vdavenp802

First white car I've ever owned. It has thus far proven to be the hardest to keep clean. Black is much easier.
Cant' go 2 miles without having black brake dust everywhere.

I like the car, but this constant cleaning is wearing on me.

No real answer here, just my observation. I think I'll go back to black.

BigJoe

Ha, ever notice the white cars find black dirt and black cars find white dirt? In the same place?
The nice thing about white is the swirls don't show as much...

Whoo Hoo I just noticed my brand new shiny 15 year member badge. Yay me!

c8nukeZ51

Funny but I'm feel just the opposite...
My last car was black and looked great when clean but that ended after a mile or two. (still looked good but not great)
My AW C7 seems to stay clean for weeks and I'm one that is known for spending to much time keeping my cars pristine.

dvilin

Surprised to hear that as my experience has been the opposite. A little brake dust on the chrome wheels but nothing unusual. As for the exterior a bit of dust after a cruise but a quick once over with a California Duster and that is it.

plumalan

Not sure what's happening with you but it is a universal truth that white shows less dirt than black. I have an artic white and its a piece of cake to keep clean for me.

sanantguy

my experience has been that black cars are by hard the hardest to keep clean.

white: in the middle

gray: easiest

Walt White Coupe

I think you have a problem with reality.

Kracka

After owning both black and white sports cars, I'll agree and say that white probably takes a little more work to keep it looking perfect. White and black are probably the two hardest colors, but they both can also look amazing when done right!

Thepiazza

As far as the brake dust goes you could always change out your pads for one's known to disburse far less break dust than the stock ones. My white 14 is also the first white car I've owned. It definitely shows any and all dirt but will probably hide swirls much better than a black car. I'm not sure why this is but I recently had my car coated with a ceramic coating and have noticed that it stays quite a bit cleaner than before. It is also much easier to wash now. I have just been giving it a foam bath and blow dry lately with great results. I'm hoping the days of constant cleaning are behind me!

crawfish333

Congratulations you old coot, and you really look nice in your avatar picture.

[Whoo Hoo I just noticed my brand new shiny 15 year member badge. Yay me![/QUOTE]

JDM111er

I agree, I have a white Jeep and its much easier then my parents black car.

Higgs Boson

I'm pretty sure all colors get dirty and all require the same effort to clean.

arcticblast

That's funny, Joe. Congrats on the 15 year badge. (I just saw my 10 year badge, too)

F4 Phantom

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

If brake dust is your issue on the side of the car and wheels and your not tracking the car switch your brake pads to the Carbotech 1521 pads. Low dust 100% non corrosive and still performs like stock.

$325.85 total for front and rear.

Carbotech™ Bobcat 1521™ The Carbotech Bobcat 1521™ is our high performance street compound that is our most successful compound. The Bobcat compound is known for its awesome release and modulation, along with unmatched rotor friendliness. Like our AX™ & XP™ line of compounds, Bobcat 1521™ is a Ceramic based friction material offering minimal rotor damage and non-corrosive dust. Bobcat 1521™ offers outstanding performance, even when cold, low dusting and low noise with an excellent initial bite. This compound’s virtually perfect linear torque production provides incredible braking force without ABS intervention. Bobcat 1521™ operating range starts out at ambient and goes up to 900°F. Bobcat 1521™ is suitable for ALL street cars, perfect for your tow vehicle, police cruiser. The Bobcat 1521™ compound has been found to last two-three times longer than OE pads you can purchase at a dealership or national retailer. That’s one of the beauties of Carbotech Ceramic brake compounds. Bobcat 1521™ is NOT recommended for any track use.

meyerweb

Yep. I married into a white car (my wife's at the time), and never again. I like the way a clean C7 looks in white, but I'll never own one. Actually glad, though, because I love the way my C7 looks in orange.

gateman7

I'm with you and agree the brake dust is everywhere making the car seem dirty all the time and once you wipe a spot the dust streaks and you end up needing to wipe down the whole car. I have read both good and bad on the forum regarding the "less dust" brake pads Carbotech™ Bobcat 1521™. Anyone that has them on their C7, please comment on whether or not you think the $326 for the less dust brake pads is the way to go or not. Actual owners who are happy or unhappy with them, thanks.


