thing that gets a ton of compliments. The TL is a balance between luxury and sportyness. The Camel interior will tilt the TL to the luxury side of the equation. It really makes the TL feel more upscale - the wood (fake but nice) trim ads to this effect. If you want to tilt the scale to the sportier side of the equation, get Ebony or Quartz - with the darker color and carbon fiber (fake but nice) trim - it is a "racier" look.



5) Someone else that works in my building has a black TL and it always looks awful. The guy does not take care of it (lease?) and it has fierce swirl marks and always looks bad. A shame....

Go for the Antracite - depending on what your looking to acheive with the TL's feel sport/luxury, choose an interior color that fits your needs.

crazymjb

Definatly white, it reflects the most light making it more difficult to see imperfections. Dirt does show up on it, but not too horribly. If you really are gonna be scraping this thing up get white.

HEK

any metallic light color and most definitively not BLACK....I love the color but have become a slave to it, I wash my car twice the amount of times a I do the wife's Ody, hers is...well check out my sigs, you'll get the picture..

GUMP

Black is horrible..it looked clean for about 2 hours. I've owned 3 other white cars and they were very easy to keep looking clean. I currently have a desert mist TL and I love it (despite the negative posts). I get a ton of compliments on it and it looks good all the time. I also think the TL in white looks great. There are so many silver cars out there..go with white.

ohmygators

I really liked the Anthracite when I saw it at the dealerships. However, there was an Anthracite TL in the parking garage where I worked, and the thing was always filthy. Maybe the owner never washed it, but I couldn't get over the image and went with the Silver.

dman918

Just a thought. Although anthracite is a decent looking color, it is the new silver and every other car seems to have it. It is not too hard to keep clean (my girlfriend has a Saturn Ion in the color), but it will show some stuff like any medium-dark color would.

TLTS

Anthracite is a good choice . Never black! Never White , this color stains to much. I worked in the bodyshop for 20 years and the gray scale hides the most ,and you can touch up the paint chips the easiest.

prashants17

Silver by far, any car salesman will tell u that. and its true.

bmw0016

Go with the Anthracite Metallic/Quartz interior. I've had mine for almost 3 months and I love it...IMHO it would look beter than the camel and stay cooler in the sun.

BG74

I love my SSM...the car only looks dirty because of brake dust

Hawhyen51

Comparing it to the exterior colors Acura has to offer, AM is lighter than ABP, DGP and RRP. IMO, the upkeep is not as bad as the darker colors. It may show dirt/dust a lot quicker than SSM, but from a distance you really can't tell. From personal experience, I usually wash once a week to get the dust off followed up by using a QD (Mothers) and that takes me about 2 hours. I don't know what part of the country you're in, but that may be a factor in your decision as to which exterior color to get. One more thing, go with your first color choice - no regrets later. Good Luck!

erok72

I've had my Anthracite/Camel TL for just over 2 months now and I can't tell you how many compliments I've gotten on the color combination. To me, the camel interior has a very classic, very european flair.
The light wood/brushed aluminum accents compliment everything nicely and IMHO look much more convincing than the carbon fiber look.

Anthracite is a great color... Not as hard as black to keep clean but not as easy as white. Bear in mind that it will take work on your part to keep it looking it's best.
Living in So. Cal., I wash my car at least once a week and follow up with a California Duster dusting and Meguiars quick detail 2 times a week. Sounds like a lot, but my cousin drives a black I30 and his car shows dirt and dust an hour after a fresh detail. Don't get me wrong... Nothing looks as sexy as a black car that's freshly detailed, but from your question, it sounds like you're looking to make your car wash/detailing jobs last as long as possible.

Just my

brooklynbob

Black is beautiful but is the hardest to get and keep clean. I owned a black Lexus ES300 and really took care of it but Toyota (Lexus) paint is no better than Acura and it was a high car care color to take care of.. Love my Anthricite.. Since I live in Southern CA and the TL is garaged I almost never wash it. Just wipe it down with Girot's Spay and shine with two soft cotton diapers after each use. It is great exercise too.. I clayed it when it was new and then I used Zaino Z2 Show shine, 303 Protectant on the dash and Lexol on the leather.. Looks great

When I do wash it I like the Mr Clean System since we have very hard water and to date no water marks..

