Official colour swatches.

[DaveB]

I saw it in the flesh, but I wasn't allowed to test scratch it.

...

Ok, seriously, I don't know how tough the paint is, of course. But it will very much depend on the color how visible scratches will be. As a rule of thumb, I would venture to say that the darker the color, the more prone it is to visible scratches.

That was the reason I ordered sterling silver at first. Since my wife and son found it boring, I switched to Donny Grey, but that's another story.

So I still think sterling silver is the most appropriate color in terms of heat dissipation and resistance to dirt and scratches. And I think lighter colors are in general more forgiving than darker colors.

I plan on getting the vehicle ceramic coated

 

[Cheshire cat]

I plan on getting the vehicle ceramic coated

Had my wife’s X3 ceramic coated. I have also done a ton of research on coatings and hundreds of pounds in experimentation. My conclusion. Still very hard to beat traditional wax polish. And not necessarily the most expensive ones. Perhaps a thread on coatings coming up?

 

[emax]

I plan on getting the vehicle ceramic coated

Kidding?

 

[DaveB]

Kidding?

No
It makes it so much easier to clean the by-product of birds, bats and bugs.
Blood also eats through paint extremely quickly, as I discovered on my Hilux.
I had my current car ceramic coated and it takes minutes to clean, except they didn't do the wheels and the brake dust drives me crazy

 

[emax]

What about costs?

 

[DaveB]

What about costs?

It can cost anywhere from$500 to a good job being $3,000 or in euro 320 - 1,940
Vehicle preparation is the most important part and at the top end you get two coats of ceramic which really adds to the cost and time it takes.

 

[Cheshire cat]

It can cost anywhere from$500 to a good job being $3,000 or in euro 320 - 1,940
Vehicle preparation is the most important part and at the top end you get two coats of ceramic which really adds to the cost and time it takes.

I don’t know about Australia but in the UK I would think it was hard to justify that outlay. My wife’s BMW was subject to a two day prep and application of a ceramic coating from Gtechniq. This was applied by a very reputable Detailer onto a Carbon Black car. I can’t In honesty say that it made the colour pop in any way or for that matter, shed water any better than an application of Bilt Hamber speed wax as used on my Java Black Defender. At a microscopic level it might be superior but in the real world I couldn’t see it.

 

[DaveB]

I don’t know about Australia but in the UK I would think it was hard to justify that outlay. My wife’s BMW was subject to a two day prep and application of a ceramic coating from Gtechniq. This was applied by a very reputable Detailer onto a Carbon Black car. I can’t In honesty say that it made the colour pop in any way or for that matter, shed water any better than an application of Bilt Hamber speed wax as used on my Java Black Defender. At a microscopic level it might be superior but in the real world I couldn’t see it.

I am not into washing or waxing cars at all so the easier it is for me the better
With Donny Gray body and Inky Black roof I want to make sure nothing sticks
My wife will be throwing her standup paddle board up top with salt water dripping off it onto the roof and bonnet.
Driving around Fraser Island through salt water spray.
For me it will be worth the money provided a I get the workmanship I am paying for

 

[grenadierboy]

I am not into washing or waxing cars at all so the easier it is for me the better
With Donny Gray body and Inky Black roof I want to make sure nothing sticks
My wife will be throwing her standup paddle board up top with salt water dripping off it onto the roof and bonnet.
Driving around Fraser Island through salt water spray.
For me it will be worth the money provided a I get the workmanship I am paying for

I concur Dave.
Salt water is a real killer of cars, so the more protection it has the longer it will survive (although in the end...).

If you are mainly encountering fresh water, mud, dust - then much much less of an issue.

I plan to wash occasionally but clay bar, polish & wax twice a year.

So few people know about the benefits of clay bar and probably less use it but,professional car detailers all use it and it is brilliant.

The polish is to remove the light scratches & swirl marks that will come.

I buy the most expensive wax because that provides the best water, bird dropping, tree sap, insect etc etc repellent

 

[Davman]

I concur Dave.
Salt water is a real killer of cars, so the more protection it has the longer it will survive (although in the end...).

