Why does red paint look bad after a few years?

[Rustang]

I really like the red that most companies are using, like the red on the Focus, and the trucks, Dodge has a good looking red too. I notice that it tends to look chalky after a few years, and doesn't hold much shine. I have noticed the metallics seem to hold up better, and keep the shine. I'm looking for colors for the Maverick, and guess I'll go with the metallic, I keep it outside, don't take real good care of it. Unless there is a way to keep the non-metallics looking good?

[Jaison]

as far as i know, taking even moderate care of it should make it last a lot longer.

[JimD]

Should hold up fine with a good quality clear coat. Still gonna have to have wax once in a while.

[white trash wagon]

I like red, most of the cars I've owned were various shades of red. I've found red paint to be durable....but I do wash my cars regular & wax them 2-3 times a year.

[noslow5_0]

The suns UV rays are hell on paint. Bleaches the pigments out of the color. Especially solid colors like red/white. Just depends on the manufacture of the paint and amount of UV protection in the clear coat.

[Rustang]

Reason I asked, I'm a lazy ass. The Maverick paint is 30 years old, and I maybe waxed it 6 times! I guess it held up pretty good though. Guess the metallic/clear is a better choice for me. Thanks for the info.

[white trash wagon]

For a "lazy-ass" you might be better of with a single stage catalyzed urethane paint. Neglected base coat/clear coats tend to delaminate.....look at all the cars you see with peeling clearcoat. A single stage paint can be waxed, buffed, compounded, even sanded back to shininess until you go right through the paint. Modern catalyzed urethanes are VERY durable.

[Cooter]

my red dodges have always held up well, and I'm somewhat neglectful to paint

with that said, my red dodges have always been RED, not maroon like the car in your sig

[FoxBodyNick]

my 1993 cobra has original paint and i think its still pretty vibrant. its how much you take care of the paint.

[sdun]

One of the worst colors to fade is red. Solid or metalics, factory or aftermarket. I wouldn't not paint my car red because of it. we are talking years down the road. I painted an e9 mustang(95) last week that was BAD. I painted te door/fender and blended the hood/qtr. The right side went from a deep red at the headlight to a washed out color around the tail light. Red is not the only color though. We did a mine coooper that was a different color under the stripes on the hood that the rest when we removed them, and it was blue! I always paint w/ base/clear.

[slow84lx]

Red pigments naturally fade more than other colors. Yellow is the next least fade resistant color. As a R&D tester of fade resistant printing inks I have learned quite a bit about pigments over the years as many of the pigments used in fade resistant inks are the same exact pigments used in automotive paints. Black and blues are most resistant to fading with UV exposure.

That said, the quality of the paints and the care of it are big factors also.