Black is Beautiful but man it shows everything

ExLexusGuy

I have the Anthracite/Ebony and love it. I agree that the Camel interior has a more luxuruious feel, but I didn't buy the TL for its luxury. I bought it for its looks, its toys, and its sporty feel. I felt that the Ebony interior did a better job of highlighting the car's sport feel. But, its a personal preference.

I have another car, and I drove it for 2 days in a row while the TL sat in the garage. When I went to drive it on day 3, there was a thick layer of dust on it that was very, very noticable... almost to the point of embarrasing to drive. If you go with the Anthracite, you'll need to be dedicated to weekly cleaning and washing too. Otherwise, go with silver.

havokgroup

I also have the Anthracite/Ebony set up and it's been great at hiding dirty and such.

HondaOnly

Gold. It's already dirt colored. Some people will tell you to get white or silver. But white shows dirt pretty easily and even silver can look dirty after a while. I'm not recommending you get a gold TL, but if your biggest concern is hiding dirt and scratches, then gold is the clear winner. I had a gold car for a year and it was by far the easiest to clean. I could literally just hose it down and drive. Ultimately you will have to compromise. What's more important to you, a color that looks great or is easy to clean?

2003 Acura TLS260-Silver

Anthracite metallic is similar to a gunmetal metallic grey. It's a medium difficulty level color to take car of. Sort of in between a black and metallic color paint job.

Jss1

Absolutely agree. My Desert Mist never looks dirty. I have to run a finger on it to actually see if there is any dirt and I couldn't be happier. My last car was black and I used to have to spend hours cleaning it it even if it rained for 5 minutes. No more and no dark colours ever again for me!

Hybrid

Some people say white hides dirt and some people say it shows dirt. Hmmmm. Could it be that dirt is actually different colors in different parts of the country/world?

Actually, that is the case. Where I live, the dirt/dust is a very light gray/tan. I've seen other places where it's a much darker color, probably due to more organic material and less pure sand. So what you have where you live is going to influence what color shows less dirt.

SSMTL04

SSM is the way to go!!!!! Silver is always looking nice.

Actuary

1. I had black mustang and I had to wax it every week or two to make it look good. (Lots of scratches by end of ownership)

2. I drove over 600miles yesterday in rain and SSM looks only about 1/3 to 1/4 dirty compared to black mustang I had.

3. I was cleaning my SSM today. I can get most of dust off just by spraying at coin wash. If you want showroom condition, you will have to use cloth(especially behind wheels, under doors, wheels)

4. I like gold which is not available in Canada anymore. I asked dealer and they said it wasn't sporty enough so they discontinued in Canada.

5. I noticed a chip on bumper and it is BLACK! (oh my). I hope I dont get too many of those during my ownership.

vp911

I had AM for just over 6 months and it did a pretty good job. It did not look dirty like black does all the time. It still shows paint chips, but only if you are looking for them - but thats the case for all colors. AM is excellent.

TLTS

ever try touching silver up , i does'nt work very well , the metallics get all bunched up and you have a gray touch up spot on silver , on the other hand gray touches up nice

Ricochet Rabbit

We've got both an Anthracite and Red TL. My wife picked the Grey partly because she thought it wouldn't show the dirt as easily. I bought mine for the color knowing it would need detailing more often. I'd have to say that both of these cars show dirt the same. In reality both need weekly washing or if it doesn't rain a good dusting (haven't gotten the cal duster yet).

The grey is darker than the dirt and dust in Florida and it almost looks like salt spray on the sides after only one week of driving if it has rained. Looks nicely spotted too if it only sprinkles and the dust has built up for a few days.

