caddyowner

My wife and I are negotiating color and flint mica is one of the few we both agree on. I don't want to buy another daily driver that is too dark and looks dirty 10 minutes after washing. I know some grays hide dirt while others are nearly as bad as black. Flint Mica owners: how does your car do in this area?

As for the color negotiations, I'm pulling for mercury, moonlight pearl, and maybe flint mica. My wife is pulling for blue onyx, black cherry, and flint mica. We both agree that black, crystal white, and mystic gold are out. Briarwood and cypress would probably be acceptable to both of us (if they're not too brown or green in my wife's eye), but they seem to be fairly rare.

pvo

iTrader: (2)

I don't think it stays clean looking but I do notice it has a lot less swirl marks compared to black. It looks quite nice when the sun hits it too.

Thinking about selling/trading mine (only 39K miles now)...and if we do, we will probably get the same color again.

usermel

All the colors you BOTH agree on would be nice sir. As for looking clean the best way to maintain that is to keep a good waxing on the car(at least once every 6 months) because wax helps to keep the surface protected, it's not just for making it shine! That said, you'll be fine with either of the great colors you and your wife like buddy! L.G.N.M

sojah

iTrader: (1)

i owned a white gs previously and was looking at either white or flint on my present ls and got the flint... i have a love it hate it with the flint mica though... i love to look at it from anything more than like 5 feet... don't get me wrong the color is even more brilliant (look close at one that is clean and in the sun and it has like a rainbow pearl flake to it) up close, but it does not hide imperfections at all in my opinion. so buy a flawless one and keep it flawless and you'll always be happy this is the battle i am fighting right now.

someone told me that the darker the color though the more the imperfections will stand out... and i had a couple white or light colored cars for the past few years so i guess i am just adjusting to the darker color ride for now.

i love the flint mica and so far don't have any swirls but lots of like hairline scratches here and there and i have no idea how they get there and or why the paint is so fragile... i've never experienced this before with a white car.. i think the flint mica UL on ecru is the best looking ls430 ever made,, this is why i bought one!!!

oh and about it staying clean... i have noticed that i get just as many looks when the car is dirty as i do when it is clean. the awesomest part about the flint mica is that it pretty much changes colors in light and shade and even in dark or under a street lamp in the dark,, also when the car is dirty it almost completely changes to a dull dark gray color and is hard to tell if it is even dirty if you are not familiar with what it looks like clean or should look like... i didn't know this prior to purchasing it but this is definitely a plus for me when i just can't find the time to clean it..

Danos

I own a 05 Flint Mica LS and find that it is easier to keep clean and does not look dirty right after you wash it like the black wich I have also had. If you both agree on the flint mica I'm certain you'll enjoy it.

ejthomp

We recently bought an 04 LS UL in Flint Mica. We also have an old Toyota Camry in a similar color. When looking for a Lexus, we didn't want another dark car with dark interior because it is so hard to keep looking clean. Road rash really shows up in the Flint Mica so there is no way to avoid noticing the rock and bug dings in the front end. Then when you wax it, those little specks really show up. The Lexus was a good deal and we couldn't pass up. In the end, I would still prefer to have moonlight pearl, but the Flint Mica looks great when clean and you don't look too closely. Luckily up here in the Pacific NW, the sun doesn't heat you to death very often.

I completely agree that the Ecru interior would be much better than the black we have. Every grass clipping that gets dragged inside, shows up like crazy against the black.

My wife is lucky in that I like her to drive a nice, clean car so I usually detail it for her once a week.

LSGarry

I'm happy with the Flint Mica also but here in So. Calif. with all the dust particles in the air, it will appear dirty a day after washing so I have to dust it a lot. I have found that the swirl marks do show up if I'm not careful in the way I wash and wax it. I also put a clear bra on the front to protect it from all the nonsense that hits the front end. The chips that were already in do show up however and are pretty obvious.
When its clean it does look great (almost a hint of navy blue in there) and overall I'm pleased with the color. The silver color on my other LS is much easier to take care of.

caddyowner

That pretty well summarizes my dilemma. For summer cars, I used to have black and dark blue vettes. They both looked awesome - for about 10 minutes after Zaino. My Allante is silver and I realized earlier this summer that over a month had passed without washing it.

