Another would you do it again thread .....

[Falls]

BUT this time , would you get the same color ?

I have GG , but think if I bought another I would go for Silver. Every truck I've had before this was black for the last 20 years , even though I'm an excessive detailer of vehicles , I just has to get away from black . It worked out well since it has a lot of off road battle scares already .

 

[GatorGreg]

If I was to get an '08 4Runner I would want a Shadow Mica SE or Limited, when I first saw one on the road I almost pooped my pants Holy !@#$ those things look nice!

 

[lawwailok]

If I was to get an '08 4Runner I would want a Shadow Mica SE or Limited, when I first saw one on the road I almost pooped my pants Holy !@#$ those things look nice!

same here.... i love shadow mica a lot.... but still, no regret to get the white one

 

[NViejeP]

No, I'm really mad actually. I was just talking about this with a friend.

When I saw the 4runner at the dealer lot, I fell in love just because I wanted a damn car so bad and I wasn't patient enough. I'm not really pissed about green, but if I could go back in time and find another color, it definately would be silver, black, or white.

I feel like a green 4runner wouldn't look too good lifted or anything, at least not as cool as it would be silver, black or white.

 

[dingo]

SHADOW MICA for me, AGAIN!

IMHO, it's the best damn color for the SE since it compliments the graphite tubes and smoked grill & smoked headlamp bezels.

Silver would be next since it hides scratches and dirt very well.

 

[Fo_SheeZy]

Didn't they come out with a blue 4Runner, for the 08's??

I've never seen any of them on the road though..

 

[lawwailok]

Didn't they come out with a blue 4Runner, for the 08's??
I've never seen any of them on the road though..

yea, haven't seen a single one yet, i hope that is not as "blue" as the one they use on taco, that blue will totally trash a 4R....

 

[Fo_SheeZy]

LOL yeah, I believe it is the same blue as the tacomas, or at least that's what it looks like..

 

[Gromulus]

Pigmentation

First choice would again be the "boring" (LOL!) silver/titanium. Having worked in the coatings industry for over 27 years and also having been a technical manager for one of the companies that manufacture the OEM exterior paint for Toyota/Lexus in Japan and the US, I can say that silver is one of the most forgiving colors as far as exterior durability. As pointed out earlier, it is also very forgiving re. showing scratches and dirt.

Galactic Gray and Shadow Mica would easily be my second and distant third choices, respectively. I still look twice when I see a GG 4Runner.

While many other manufacturers have gone to color keyed primers, Toyota has not and still uses a gray primer. While Titanium is forgiving, when the clearcoat and basecoats are damaged down the primer, the gray primer does show through slightly more than it would with the Galactic Gray and Shadow Mica basecoats. Honda uses color keyed primers to their economic benefit. By having the primer color close to the basecoat, they have more "leeway" in the finishing area. For example, if the door jambs don't get a full coat of basecoat/clearcoat, the color keyed primer helps hide the deficiency. Fortunately Toyota is still more attuned to quality and appearance re. their finishing operation.

No vehicle looks better than in black - when clean. Having owned a black car for 13 years I would not own another, especially an SUV or truck that I actually use for utility and took off-road and into the brush. The resultant acid rain spotting, scratches and swirls are too obvious and I don't have the time nor inclination to baby my vehicle and clay bar it on a regular basis.

IMO red looks great on a sports car (besides, 3R3 and 3Q3 bring back too many bad memories). Blue...well, let's just say it had it's day. White has some advantages and disadvantages from a technical standpoint. Personally, I do miss the dark green mica that was offered on 3rd generation 4Runners.

 

[statman24]

Re: Pigmentation

White has some advantages and disadvantages from a techincal standpoint.[/B]

Can you explain?? Just curious.

 

[rook]

another vote for shadow... to match my painted fj wheels...

gromulus, i just did some body and paint work and the primer was black. do you think toyota puts grey under light colors and black under dark?

 

[Falls]

The shadow Mica looks great I forgot about that one . Although its to close to black and would show to much stuff.

Like said I agree nothing looks better than black,when its clean , but keeping it that way is well....... a beatich. Maybe the Sm would be a little more forgiving.

That is correct with the primer , my GG color os scratched to the primer on a edge of a wheel lip in the rear about 2" long and because of the GG color it is hardly noticeable.

