97 Silvia

Im looking at SC's over the internet and some look really bright white and others seem to be a more yellowish white. Did Lexus change the 'white' color over the years? Or did they offer different 'white' colors? Or is it all just in the pictures? Search yielded no help so figured I'd post. Thanks.

extremecc

I own a 1999 SC400, the factory color is GOLDEN PEARL (White). I have also seen SCs is a plain bright white.

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

It seems that way, but my understanding is that the older the car, the more the pearl coat oxidizes and the car has a slight yellowish hue. When I've seen the newer pearl white Lexus cars, they seems much whiter than mine. My car is a 93 SC300 and I love the color. Not exactly like the newer pearl whites, kinda slightly off-white at certain angles. Very difficult to match once in an accident. The body shop I went to spent a day spraying, mixing and respraying to match the original color.

RaynArt

i thought it was only Diamond White Pearl? mine is still pretty white but gonna get new paint soon

Technics

What body shop did you go to have your Lexus sprayed? I'm looking for a good shop in New York. Do you have any pics?

THE_CEO

Ok here is the deal with pearl white on a Lexus SC....my lexus came in pearl white right off of the assembly line....when the paint gets older it will tend to yellow/fade, as this is true with all cars. The plastic bottom panels of the car will never match any of the metal on the car after a period of time...the only way to prevent this is to repaint the plastic bottoms when you notice the difference. It is extremely difficult to match pearl white because it can have anywhere from 3 to 12 layers of mixture to create the pearl mixture...therefore the paint comes out looking different on plastic than it does on metal... I hope this helps..i went through this process already of painting the bottoms it makes a huge difference. Maybe one day i will get around to posting PIC's of my SC4

CEO

SC300Es

My 98 Diamond Pearl White looks yellowish next to a white BMW I park next to also..

97 Silvia

Thanks guys. I was just wondering cause I was looking at pictures of an '00 model SC300 and it looks yellowish already. Must be the camera...

extremecc

I agree, the lower portion of my doors do show a difference in color from the rest of the car however, my 99 SC has been in the Florida sun and now the Las Vegas sun and I see no yellow in my paint. I also had the right side of my front bumper blown in and I can't see the difference for the life of me. Any high-end body shop today mixes paint based on a computer formula. I don't thing it's hit and miss with these new paints, maybe just a little tweaking.

RaynArt

i live in chicago........ all types of weather and usually not that much sun, but the paint seems to have held up. cept for chips but the actual color is still ok.

THE_CEO

how long have you had your car...after 10 years no fading?....are you sure it was not repainted?

CEO

RaynArt

very sure. owned the car for 2 1/2 years. the only part that was repainted was the rear bumper and driver side quarter panel. everything else hasnt been touched. maybe cause the previous owner kept it for a summer car. either way, things are still ok.

97 Silvia

Okay I want to bump this up since there's a lot of white SC owners here... How about black interiors in the 98-00 white SC's? All I have ever found are white/tan combos. My dream SC that I am looking for would be a white/black auto 98-00.

SteveTPA

I thought it was white unitl I parked it next to a white car.

nkx1

lol at the golden pearl


Does anyone happen to have a large clear photo of what the difference looks like (a pearl SC parked next to another white car)?

I'm sure it's quite possible the paint may fade/yellow over time, but isn't another possibility that the pearl paint may just be a little yellow to begin with? Wouldn't any pearl white colored car look a little yellow next to a truly white car?

I'm interested in seeing the difference everyone is talking about because I'm thinking of getting a 99-00 pearl or silver SC400 relatively soon (if/when I can find one). However, if one is too difficult to find and/or the paint looks too faded/yellow, maybe I'll just wait a few years until the [low mileage, excellent condition] '02-'03 SC430's come down to $25k or so and buy one of those.