I have been on the fence and this thread has kicked me to pull the trigger on the Carbotech 1521's for my 2014 Z51. I called Amp'd Autosport today, Saturday and Adam answered and took my order. Painless, pleasant and very professional, glad I called. I'll update again after I have them installed and hopefully I will be able to report that they are terrific for less brake dust. The good threads always end up costing me money. There are plenty of reasons why I like this Forum, but my number 1 reason is that I am able to see I'm not the only crazy one spending more money on their vet.

///ADMAN

I guess it depends on where you live. Out here, black cars are impossible to keep clean. They get dusty sitting in the garage. White cars don't show the dust or the orange peel as much. And since it rarely rains or snows, they stay nice and shiny all year round.

nmvettec7

May I suggest.

If you use this recommendation and follow it exactly using these products your frustration will be minimized considerably.

1). I hand wash the car first. It doesn't need to be dried, keeping it wet is ok.

2). I use the Meguiars Clay Bar Kit or the Mothers Clay bar Kit....under $20.00 at any auto store or Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G1016...uiars+clay+bar

I also put 6 or 7 drops of a dishwashing detergent like Dawn or Joy in a 1 quart spray bottle to use as a lubricant for the clay bar. If you use the spray mix as I do, you can save the detail psrat that comes in the clay bar kit for quick detailing the car down the road.

3) I then wash the car again to get any residue off the paint surface from the clay bar before prep polishing. In this step you need to dry the car throughy.

4) Prep polish the C7 using a prep polish. I use DP Prep Detailing Polich. This will remove any wax or other toppings and prepare the paint surface for the ceramic paint coating.

Here's is what I use. It is product specific for the ceramic paint coating. Apply the prep polish by hand or with a Dual Action Buffering Machine at a medium speed. Buff the DP prep polish off with good quality microfiber towels.

http://www.amazon.com/Detailers-DP-2...dp+prep+polish

The C7 is now ready for the Black Diamond Paint Coating.

5) Apply the Black Diamond Paint Coating in areas of 2' x 2' or on sections of the C7 like the hood, the doors etc. The product needs to set about one minute then gently buff the area you have done with a high quality microfiber towel. The Black Diamond Paint Coating will dry quickly or what is called "Flash". When you apply it you will see what I mean. This product needs to be applied with a foam sponge applicator like a Lake Country Foam Applicator from Autogeek.net....just google the name Lake Country Foam Applicator, they come 2 to a package.

Once the C7 is completely coated, the car needs to sit for 12 to 24 hours for the paint coating to cure into the paint surface. Needs to be parked indoors out of the sun. I suggest to cover the car, even if it's using bed sheets to do so. You don't want any dust on the paint coating.

The next day the C7 is ready to be waxed with a wax of your choice. I used Pinnacle Black Diamond Synergy Wax on my C7 and the rare classic cars I detail as seen with the Sunbeam. It is expensive. If you don't want to use the Synergy wax, I suggest another brand of quality wax, your choice.

http://www.autogeek.net/black-label-synergy.html

Here's a great alternative at a much lower price point.

http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G1271...n+tech+wax+2.0

Make sure you complete the detail work out of the sun. The paint surface needs to be cool to the touch, not hot.

You can complete the same process on the wheels and the glass.

Total time to complete the work and do it properly is 7 hours.

The paint coating will last up to 3 years. You can wax the car every 6 to 9 months.
The wheel coating will last up to 1 year.
The Glass coating will last up to 1 year.

There is enough product in the coating bottle to complete several cars. if you have a friend that is will to help yhou and you help him, sharing the the cost of the products lowers the overall cost to you.

If you had a professional detail shop in your area , complete all areas of the C7, expect top pay $1000 to $1500 and the shop wil lhave the car for 2 to 3 days.

It is worth the time to DIY. It is work, but the results for what you spend on product will be worth it 100%. Try to get a friend to help, do your car do his, split the cost. You could do your C7 for under $100 each.

The results are AWESOME. I detail allot of rare vehicles. This is the same process and products I use.

Richard in New Mexico

Mike Campbell

I can't compare black to white but I can compare Monterey Red to white and there's no comparison. It so much easier to keep clean than my red car. I had to keep my Red C6 covered all the time. One day and it was dusty. Plus it won't show swirls or scuffs at all. And as far as brake dust...my C7 has hardly any compared to my C6. Where do you keep your car,in a coal mine?