Swirls come from when you wash and wax your car. There are very fine particles adhered to the paint that act as abrasives when you wash and wax. That cirular motion leaves swirls behind. That is why a soap that foams a lot, thereby suspending the particles, is advised and a wax with no cleaners is recommended. (cleaners tend to be fine abrasives, polish for metals contain fine abrasives too. Think of it as sand paper, the finer the grade the more it tends to polish, but remember, it is still an abrasive and will remove material) So, the black paint just shows that "cutting" effect on the surface more than the other color paints. The effect still happens on the the other color paints but is more visible on the darker colors. Wash and wax wisely!

 

In case I didn't answer your question...... swirls ARE scratches. They are just very fine. All paint will get them, the black paint just shows it more. Rinse the car before washing it, use foamy soaps, use sheep skin seat style mits and plenty of water. The more water you use the better. Don't use anything with abrasives or "cleaners" in it. I personally like the Mother's products, especially the ones that contain no cleaners and are "PURE."

 

black with gold is sooo sweet, tint your windows and u have a very very HOTmobile..
silver is easiest to maintain and doesn't show dirt or scratches

 

go silver

Easy to maintain since it hides scratches and dirt so well. Also I think silver/silver is about as stealthy as an STi can be, most people that see my car just think its a wrx. I had a blk/gold on order but decided that it would be too flashy and attract too much unwanted attention. The blk/gold and wht/gold look the nicest tho imho

 

I went with Silver/silver but with the Brembos ,now I am thinking silver with gold would have been really cool. I also had a Black WRX, and will confirm again, the swirls, no question , the black MUST be washed carefully..

 

i love my silver/silver althought the silver wheels are magnets for any kind of dirt u can imagine

 

i have White on Silver

in my opinion white hides the scoop a lil which is what i wanted. but it also makes the wing look bigger..

i used to think white looks cleanest, thats true after you wash it.

my car collects so much brake dust on the wheel surrounding areas its ridiculous.

i didn't like the gold wheels because they look dirty to me.
the surface is really rough. which makes the wheel look muddy in a way.

not that my silvers are clean.. they are gunmetal now.. again covered in heavy brake dust

 

Silver/silver is the ultimate in low key sporty.
All silver cars look good, clean or dirty (who can tell?)!
Silver hides scratches well and its easier to 'disappear' in traffic with a silver car.
No one is offended or scared (intimidated) by silver cars and everyone likes silver.

Blue, Black & White are all nice but they require a higher level of maintenance and owner diligence.

Silver, thats my choice.

- Janq

 

White and gold all the way. I just need to find one for sale within a few hours driving distance in the next 2-3 months and I'll be in heaven.

 

I have always wanted a Blue car....NOW I HAVE ONE!!

I had a black 00 Civic Si and wanted the Electron pearl blue...
black is a ***** to keep clean...and yes those swirls are annoying...especially in the sun...

Blue on the other hand is kinda funny... it can get really dirty, but it takes awhile.... its like the happy medium for me... I love the gold on blue as well....Im a pretty happy camper for that matter though....

 

Lot of posters hit it right on the nose with Silver. I've always had silver cars. Like many have said, they are not too flashy and they hide sins very well. Also the police don't pay as much attention to the silver cars as they do Black, Red, & Yellow, that to me is reason enough not to get a Black car.

 

I had a silver WRX and was crazy about it. Now I have an STi White/gold and am crazy about it. In fact, if I had bought a Black/gold/silver, I think I would be crazy for it.

In other words, it is impossible to go wrong with the color as long as it is an STi and your significant other agrees you chose exactly the right color combo.