Colour choice and practicality

Hello there ! I’m currently speccing up a new mx5 (1.5 sport) and have narrowed my colour choice to soul red, deep crystal blue and solid white. Apart from my personal leaning towards the red, does anyone have any experience of how these wear in real life. Lovely colour that it is, I’ve heard horror stories of soul red being very thin, therefore if the blue is the same , I may choose white. Would be very interested in your real world experiences.
Looking forward to posting more when I take delivery . Thanks :blush:

BTW this is my first MX…

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Welcome!

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Hello Rich and welcome… I haven’t personally heard of any paint issues regarding MX-5ND’s.
Others will naturally welcome you to the MX05OC and give their opinions…
One thing I know is, as a first time owner of an MX-5 myself is, that you will love it :slight_smile:
Rob

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All recent Mazda paints are quite brittle and chip easily.
My soul red ND is 3 years old and has maybe circa 20 on the front. The touch up process is 2 stage, base and the coloured lacquer.
Depends I guess on how many miles you do, is it a daily driver?
Could always have the bonnet, wings and bumper covered in clear PPF, but that is £1k at least.

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I looked at colours too - but decided that I wanted the one that looked nicest, so went with the attached (this is waiting for PDI - I collect on Thursday) However, there was a grey one in the showroom and that also looked really nice, but subtle.! I am hoping that it doesn’t chip too easily.

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Hi, I had a Mazda 2 in soul red crystal which was involved in an accident and needed a new rear bumper the soul red was difficult apparently to colour match due to the application process. Also have had a couple of dark blue mazda’s which do tend to show scratches and swirl marks also seem to have a light coloured base coat which shows with any damage…
I would go for the white easy to keep clean with just washing and drying, no real need to polish. Also grey always looks good and does not show light dirt.
Just some thoughts.

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I deliberately got my red NA because I watched an old New York Times review where they said it was the MX5 colour God intended. I’d have gone with blue too.

That said any marque of MX5 very much suits blue black and white too. I have mixed feelings on green. With white I’d go for a red interior.

Red on a vintage one like mine fades but if it’s got a hint of metallic in it in an ND then should fade less or not at all.

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Solid white for me. In my eyes it just looks right.
:heart:

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I did read somewhere that actually Soul Red Crystal is the thickest MX-5 paint due to all the extra layers to achieve that deep shine! Whereas the solid colours are the easiest to paint with minimal thickness. So the Soul Red Crystal is actually the slowest MX-5 you can buy due to the extra weight of paint…:sunglasses:

By the way you left your common sense at the door when you went in to buy an MX-5! So worrying about the sensible colour choice is a bit late. Buy the car and colour you want and have fun driving it.

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Also have a look on Autotrader, you might be able to get a deal on an R sport 1.5 in grey with Rays wheels, quite a few sitting around ATM.

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So if I put “go faster stripes” on, will it actually go faster or not? mmmm

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White is the easiest colour to keep. It doesn’t show swirls or light scratches and it’s dead easy to touch up.

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Ceramic is obviously the best colour :slight_smile: , but inexplicably dropped by Mazda on the latest range of MX-5’s…! Not that I’m biased…! :ok_hand:

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Is that Soul Red Crystal? Amazing colour that makes the original Soul Red look like a flat colour in comparison.

I wouldn’t worry about which is softest etc. The metallic/flake/mica etc do seem to pick up tiny chips through which the white primer can show. My Mica Blue Reflex has quite a few but they are tiny, it doesn’t chip off in great lumps and I doubt you would see them just standing next to it.

If you really can’t decide then presumably the solid white would save you more than enough money to pay for some rust prevention. On a new car, you could put a clear wax on it rather than the black stuff, which is what MX5restorer did for me.

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Thanks for everyone’s comments and welcomes ! I have decided to go for Deep Crystal Blue, which will mean waiting till May :cry: But worth it IMHO. The car will be used as much as possible, but far from a daily driver. The roof will be down unless its raining hard or snowing … unfortunately I’ll need to keep it outside and our house faces north, so a cover will be a good idea before winter. I attended the last big National meeting at Gaydon, and was impressed by the friendliness of owners. I’ve had a long experience in kit car circles (great bunch too BTW) but now look forward to spending time driving not spannering in the short term anyway.

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I’m not putting a cover on mine again as the cover moved about in high wind and damaged the paint on the mirrors.

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Sorry to hear that, do you mind me asking what sort of cover ?

Not to worry about the car it needed a lot of paint and welding anyway which it’s just had. An awful lot…

Can’t remember the brand - it is an all weather heavy duty cover.

I’d get one with mirror socks of an inner coat or better still buy an outdoor carcoon.

That will be better than putting it in a garage and is what I’ll do if I don’t get my new garage done this year

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That deep crystal blue will be high maintenance. Being a dark colour it will show scratches and chips. It’s like a metallic navy blue.

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Hi Rich, I have a soul red ND and yes it has required the odd chip dealt with on bonnet and front wings. The two stage touch up matches well.
I have owned MX5’s for over twenty years, NA,NB,NC, new and used and it was always the case - they are low to the ground and prone to chips IMHO the ND is no worse.
I have been told Mazda paint cover is thin for many years - I don’t think it’s a problem.
Love soul red and so do many others who tell me so.
Good luck!

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