If you are mainly encountering fresh water, mud, dust - then much much less of an issue.

I plan to wash occasionally but clay bar, polish & wax twice a year.

So few people know about the benefits of clay bar and probably less use it but,professional car detailers all use it and it is brilliant.

The polish is to remove the light scratches & swirl marks that will come.

I buy the most expensive wax because that provides the best water, bird dropping, tree sap, insect etc etc repellent

So which products do you tend to use then?

 

[grenadierboy]

Been using the full Autoglym range for a few years now.

The Autoglym Ultra HD Wax is very good & long lasting (4- 6 months) but expensive - I think around A$130 for a small tub but that would probably last 4 applications on the Grenny

 

[Davman]

This One?

Looks like a good deal on Sparesbox then.

 

[grenadierboy]

This One?

Yep. - bit cheaper than I recall.

There is a super expensive car wax, can't remember the name (swiss something) but, I saw it at autobarn or some other car retailer a while back and it was A$250 a tub!

 

[DaveB]

Been using the full Autoglym range for a few years now.

The Autoglym Ultra HD Wax is very good & long lasting (4- 6 months) but expensive - I think around A$130 for a small tub but that would probably last 4 applications on the Grenny

My almost son-in-law and next door neighbours use that on their cars and they are very hapwith it.

 

[Zacman110]

For those of you lucky enough to have seen Grenadiers in the flesh, what is your impression of the paint? More specifically, how does it seem to hold up against scratches and will it respond to polishing to remove country pinstripes well?

This Donny Grey one looks to have been driven pretty hard in Oz. The colour is very nice, but it’s definitely scratched and I have personally leant away from the metallic colours. I have a Defender 110 that is a flat paint and while it’s not spectacular, it polishes up well. Although I might look at a PPF wrap for the Grenadier

 

[DaveB]

I

View attachment 7796831

This Donny Grey one looks to have been driven pretty hard in Oz. The colour is very nice, but it’s definitely scratched and I have personally leant away from the metallic colours. I have a Defender 110 that is a flat paint and while it’s not spectacular, it polishes up well. Although I might look at a PPF wrap for the Grenadier

I certainly smashed it when I drove it a few weeks ago in Perth.
If it is the same one I will be driving on Mt Tambourine in 3 weeks I will give it another hard drive.
It has seen some miles on offroad tracks with lots of different drivers and they don't seem to wash it a lot.

 

[MrMike]

View attachment 7796831

This Donny Grey one looks to have been driven pretty hard in Oz. The colour is very nice, but it’s definitely scratched and I have personally leant away from the metallic colours. I have a Defender 110 that is a flat paint and while it’s not spectacular, it polishes up well. Although I might look at a PPF wrap for the Grenadier

Paint looked good, difficult to tell how thick without a meter but any paint will scratch. I purposefully chose Mushroom after having a "dark grey" Landcruiser. - NEVER again

 

[grenadierboy]

Paint looked good, difficult to tell how thick without a meter but any paint will scratch. I purposefully chose Mushroom after having a "dark grey" Landcruiser. - NEVER again

I had a dark car many years ago and I could see every single scratch, no matter how small or tiny, and especially so in the sunlight.

The reason must be because every scratch is a channel in the clear coat/base paint that permits the sunlight to reflect at a different angle which is more visible when the surrounding paint colour is dark and much less visible when the paint colour is light.

I have chosen SW.

 

[bemax]

A friend of mine bought a used Disco 4 in dark green. It took me some time to find out that it had a transparent slide on the most vulnerable parts (doors, bonnet etc)
That’s an interesting solution for me as well!

 

[Cheshire cat]

Been using the full Autoglym range for a few years now.

The Autoglym Ultra HD Wax is very good & long lasting (4- 6 months) but expensive - I think around A$130 for a small tub but that would probably last 4 applications on the Grenny

AutoGlym, Maguires, Bilt Hamber, so many good waxes out there. I also like the clay cloths. Not quite up to the clay bar but not far behind and so much faster to use. Iron oxide removers are another great product for contaminant removal prior to clay & polish