 

[MikeinCincy]

Even though I have only had my T4R for about 2 months now, I would definitely say I would buy another one again, and definitely in the titanium metallic which I have. It always looks so beautiful even when I haven't washed it for a week. My next choice would probably be Galactic Grey or the Shadow Mica for sure. Black would be nice too. Heck, the 4Runner makes almost any color look great!

 

[BenSD]

I'm hooked on white. It makes the vehicle look clean even when it is not, touching up is easy, and it provides the most contrast for black accents. Silver looks too blah to me, black is going to take extra work to maintain, and all the dark colors will show swirl marks like crazy. White was not my first choice, but that is the way it ended up, and I love it. My next vehicle will also be white.

 

[dingo]

The shadow Mica looks great I forgot about that one . Although its to close to black and would show to much stuff.

Actually, Falls, it's not as bad as you would think for Shadow Mica. Under an overcast sky it does indeed look black. When I picked it up at the dealer my wife thought it was black. However, it has enough sparkle flake in the paint that it has chameleon-like properties like Galactic Gray. It also hides dirt and scratches remarkably well to my surprise. Overcast - it's near black; sunny weather - it's charcoal with a slight hint of green; night time with other lights shining on it - it turns into that badass dark gray charcoal that shines/sparkles like nobody's business (given that it's clean). I actually had my heart set on GG, but when I saw Shadow in person it was the obvious choice. Like I also stated, imo it compliments the SE's graphite tubes and smoked chrome components. It also looks nice when it's dirty, but that goes for all 4runners.

 

[MAC4Runner]

I'm hooked on white. It makes the vehicle look clean even when it is not, touching up is easy, and it provides the most contrast for black accents. Silver looks too blah to me, black is going to take extra work to maintain, and all the dark colors will show swirl marks like crazy. White was not my first choice, but that is the way it ended up, and I love it. My next vehicle will also be white.

:iagree:

 

[Gromulus]

Re: Re: Pigmentation

Can you explain?? Just curious.

Without getting too technical, paint/coatings are comprised of vehicle (resin system), pigments, solvents and/or water, and additives. The vehicle (resins: eg. acrylic, polyurethane, alkyd, etc) give the coating it's basic properties. Pigments - which include color pigments (both organic and inorganic) and effect pigments (mica/pearlescent, aluminum etc) also influence properties and durability to some extent.

Exterior automowive coatings are applied at a dry film thickness of approximately 0.5 - 2.5 mils, depending on quality and whether it is a primer, basecoat, clearcoat, etc. Basically, the color basecoats that Toyota uses are applied at a film thickness of 0.8 - 1.2 mil (20 - 30 microns). The coating has to "hide" at that film thickness as well as contribute to other properties. White colors utilize a pigment called TiO2 (titanium dioxide). TiO2 (assuming the right grade is used) has excellent exterior durability (i.e. resistance to fading/color change). However, a high level of TiO2 must be used in the formulation to achieve hiding at the applied film thickness - much higher levels that with many other pigments). Such a high loading can and does effect properties such as flexibility and chip resistance to some degree. In many cases this necessitates modifications to the resin (vehicle) system that effect other properties.

This does not mean that white colors/basecoats are inferior in any way. Coating technology, like any other technology, necessitate some degree of trade-off.

Other colors/pigments have their own advantages and disadvantages that must be taken into account when formulating the coating. I will say that basic silver color basecoats are probably the most "forgiving" as far as overall properties and durability. This was not the case years ago but effect pigment technology has progressed quite a bit in recent years.

Personally, I find white vehicles very boring so they would be one of my last choices - but to each his own!

 

[Gromulus]

Primer Colors

another vote for shadow... to match my painted fj wheels...

gromulus, i just did some body and paint work and the primer was black. do you think toyota puts grey under light colors and black under dark?

rook, a black primer? Are you sure it's not a dark gray? I am not current as to what Toyota is using in Japan these days but I know that in the US they use light and dark gray primers. As I stated earlier, some manufacturers use color keyed primers (white, red, blue, green, lt. gray, dk. gray) under corresponding basecoat colors. Can't say I know of anyone using a straight black primer on OEM rigid body but who knows what Japan is doing now.

 

[XJeepguy]

I bought mine used , its Desert Dune and a LTD so the flares are silver and I really like it . It seems very forgiving as far as dirt and the odd scratch here and there goes . I would pick it again BUT there are a couple Limited's around here ,same year as mine and they are red body color with silver flares and IMO I think they look awesome .

XJ

BUT this time , would you get the same color ?

 

[jpalaska]

I got GG. I love GG.
That's my color, and I'm stickin' with it.

JP