Attention New Formula Red Owners

[nsXgnX]

Hello Primers,

I have a quick question for New Formula Red Owners(2002-2005). I am still on the search for a pristine 2002-2005 Red NSX and was wondering if any of you current or past owners notice the red paint fading to pink or pinkish? I have family members who owned a red Toyota Tercel and a red Acura TSX and they both had the hood and trunk fade to pinkish colors and the clear coat also faded. Red is my number one choice, but want some info from owners before making my final decision. Thanks.

 

[CL65 Captain]

Hello Primers,

I have a quick question for New Formula Red Owners(2002-2005). I am still on the search for a pristine 2002-2005 Red NSX and was wondering if any of you current or past owners notice the red paint fading to pink or pinkish? I have family members who owned a red Toyota Tercel and a red Acura TSX and they both had the hood and trunk fade to pinkish colors and the clear coat also faded. Red is my number one choice, but want some info from owners before making my final decision. Thanks.

Mine is a 2000 which is also New Formula Red and the paint looks just like it did when new. If you take car of the paint it will last a LONG time. Key being take care of the paint - polish, seal, wax.

 

[DocL]

No offense, but why are you even comparring a Tercel and TSX to an NSX. The paint on every car is one of the most durable coatings in existence. If a car starts to loose it's luster it's because it hasn't been properly cared for. I don't think someone who owns a Tercel is going to treat the paint as nicely as the paint on an NSX. I know that is an unfair statement, but it is also probably accurate.

 

[Kyras]

The same paint color is used on the Honda S2000. My man friend has one and it's not fading at all, but he does take excellent care of it.

 

[lustedp]

The fading to pink is usually caused by oxidation. I remember it on an old acura integra I once owned. I have a 2003 nsx and there are no signs of fading/pink etc.

 

[Rob4092xx]

Mine is a 2000 and the paint looks like the day of came off the showroom! I keep it waxed with a product called Finish First. Tried all of the "latest and greatest" waxes including Zaino, etc. Nothing holds up or is as simple to apply as Finish First!

I am also looking for a 2002-05 Red/Camel Interior in pristine condition.

Good luck!

The same paint color is used on the Honda S2000. My man friend has one and it's not fading at all, but he does take excellent care of it.

 

[rbilder]

Well, mine isn't the New Formula Red, but my 91's paint hasn't faded at all from what I can tell. I had my front ww lip repainted last summer and it still matched perfectly. They gave me a small can for touch up, I had some chips that I used the touch up on, and you can't tell by the color (you have to have your face right next to the chip to see it - the chip that is, not a difference in color).

I have had numerous comments on how shiney it is... all are amazed when I tell them it is a 91. Not sure if this helps much... but I would assume the New Formula Red would hold up as well.

Rod

 

[nsXgnX]

DocL I know I shouldn't be comparing an NSX paint to a Toyota Tercel, but I have noticed a lot of red cars fading in color. I was looking at the 2005 Red/Camel from Motorcars of Las Vegas, (for sale right now as of this posting) and even though it has "ONLY" 8500 miles, the paint looks faded, and thats why I posted this question. Thanks.

 

[CL65 Captain]

DocL I know I shouldn't be comparing an NSX paint to a Toyota Tercel, but I have noticed a lot of red cars fading in color. I was looking at the 2005 Red/Camel from Motorcars of Las Vegas, (for sale right now as of this posting) and even though it has "ONLY" 8500 miles, the paint looks faded, and thats why I posted this question. Thanks.

Bad photography/camera. That car looks like in pristine condition. And SOLD btw.

 

[passline]

Been through this whole Formula Red question many times. Have owned both a regular FR (a 1996) and NFR (a 2001) at the same time and did the comparisons side-by-side looking for the differences. I did this because I felt that NFR was not much darker. I saw a FR at an event that was darker than mine and at that moment decided to go with the NFR.

Long story short ......... it turned out to be only different lighting conditions. He happened to be under different street lights at night. :biggrin::biggrin:

You want a pink car, you go to Mary Kay's fleet.

 

[nsXgnX]

Captain its back on cars.com

 

[MakeMineRed]

The fading you have experienced is not specific to any one car, year, make or model. Red, white, black and any "non" metallic colors are prone to fading if not waxed regularly.

It's interesting because every red car I've owned (two NSX's, RX7's, Saab Viggen's, Audi S4 etc) will stay very shiny if they are waxed regularly.
Consequently, I've seen many newer cars suffer from oxidation because the owner's don't take care of them properly. Most of the time an oxidized red vehicle can be brought back to life with minimal work, just a good "cleaner" wax such as mother's. You will see a great deal of red on your applicator pad. This is a good thing as you are removing "dead" paint and exposing fresh paint.

Again, the NSX is not prone to fading any more than a regular vehicle. Matter of fact, red will give you the most gratification because you could buy an NSX which looks old due to paint condition and will look like new after one wax application.

My 1993 Acura NSX after a fresh coat of wax. Red is great because swirl marks are not as visible as black, green or any other dark color. White is probably the easiest color to keep clean.

My 2004 Audi S4 in brilliant red. Audi's red is probably the most difficult color to keep shiny. When it's clean, however, there is no red like it. No hints or orange proven by the fact that it is easy to photograph in any light condition.

 

[ftuhy]

Make sure you use wax that offers UV protection. To me, that is far more important than how long the wax lasts or how deep a shine it provides.

My wife's SLK is a similar red, and I have seen faded MB's of that color. Again, her's looks great because of wax with UV protection. 10 Years ago, it was difficult to find wax with UV protection, but now many brands offer it.

It also helps to keep the car garaged, and to use a cover when parked outside in the strong summer sun.

On my '96 Formula Red its impossible to tell the original areas from a repaint on the removable roof section about 5 years ago to remove some scratches.

 

[H-carWizKid]

My Buddy has a Tornado Red VW R32 that had started to go to pink- I brought it back with a clay bar, and polish. It took about 2hrs to make sure it was done right, but the car is back to arrest-me-red

Easy test to see if the paint is contaminated with pollutants is to (make sure you arent wearing any rings) run your hand over the surface after you have washed the car. If it feels rough, go spend $20 on a claybar kit at the autozone, read the instructions and complete the work. You will be amazed.

As for NSX NF Red- Dads 1994 looks better than most cars still on the showroom floor. The compliment I heard most often on last weekends car show route was with regard to the paint. It's a 16yr old car with factory paint.

Phil

 

[shawn110975]

yeah the cars that fade to pink is because that person that owned the car didnt give two shits about it. never waxed and never washed it cuz they thought that God makes it rain just for washing cars.

but getting them bad to the Original luster is kinda fun.

 

[M Baker]

In 2005 I sold a New Formula Red S2000 and the owner freaked out when he buffed and waxed it - he said the paint was defective because it was coming off when he buffed it with a white cloth! It concerned me as well so I went through several layers of Honda to finally get an answer. Honda told us that New Formula Red is orange base coat with purple tint in the clear coat to get the color you see. Odd. Honda told us that if you buffed New Formula Red real hard you will see purple color in your white cloth.

I suppose it is possible that one could polish New Formula Red too much and "erase" some of the key tinted clear coat which would affect how it looked.

 

[Mvsenna]

Many Honda red colors are 3 stage paint since 1992. Formula Red has a red basecoat with a magenta-like 2nd coat and a clear coat making it 3 stages. Nothing is mixed in with the clear coat from the factory. From different angles and lighting the color changes a bit which might explain the "fading to pink". Just thought I'd throw in another probability.