Red Rover, Red Rover

I have always wanted a red car. I have purchased two brand new cars and I should have gotten red, but the 1995 Nissan Sentra, my first car, was not avalible in red. Then by the time I purchased my 2006 Chevy pick-up, I was more concerned with getting a low monthly payment than the color. All my Land Rovers have been used, so I take what I can get.

After our trip Central America trip this summer, my Range Rover was getting embarrasing. You can see from this photo that our Rover had taken a beating as far as the asthetics go. T

he hood was fully oxidizing, and we had used duct tape to hold the signal light in place, plus on the sides the trim pieces had started to fall off. It was awful and for the first time I was embarassed to drive my own car.

This Range Rover started its life with white paint. Then it was taken on the Rubicon trail by the previous owner. This equated to "new" body panels. One of the problems is the body panels were taken from different Rovers, with two different green paints. The hood was not replaced, it was painted yet another color of green. None of panels matched. Yes, you had to look close, but really, it was bad!

I therefore decided the car needed to be painted. One afternoon in August I went to three or four shops in Tucson to find out about getting it painted a uniform metalic green. What I found out was flat paint does not oxidize like metalic paint. Aftermarket metallic paint with a clear coat will usually oxidize in our Arizona sun within two years, even with a great paint job. Flat paint lasts at least five years with no maintenance. No maintenance means no waxing or washing. I very quickly decided I needed a flat paint.

Here is a sample conversation I had with just about every shop.

Shop: "What color do you want?"

Kelly: "Keep the white roof, and the body, green."

Shop: "You know it doesn't cost any more for another color."

Kelly: "Okay"

After the third shop said this to me, I started thinking. "I want red!" I called James and asked what he thought about painting the Rover red. I think at that point he already knew I had made up my mind.

And I had!