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How do different colors hold up to the abuse of branches running along side of the Jeep?

bigfoot21075

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I am sorting out the specifics of our new 2 door Rubicon order that we are about to place. Conventional wisdom holds (or held) that White was the best color for a vehicle that was going to be off roaded as it is the best at hiding scratches. With today's improved paints is that still true? I want to wheel this new Jeep on occasion but still need it to clean up well, look good and be my daily driver. I don't plan on doing anything extreme with it, but I do expect some narrow trail riding and general off roading.

What is your thought on how different colors hold up to the abuse of branches running along side of the Jeep? I was all set on White until I saw on in Granite Crystal Metallic.....
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chevymitchell

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I am sorting out the specifics of our new 2 door Rubicon order that we are about to place. Conventional wisdom holds (or held) that White was the best color for a vehicle that was going to be off roaded as it is the best at hiding scratches. With today's improved paints is that still true? I want to wheel this new Jeep on occasion but still need it to clean up well, look good and be my daily driver. I don't plan on doing anything extreme with it, but I do expect some narrow trail riding and general off roading.

What is your thought on how different colors hold up to the abuse of branches running along side of the Jeep? I was all set on White until I saw on in Granite Crystal Metallic.....
Buy the color you want. Don't settle for something else based on the 1% of total off road driving you will do.
 

TimmH

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I've had plenty of white vehicles and could see swirls and scratches from 10 feet away.

I think the color that has worked best for not showing imperfections, or dirt, has been the med-dark metallic greys, like Granite Crystal.

At least for me, but I'm in South Florida, sunlight shinning on metallic paint seems to help hide the small scratches, and the road dirt tends to be grayish down here.
 

Frezski

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You're going to see them regardless. I have a dark grey pick up that I have offroaded for years, and see the pinstriping pretty easily. I finished a long trip through northern AZ this summer and my Jeep got pin striped like nobody's business. I will say with white, is that the only way I can see it is if I look at it at an angle. (Like its in my garage with the door open and its bright outside). Now the black fenders and black top, super noticeable. Actually more noticeable than I thought it would be. I probably should have got the color matching top if I cared enough.
 

aldo98229

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The darker the color, the easier it is to see paint imperfections.

In general, silver hides scratches —and dirt— better than most other colors.

But you are going to see trail striping on a Jeep no matter what color.

Applying a couple of coats of paint protectant beforehand, like a synthetic polymer —e.g., Crystal-Glo, Klasse— or a ceramic coating, will likely minimize the damage to the paint from small branches and such.
 

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Equitasforall

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I could tell you, but then....
White here. No issues. I even have the white fenders and have done pretty well. Once the fenders are too battle scarred I'll either replace them with black or get them Line-X'd.
 

shekmark

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Granite here. Some Pennsylvania pinstripes from AOAA and Jersey Pinelands. Surprisingly not bad considering what it sounded like going through the narrow trails.
 

Maverick909

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my granite crystal is full of beautiful pinstrips. It wears them with honor of not being a mall crawler. I also tell people who ask how i handle my jeep being scratched up, Its Ok to scratch it on the trail but its not ok for some dinbat to doording the f out of it. all in all Granite shows it even with clay bar and good wax on it every 4-6 months
 

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Mojito seems to hide pinstriping rather well, at least until it goes down to the dark primer.
 

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Billet Silver here - was prepared to live with pinstripes from my recent Colorado vacation but honestly, don’t notice them even in bright sunshine. Of course, I experienced a light brushing on the trails, not stretches of gouging branches. I would expect to see lots of markings after that, no matter what color my Jeep was. Just have fun!
 

wellmane450

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Black Here - Terrible. Haha. When I got home from a weekend trail ride and washed the Jeep, I almost cried. I bought a scratch remover kit for my drill and a buffer. Almost all of them are gone now, but that was 5-6 hours of work.
 

JSFoster75

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Black shows every tiny scratch... But, that's why I bought my Jeep, to have fun with it, not to worry about scratches :)
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