# White cars - tell me about them !



## Justa (Oct 23, 2008)

Morning

Could do with some advice please !

I'm going to look at a White Golf GTi today - never owned a white car before and wondered what they are like to work on ?

Do they show swirls and dirt like a black car ? Are they satisfying to detail or is it a bit less rewarding like a silver car ?

thanks !


----------



## Prism Detailing (Jun 8, 2006)

I have worked on a white GTI a few times and found it very rewarding when finished. You cannot notice the swirls as much as a black/dark car, but they are still there and you will notice them if you look hard enough (wear polorized sun glasses, that usually helps lol).

But when you can get a white car to look really clean and it can look fantastic

(the one i worked on)


----------



## mattsbmw (Jul 20, 2008)

White cars do look dirty very quickly a boit like black, but they dont show swirls like black and a pair of sunglasses is a good investment in summer time.


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

My white Golf is currently this most disgusting thing imaginable with every dirt spot being so obvious, but as the posters above say, when it's clean it looks fantastic. 

Candy White wasn't my colour of choice, but now that I have it, I love it.


----------



## eddiel34 (Mar 22, 2008)

This will very quickly turn into a white car thread. I love the look white gives to most but not all cars, but some see it as a fashion on it's way out. Like last years colour.


----------



## rickk (Dec 25, 2008)

I happen to own a white (mkv) GTI... I like it a lot, much more rewarding than silver. I think it looks really sharp when clean, but you'll need to wash it pretty much all the time to keep it that way.

It won't show swirls much (but obviously they still take away from the gloss) and polishing the car in bright sunlight can cause snowblindness. If you're really into polishing you shouldn't get a white car.

The bootlid of is an excellent place for a studying bonded contaminants. Raildust, tarspots, it attracts them like a magnet. Be sure to stock up on clay when you go for it!

Also, use a pure sealant rather than a wax. Something like Zaino or Gtechniq really makes the white stand out. Another tip is to keep the black trim clean and black (Gtechniq C4 FTW), this makes the white stand out even further.


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

rickk said:


> Also, use a pure sealant rather than a wax. Something like Zaino or *Gtechniq* really makes the white stand out. Another tip is to keep the black trim clean and black (Gtechniq C4 FTW), this makes the white stand out even further.


Exactly what I plan on doing with mine, as soon as the weather allows that is :buffer:


----------



## ScoobyDan (Aug 26, 2006)

Werkstat Acrylic works great on white and is extremely quick and easy to use. Iron X is also extremely useful on white as white cars seem to attract little rusty fallout spots, or maybe thats just mine ?


----------



## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

werkstat acrylic ftw 

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=188119


----------



## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

My missus has a white Twingo 133. 

When it's clean and detailed you really can notice a nice finish from it. On the other hand it doesn't really show up swirls, well only if you really concentrate on seeing them. 

Only downside is that it shows up all the little tar spots and contaminants you'd probably not notice between polishing/claying.


----------



## 888-Dave (Jul 30, 2010)

ScoobyDan said:


> Werkstat Acrylic works great on white and is extremely quick and easy to use. Iron X is also extremely useful on white as white cars seem to attract little rusty fallout spots, or maybe thats just mine ?


It's not just yours bud, I actually managed to get mine clean yesterday (little drive today and it doesn't look like it though)
I was staggerd at how many of those little dredded orange/rusty looking spots have appeared since the last wash. 
Out with the Iron x next time me thinks.
Back on topic, yes white is very rewarding when perfected but in a different wat to black/dark blue etc. No flake popping and eye opening wet shine, just a very simple, clinical, pritine and pure look. I love it.
Keep on top of it though and +1 for the Werkstat acrylic :thumb:


----------



## Ross1308 (Sep 3, 2010)

White FTW !!!, Not the best pic but this was taken about September time.


----------



## Steve valentine (Aug 7, 2010)

I've got best of both worlds, black car, white van 

The van looks awesome when it's just had a good seeing to


----------



## edsel (Aug 22, 2008)

My white un... Looks fantastic in very bright sunlight or at night after a good polish. Mines an oldun and I dont know if modern cars suffer from black marks as water runs off the plastics and window rubbers. 
I like the "clinical white" comment, I also think because of the clean white the non paintwork detailed parts, i.e trim wheels and plastics really stand out. Oh yeah ... mines a garage queen, I dont know if I could keep up with cleaning a white car as my daily runaround.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/URL


----------



## Tlionhart (Dec 27, 2010)

I've got a white audi a3. (Ibis White)

The car looks fantastic when treated to a good car shampoo and wax. My car right now is looking dirty (from the muck mixed with the slushy snow and salt) but I will prob give it a clean just before the new year. 
Even though my car is dirty, the top half still looks very clean and waxed. I use citrus wash and wax by chemical guys as the shampoo. 
And every 3-4 months I coat the car with wax. Using poorboys, Autoglym deep shine and HD wax. (big fan of Autoglym!) 
I've owned the car for nearly 2yrs from new. In the spring I will clay the car, polish and cleanse the paintwork with HD cleanser. I really have an ocd when I come to personally detailing my car. Its hard work, but really does pay off. The car looks like it has just rolled out of the factory. (I know it will have swirls in the right light, but I tend to just leave these)
During the winter or between my days when I wax the car I simply top the layer up with AG aqua wax. Excellent short term product. 

Only one prob with white cars is industrial fallout. On a white car these appear as orange spots or speckles. However a simple clay will rid of these. I had to take mine back to the dealership on the day of collection. They have this liquid which removes sticker prints, fallout, etc. (think this stuff is only available by trade) And they did the whole car for me until I was happy with it. Then the chap recommended I purchased a clay bar and to search its use on the net. 

