What is the best colour for a 4WD?

We present the following post as part of series of tips & insights from experienced 4WD'ers and travellers.

Our mission is to share our experience to enable you to fulfil your passion for adventure with your own expedition of discovery.

Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.

We have now owned 10 4wd's and we have only bought white for the last five for the following reasons. However, you may have a strong preference for another colour and thats fine of course. We just offer the following tips for your consideration when buying.

9 benefits of a white 4WD (solid - non metallic):

1. Easier to keep clean. White cars don’t show road grime as much as a dark colour car. White cars will need less frequent washing than a dark car;

2. White does not show scratches as much as a dark colour. Minor scratches hardly show at all on white. If a white car does get a bad scratch they are easy to polish whereas a dark colour can be very difficult to polish out. The primer coat on cars, under the top coat, is also white which helps disguise scratches. Using touch up paint for stone chips and minor scratches is very successful on white. Getting a few scratches is inevitable when off road;

3. White keeps the car cooler particularly when left parked in the sun;

4. White has better resale value as white is the most popular colour, anyone will accept white and white never goes out of fashion;

5. White is more readily available when buying the car new;

6. White is more noticeable on the road, particularly on a highway, therefore white is safer;

7. White cars are cheaper to insure. Most insurance companies discriminate based on colour because statistically white cars are considered safer and have less claims;

8. Birds poop on white cars less than many dark colours. An English study, by car parts retailer Halfords, found the colour that gets pooped on the most is red followed by blue and black. Green were the least likely targets. The only other colour that fared better than white was grey/silver;

9. Last but not least, white cars are less vulnerable to Cassowary attack in North Queensland. If Cassowaries see their reflection in a dark coloured car they may attack the car thinking it’s another cassowary particularly if the cassowary has been gorging on fermented bush fruit which makes them intoxicated. It is common in North Queensland Cassowary country for owners of dark coloured cars to keep them covered to avoid Cassowary attack.

Metallic paint finish:

A metallic (aka iridescent, pearlescent, polychromatic) paint finish looks fantastic and maintains a gloss longer but be aware it’s not a great product for a 4WD. Metallic paint shows scratches very easily and can soon look awful with obvious scratches all over. Getting a few scratches is inevitable when 4WD'ing.

I have seen a metallic painted car go into the bush and come out with a lot of obvious and nasty scratches yet a white car in the same group shows nothing.

Most scratches in metallic paint cant be polished out by hand even minor scratches. For most scratches you will need to get a panel beater to polish them with a power buffer. However, a metallic paint system is protected by a clear coating on top and you can only power buff that clear coat about 6 times before you cut through the clear coating which will then require repainting.

Repair with touch up paint, on metallic painted cars, often only makes a scratch or stone chip look worse.

Even metallic painted cars that don’t go off road will experience these same problems to a lesser degree.

David & Rosemary Allan – the faces behind:

May adventure & discovery be your constant companions.

Reflection:

For me, a trip is memorable when I am enriched by a deeper sense of connection to a place which triggers an emotional or spiritual response. This comes from feelings of Awe when I feel part of something bigger. Such as, seeing dramatic landscapes, being caught up in the history and sensing the passion of the human spirit.

A memorable experience will cause me to day dream about the next trip even more than the last trip.

Remember: Your adventure begins the moment you decide to go.