If you?re able to match your car?s paint to your Berluti briefcase, please disregard this story and let your assistant continue customizing your next Rolls-Royce. For the rest of us, choosing an exterior paint isn?t much of a choice. You get what you get on the lot, and often it?ll be white, gray, or black. So who decides what colors our cars wear, and why" We spoke with PPG, a leading automotive paint supplier, to find out.
What colors are most popular"
The plainest ones?whites, grays, silvers, blacks?made up three-quarters of worldwide new-car sales in 2015. This, despite PPG research that has found nearly 60 percent of potential buyers consider the color of their new car as a ?major factor? when shopping. Like staging a home, it?s easiest to sell any car in neutral, inoffensive tones, and that?s what most dealers do. It?s not uncommon to find half a dozen shades of gray on a lineup of luxury cars yet only one red or blue. Can boring colors look hot"
Yes; it?s all about how the automaker applies the paint. Some colors are created with a metallic base coat under a tinted clear-coat. Others combine the primer with the base coat. Still others use a deeper-looking, three-layer process wherein the first coat is stripped of all mica and aluminum, the second coat adds them in the middle, and then the clear-coat is applied. Whether it?s a mirror finish or an intense sparkle, the specific process can make otherwise ordinary shades more intriguing.
Why do certain co...