While the LS looks great in dark colors, it's one of the few large sedans that also looks good in light colors. If I give in to my wife and get a dark color, I can use the hand wash and detail service at the parking garage near my current work site.

junjdm

i think any silver stays clean....my opinion....thats the color to get if you don't wash your car much.......

V8_Fan

Silver, white, and any other light color look clean no matter how dirty they are. The black cherry and blue onyx will look as dirty as black. Although I've only owned silver & white cars, I think the flint mica will be okay. That was one of the colors I was looking for, but could only find good condition vehicles in white. For it, #1 is vehicle condition (this doesn't mean newer is better).

LS430inDE.

I had to comment, even though my LS is not Flint Mica but rather, Mercury (silver). I purchased it about 4-5 months ago, and washed it once a week for the first 2 months. Believe it or not, after washing, other than having a crystal clean windshield and no smashed bugs on the front bumper, I REALLY couldn't notice that big of a difference, pre to post wash! I kid you not! Also..keep in mind I do NOT have a garage nor a car cover for it.

Friday night I washed it at my girlfriends house...and Saturday I cleaner-waxed it (Meguire's), with a random orbital buffer. This was my FIRST time waxing it.

Let me tell you what-----that stuff (just like 90% of all products I'm sure, if used correctly) is AMAZING. The cleaner-wax will get out small scratches and imperfections like they never happened! Afterwards, I kicked her 06 Accord EX out of her garage and put my LS in.

Today, while doing errands, I swear I got more looks than usual at traffic lights, driving slowly through parking lots, etc. That thing is literally SPARKLING.

There is an incredible feeling being behind the wheel, of not only in a freshly washed car, but freshly WAXED as well. While driving, it almost seems to "slip" through the air smoother and quieter. Any dust just keeps floating on by... The sun just seems to shine brighter (reflection from hood)...lol.

Not to thread jack, but I know there are some fanatics who have a 4 step or 5 step or 10 step cleaning, polishing, waxing, clay baring, etc system, so don't flame me on my simplistic cleaning process....as I just washed and cleaner-wax'ed it, and of course, windows (Invisible Glass), and tire dressing (a Dupont formula).

I know you would love the Flint Mica (as I loved it, Mercury, and Cypress--in that order--when first looking). I too, thought Flint Mica the #1 color choice for me, until I realized I never saw dirty silver LS's, nor swirl marked silver LS's, and think also that there are more MB's in silver than any other color. My opinions of course.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

I've had all colors of cars. With regard of "showing dirt" or looking dirty, gloss black is far and away the worst, IME. Among LS colors, Moonlight Pearl would be a great color in this regard (my '03 LS was Parchment Crystal and it rarely looked very dirty even though it might have been so). Silver would be good (my Silver Audi always looked pretty clean even when it wasn't). Compared to those "good ones," Flint Mica LS isn't really bad, IMO, particularly for a dark car. I would expect Cypress and Briarwood to be decent as well. Of course ALL of them look a LOT better clean!

caddyowner

I use two buckets when I wash a car - dunking and wringing the wash sponge in the rinse bucket before dunking it in the wash bucket. I make a mental comparison of how dirty the car looked v. how dirty the rinse bucket is when I dump it out.

Yes, I'm a bit OCD when it comes to cars. I'm working on that. I occasionally even take my lease cars through the automatic carwash. (gasp)

Tee

Mine stays clean looking even when it is dirty but I have a lot of wax on my LS too so it helps. If you don't wash your car much, you must def want to keep wax on it however I wash mine once a week.

bigcory

My previous Pontiac Grand Prix was black. My 05' LS is silver. Night and day colors, night and day difference on the "clean" look. Silver hides scratches and nicks better. Swirl marks are nearly invisible to the casual eye. There are a number of scratches and dings on my car THAT I KNOW ABOUT, but for someone walking by they would have no idea they are there. Now on my previous black car, I took extra good care of the paint and it looked like crap. Made me sad every time I got into it.

My silver car still looks dirty after a week. You can see the windows need cleaning. The chrome 5spoke's start to build brake dust. Bug guts. But the paint itself looks great even when dirty. You really can't tell unless you run your finger across it. Then you can feel it, and see it on your fingers.

I will always buy silver cars from this point forward (and now I know to really take an extra close look at the paint before buying one).