Paint top or not?

[soloracer951]

My passenger side door got backed into in a parkade. The car is getting an entirely new door and after much thought I decided to pay the extra and paint the entire car. Even though I'm sure the body shop would match the paint no problem I just figured it would be nice to have it all pristine and new again. This decision was helped by the fact that the previous owner had tried to polish the car once and burnt through the clearcoat on the roof plus there were a few dings and chips here and there. I also bought a Wings West front lip and Downforce 02 rear valence. I also bought some new wheels. I've been trying to decide if I should stay stock two tone or paint all one color. I like both for different reasons. Here are a couple of pictures of what it should look like either way - the colors are a bit off so don't judge just by the shade of red.

 

[soloracer951]

I'm also keeping the stock side skirts. I considered the Wings West but didn't like the thought of them sagging. My second choice was the Stacey Style but in the end I like the stock look just as much. I know that the black top car has side skirts so that shouldn't affect the vote either.

Just wondering what you guys think and what the pro's and con's are for each. Here is what I thought:

Black Top: Pro - original and may retain more value. Con - if I change my mind later will be much harder to match red color perfectly.

Red Top: Pro - can easily go back to black if I don't like it. Con - no longer original. Easy to tell from the year the car was painted.

I'm also wrapping the front fenders, hood, nose, mirrors and front spoiler with 3M product.

 

[ca2822]

I'd prefer to keep it black. I like the break in color. Red roof, red car = too much red imo.

 

[YellowHaze]

Looks like you've covered the bases for going with either option. You need to ask yourself one basic question. That being, what is the true reason for owning your car? Keep it ready for resale or simply to enjoy it?

Before I purchased my first piece of fine art, I remember one cardinal rule. "Buy what you like, not what you think it may be worth one day." Over the years, I have purchased a few pieces of art and always bought what I liked. I have not regretted any of my decisions. I still have all that I bought and like what I have.

When I bought my NSX last September, my first "Sunday car", I did it for the sheer enjoyment of owning a car like this. That means driving it, participating in car related events, and to consider performing any mods that I find interesting. For me, it's not about retaining value, it's about doing what I like.
Life is short. Have fun and enjoy it!

 

[clr1024]

I'm also keeping the stock side skirts. I considered the Wings West but didn't like the thought of them sagging.

Ivote for painted top. My WW side skirts don't sag but I modified them per a post here in prime so they won't if you are interested I can probably dig it up with a bit of searching. I do like Staceys as well too.

 

[soloracer951]

Thanks for the responses so far. I'm tempted to paint the roof red just because I can see if I like it and if not I can change it back to black with no worries about color matching. Nothing I hate more than seeing different shades on a car. There was an NSX for sale here locally that I went and looked at a few years ago. The roof was painted but obviously the rest of the car wasn't. The shade was close but once I noticed it was different it bugged me big time. Every time I looked at the car I could tell the roof didn't match and that was all I could see.

It's funny but I went through the Unofficial Formula Red thread here and I would see a nice red roof car and go "Wow does that look good" and then I would see a badass looking black roof car and go "Awesome". Then there were other photos where the cars looked ordinary in both red roof and black roof.

 

[gleibig]

+1 for keep it black.

 

[swbatte]

Black top. +1

 

[lithiumus]

It's entirely personal. The NSX was originally designed with the intention of a black roof. Then in 95 with introduction of the removable roof, they went with a single tone color. I believe that there was always the option of purchasing an NSX with the original black roof but my guess is that many opted not to.

The 2002 Type R paid homage to the original black roof...

I was on the fence about painting the black roof as I did want to keep the car as intended but that was designed in 1989...

I ended up painting my roof when I got my 2002 rear valance. It just made sense since I was painting anyway. It's extremely important that the paint shop matches it well...

This was my car when I first got it with black roof.

This is my car after it got painted and ready to come to Canada

 

[Dragonwing]

Paint the top. WW haven't noticed any sag.

 

[Racerxjling]

Prev owner painted my roof red along w/ the side window sills. I had it painted black pearl and it's just awesome. Go black top all the way.

Jeff

 

[BioBanker]

If I were to repaint my car, theres a good chance the roof would end up black.

I like the look better, myself. Also would match the dark wheels and the NSXR wing.