Lighter colors would do better but not too light. As others have said the least likely to show dirt would be the gold. Next I believe would be the silver then the white. I've seen too many white TL's that I could tell were dirty 100 yards away. On the other hand the medium colors (grey, red) and darker colors (blue, green, black) mostly just lose some of their "snap" or luster from a distance. You can't really tell they are dirty until you are within about 5 feet of them.

Any of the TL colors look really good and you would not be disappointed in the Anthracite with either parchment or ebony. Her car is definately "sharp" and my car is "gorgeous" (but I'm biased)!!

Ga_Tech_TL

silver....

melly

i have had the AM for 9 months. it is very easy to take care of - doesnt show dust (the dust is my region is fairly dark). is easy to clean. there is a SSM IN MY AREA AND IT SEEMS TO BE ABOUT THE SAME LEVEL OF DIRTINESS AS MY AM.

if you like am then go for it - you wont be a slave to it like black.

TBone2004

I have the Anthracite. I have been very please that when it is dirty - it does not look as dirty as my '02 Black TL. So if you are looking for a color based on clean look - probably Silver or Anthracite. If you are thinking about chips in the paint - the anthracite is almost as bad as the black. My hood is covered in white dots - so in this case maybe White or Silver would be better to not show the chips as much.

WdnUlik2no

black is the worst, like everyone said. My Mustang Gt was black and while it looked sweet when clean, it showed EVERY scratch, swirl in the sunlight. PITA.

White is very good at hiding swirls, and suprisingly, my Anthracite is not showing any swirls either. It may be that I wash and dry my car VERY carefully now. My method takes a long time, but its better than swirling up my car. Basically when you wash, you want to be sure that your cloth is free of any particles, like dirt, sand, leaves, or anything else that can get into it. if you drop your cloth on the ground, rinse it thoroughly to get out all the dirt or better yet use a new cloth. This is just one reason to avoid commercial hand car washes,when those guy drop their cloths on the ground they just pick it up and put it right back on your car.

When I dry I avoid using long strokes and do not use too much pressure, just enough to get the car dry.

It would take me an hour to write all my my techiques I now use. But basically, the key in avoiding scratches and swirls is to avoid contaimenents.

Scott in Houston

My 911 Turbo is that gun metal grey that's close to Anthracite. My TL is White.
I'd say they're both pretty equal. If anything is easier, it's the gray to keep 'looking' clean.

berlinrl

I've had Anthracite for over a year. While it looks gorgeous clean, it
is also a very good camoflauge color, though maybe not quite as good as
silver.

I have ebony interior, and like a black exterior, is hard to keep clean,
though it is gorgeous.

Rachel

mark 3M bra man

Same here. That is the combo I have and love it.

Keep in mind that in my profession (see sig), my car has to look good and clean all the time.

Good luck, Mark.

WdnUlik2no

I hate swirl marks!!! :angryfire Another reason why I was my car myself. Someone else washing our cars would probally not take as much pride in their work like we do!!

mn2trance

I have yet to know since I always clean my car whenever there's light rain, which seems almost daily here. I do it because I didn't want water spots showing up on the car after it had air dried.

mp3car

At the moment, I have silver, black and an antrhracite vehicles (not all TLs )

I have had my anthracite/ebony for about... 2.5 months now, my wife has a silver 2000 mustang. I also have a black '92 Nisan Maxima. As everyone knows, black is horrible at staying clean. However, anthracite is not a whole lot better. It certainly is better than black, but i would say keeping it looking clean is a good bit closer to as hard as keeping black clean than silver. But, I keep a california duster in the garage, a good coat of wax on it (TL), quick detail at least once a week, and i think it is going on 3 weeks since I have washed it... but, I've also been able to drive my maxima when the forecast calls for rain

chill_dog

WDP shows dirt the least, NBP the most. SSM is almost as good as WDP at hiding dirt. I would suggest WDP (it also happens to be the hottest color on a TL)...this is provided you bring it down to Charlotte...don't need any more WDP TL's down here...