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When shopping for a car to buy, color is an important consideration for most car owners. After all, most people spend time in their cars every day, and there’s no point in having a car if you don’t find the color to be attractive. But there’s another side to the color decision that often gets overlooked—which is the easiest car color to keep clean? 

Car owners throughout the U.S. have different feelings towards washing their cars. Everyone wants a clean car, but many don’t like to put in the effort to get it that way. Those that do think nothing of spending every weekend washing, waxing, and detailing their car. Less motivated car owners are more likely to run their ride through an automatic car wash once a month, if that often. As a result, they tend to be more interested in the best car color to hide dirt. If you lean towards the car wash approach, you may be interested to know that the color of your car can influence how often you have to wash it to keep it looking good.

What Is the Best Car Color? 

White, black, gray, and silver top Kelley Blue Book’s list of the best car colors in 2021. KBB also indicated that color can impact the residual value of a vehicle. 

A popular color today may be a desirable choice for buyers now and within the next five years, according to KBB. In other words, the most popular color today may be the same or different in the next five years or longer. It can also change much sooner. 

If you plan to sell your car within the next few years, you may want to choose a popular color. This may help you stir up demand for your car and get the best price for it down the line. 

Furthermore, if you want to maximize the resale value of your car, consider a neutral color over other options. Neutral car colors tend to appeal to large groups of buyers. Some neutral colors may be easier to clean than others, too.  

What Will Be The Best Car Colors In The Years to Come? 

The BASF 2020-2021 Automotive Trends report indicates the following colors may be the most popular among consumers in the next three to five model years: 

• Dark seltzer 
• Redolent red 
• Abstraction blue 

The report indicated gray will likely remain a popular core color going forward, too.

How Fast Do Cars Get Dirty?

Car color has nothing to do with how fast a car gets dirty. The accumulation of dirt and grime on your car depends on several factors, such as:

• Where you live
• How much you drive
• Where you park the car when not in use 

A dry, dusty climate or a rainy climate will get your car dirty faster. Driving in smoggy urban areas will also get it dirtier quicker. If you like to go off-roading, the dirt can pile up in just a few hours. 

The real issue is that some car colors show dirt more than others. This makes them seem to get dirty quicker than car colors that are better at hiding dirt. If you enjoy washing and waxing your car, having a color that easily shows dirt may not be important. On the other hand, if you would rather spend your time doing anything besides scrubbing dirt off your vehicle, then having the best car color to hide dirt will make a difference.

There’s something to be said for selecting a color that cuts down on how often you have to wash your vehicle. That’s where knowing the easiest car color to keep clean can help. Fewer washes reduces the time spent on washing, saves water, and leaves more money in your pocket. 

Anyone who has ever owned a white car knows it is not easy to keep clean. In fact, when it comes to the best car color to hide dirt, it sits near the bottom of the list. However, it is not the hardest color to keep clean (keep reading to find out which is the worst). The next time you purchase a vehicle, you might want to think twice about following the trends when it comes to car color.

What Is The Best Car Color To Keep Clean? 

Beige, light blue, light gray, and silver are the best car color choices for those who want to keep their vehicles clean. In addition, white paint can hide dust and debris well. But, dirt that accumulates can be tough to hide on a white car.

Choose The Best Car Color to Hide Dirt

One way to reduce your car washing chores is to choose a color that “hides” the dirt and grime that accumulates on the exterior of your car. Of course, it doesn’t actually hide the dirt. Instead, the color enables the dirt to blend in rather than stand out. Because the dirt is less obvious, you can go longer between washes. 

What is the best color to hide dirt on a car? Some form of light brown, such as beige, tan, champagne, or khaki. This should come as no surprise since the color that is similar to a light dusting of dirt is predisposed to hiding your car’s dirtiness better than other colors. Yet, most people don’t think about this when buying a car. After light browns, grays and silvers also do better than others at looking clean, even with a fair amount of dirt on the surface of the car.

Avoid Car Colors That Easily Show Dirt

So if brown, gray, and silver are the best choices for hiding dirt, what are the dirtiest car colors? Perhaps surprisingly, the car color that gets dirtiest the fastest is black. In fact, all darker colors have problems staying clean – hence the need to choose light browns when trying to reduce the frequency of car washing. 

Black and other dark-colored vehicles tend to accumulate water spots after rainstorms. They also tend to attract large amounts of dirt, bird droppings, pollen, and other grimy substances that are easily visible. Depending on where you live, white can also be a problematic color in terms of showing the dirt. If you drive on dirt roads or live in an area with red clay, a white car likely won’t stay clean for long.

Which Is The Easiest Car Color To Keep Clean?

Again, the answer depends on several factors that have more to do with how you treat your car rather than its color. One of the biggest factors is the quality of the paint job and how often you wax your car. Old, worn-out paint tends to accumulate dirt and other substances because it isn’t as smooth. Plus, dirt tends to adhere more easily to cracks and chips in the paint. Conversely, dirt doesn’t stick as readily to a well-waxed car with a smooth glossy surface. You may be thinking that waxing your car is more time-consuming than washing. You can always have it detailed, which will cost more but save you a few hours of serious elbow grease. 

When it comes down to what is the easiest car color to clean and what is the best car color to hide dirt, browns, grays, and silvers can reduce your trips to the car wash or hours spent washing and waxing by hand. But no matter the color, taking good care of the paint will ultimately save you time and money.

How To Keep Your Car Color Clean And Shiny

Here are three tips you can use to keep your car color clean and shiny.

1. Wash Your Car
   Wash your car regularly. This allows you to remove harmful debris from your car and protect it against rust. You should wash your car in the shade whenever possible. It also pays to wash your car in the morning or evening since the sun is less intense at these times. If you are parked in the sun, let your car’s exterior cool down before you wash it.

2. Dry Your Car
   After you wash your car, dry it with soft, clean towels or microfiber towels. You can also use chamois (also referred to as shammies), which tend to soak up water better than regular towels and limit the risk of wet spots.

3. Wax Your Car
   Apply a wax coat to your car to protect your paint and finish. Wax seals your car’s exterior and protects it against the sun’s ultraviolet rays, salt, and harsh weather conditions. It can leave your car looking shiny and new, too. 

If you find your car color appears faded or notice severe paint damage, Fix Auto USA can help. We offer comprehensive paint repair services to help you keep your vehicle looking its best. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, please contact us online or call us today at 800.INFO.FIX.

This blog was contributed by Fix Auto Palm Desert

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