Overall white is the best car I have ever owned! Ignore what people yap on about. 'why did you go for a white car, they get dirty quickly'
Well actually every car does. Its whether you notice it or not. Black is the worst in my opinion, followed by silver. 
This car waxed up and buttered in gloss looks the dogs-doo-daa's.  

How quickly the car gets dirty depends on where you live. I live in a town close to a city so it doesn't get as dirty quickly compared to someone that lives in or around country roads.


----------



## Nuggs (Dec 14, 2009)

I have an Ibis White A4 Avant, which looks (IMHO) the dog's danglies when it's clean. It's the most rewarding car I've detailed.

However, it turns from amazing to minging much quicker than any other car I've owned. It's not such a problem so long as I keep on top of it. Keeping on top of it does mean fairly regular claying to keep tar spots and fallout at bay, so it's quite labour intensive but all the more rewarding for it!


----------



## Phil1971 (Sep 3, 2007)

My company car (Silver Mk 2 Prius) is up for renewal in June and I'm hoping to get the Mk 3 version, which I'm very tempted to get in white.

Might even arrange to get the windows tinted slightly to emphasis the black on white contrast.










Not everyone's cup of tea, but I quite like it and it saves me a fair few quid in company car tax which I can spend on my Mini :thumb:


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

My Christmas present to myself and my car arrived today - I'm going to treat her white paintwork and all her other bits to the full GTechniq works, hopefully she'll be looking better than ever once this damned weather improves. Luckily the snow has all but gone here on the Moray coast, but it's still quite icy. The forecast is looking promising until next Tuesday at least, so I'm hopeful of at least a day of TLC for _Helga_ before long :buffer:


----------



## markito (May 19, 2010)

I had a black car before but I have to say that I like white better


----------



## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

I had one white car, it was probably the first and last one I'll have. Dont get me wrong though when it was clean and polished it looked top notch but as a car that was driven every day it only looked nice once every so often. The rest of the time it always needed cleaning.


----------



## Frankenstein (Apr 27, 2007)

I used to always have black cars, looked great when detailed, only looks good for a day then covered in dust.
Now have white cars, was concerned that they would look dirty quickly, looks last longer than black cars.


----------



## jordan6n (Aug 4, 2010)

heres a boxster we resprayed in 2009 to audi ibis white, see the difference in how swirls show up

when it was blue









now white


----------



## craigdt (Mar 25, 2009)

On my white car, I find that having a very clean, clayed surface can be the key.
I love to use Vanilla Moose and Nattys Blue as the LSP


----------



## *Das* (Aug 9, 2010)

Had 4 white cars in a row a few years back and imo they are not any harder to keep clean than any other colour.


----------



## Tlionhart (Dec 27, 2010)

DasArab said:


> Had 4 white cars in a row a few years back and imo they are not any harder to keep clean than any other colour.


try telling my friends that


----------



## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

Just given the missus white Twingo it's 2nd proper winter clean today and as above it's no worse than any other colour. 

The only things white really shows up is little tar spots and similar imperfections. The missus car has under 4k on the clock and ideally could do with being clayed. 

Nice thing is that you just don't see those swirls easily, even in bright sunlight!


----------



## Maggi200 (Aug 21, 2009)

I'm going white  can't wait!


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

maggi112 said:


> I'm going white  can't wait!


Your hair or the Smartie?


----------



## M.J (Mar 17, 2010)

edsel said:


> My white un... Looks fantastic in very bright sunlight or at night after a good polish. Mines an oldun and I dont know if modern cars suffer from black marks as water runs off the plastics and window rubbers.
> I like the "clinical white" comment, I also think because of the clean white the non paintwork detailed parts, i.e trim wheels and plastics really stand out. Oh yeah ... mines a garage queen, I dont know if I could keep up with cleaning a white car as my daily runaround.
> 
> 
> ...




Thats a mint looking XR2i dont see many anymore


----------



## Maggi200 (Aug 21, 2009)

DW58 said:


> Your hair or the Smartie?


Technically both! Only 21


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

Re-spray?


----------



## Maggi200 (Aug 21, 2009)

DW58 said:


> Re-spray?


No need. Panel swap hopefully


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

Sounds good. 

Are the still Smart panel swap-shops? When my Dad had his you could sign up to a regular 3-6-12 monthly change if interested - his had Numeric Blue (not chosen by him I might add - Mum took charge of that) which he stuck with until he gave up his license at 75.

Hair swap as well?


----------



## Maggi200 (Aug 21, 2009)

lol i think a change of career would probably stop the hair!

And yes still fully changeable, I can have the front and back swapped in about half an hour but the doors and boot are a little trickier. It was this thread that convinced me I wanted white panels!


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

I didn't want a white car, but now that I have one I love it. I'm sure yours will look great when swapped out. I look forward to seeing it.


----------



## chillly (Jun 25, 2009)

love white:thumb:


----------



## Kev F (Feb 23, 2006)

Had mostly black cars or dark colours previously but decided a change was needed. Picked this up last week.
Washed it a few times already and have plans for a full clay and sealant finish soon when the weather turns a bit better..










So far love it.........just got to prevent the swirls showing up on the piano black B pillars...

Kev


----------



## Phil1971 (Sep 3, 2007)

^^^ very nice :thumb:


----------



## markito (May 19, 2010)

Kev F said:


> Kev


Lovely car !!


----------

