Thoughts on Lapis Blue

How is the Lapis Blue color for resale and overall cleaning / showing dirt, etc. Thanks

Hiya I have seen a few Lapis Blue cars at work, and they look real sharp when clean. Other than that, I can't help much

I love it on mine, it probably shows dirt a bit more then silver, but nothing like black.

I was severly torn between the lapis blue and orient red color that I eventually went with. You have to go with your heart on this one and choose the color you first obsessed over. I am very pleased with my choice and have received many, many positive comments on my new C4S and its color!

The October 2002 issue of Excellence lists the percentages that each color is ordered on new 911's and Boxsters. As expected, on 911's, Artic Silver is chosen 26% of the time (silver seems to have taken the place that Guards Red had in the '80's...). Seal Gray 20%, Black 18%, Lapis Blue is chosen 13%, with Basalt Black 5%, Guards Red 5%, White 3% and greens are chosen 1% of the time. Zanzibar Red was ordered on 28 new 911's last year... All in all, Excellence mag goes on to state that 64% of all Boxsters and 74% of all 911's are ordered in silver, grey or black... I would think that Lapis blue would have good resale value. One of my other sports cars was ordered in a similar dark blue. It's stunning when clean, but like all dark cars, it gets dirty very quickly and is hard to maintain. But, it looks fantastic when clean... Jay <a href="http://www.jays911.com" target="_blank">90 964</a>

I have the Ocean Blue, which seems similar to Lapis. I'd have to echo Jay's statement: Stunning when clean. Dark colors display the first class paint of a Porsche so well.

[quote] It's stunning when clean, but like all dark cars, it gets dirty very quickly and is hard to maintain. But, it looks fantastic when clean... <hr></blockquote> My thoughts exactly. <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1854771590" target="_blank"> Here </a> is a link to some beautiful shots of a Lapis Blue 02 selling on eBay. Regards.

Certainly looks stunning. Seems like every other car I see is silver or grey. Wonder how long this trend will continue.

It is a gorgeous color, but prepare to be indentured to cleaning your car daily if you want it to look good. I had a car in a very similar color years ago and I swear it looked dirty by the time I made it home from the car wash. Black is just as bad. Now I have speed yellow and a week after a car wash it still looks immaculate.

Yep, 5 minutes after washing it, the dust settling on it is VERY apparent <img src="graemlins/crying.gif" border="0" alt="[crying]" /> But I haven't seen another Lapis driving around town

I didn't have a Lapis blue Pcar, but I had a non-metallic dark blue 98 993CS. It looked absolutely gorgeous after waxing, but it was a dust magnet, even in the garage. And outside it showed everything. That's why my current car is Arctic Silver!

There's something about these 993's that looks so perfect. I still think they are a better looking car then the 996.

You know, 02Targa, I agree with you, especially the one I had that was lowered, had a full aerokit and tinted glass, and of course, was a CS model. I had a 964 and felt the same way about that when the 993's came out...so maybe when they make the 911 a 4 passenger with a V8 we'll think the 996's were great.

I definately think Lapis blue is the most gorgious color on any Pcar. I am going to get my 951 repainted in lapis when I get around to it.

Very nice color...but I still cannot get the swirl marks or microscratches out of the paint. In certain light and looking closely you can really see them. Other than that it is a very beautiful color but is hard to keep clean. I have trie 3m IHG, IMG, Swirl Mark Remover and nothing seems to totally get the swirl marks out. Any suggestions?

I spent the day at the track today (PCA races at Road America). I saw a few Lapis blue cars (both 996's and Boxster's). That color really is stunning, especially on such a nice, sunny day as we had today. The color looks great with most interior colors too. Grey, tan, black, etc... It reminds me of Cobalt Blue, which is also a great color. As you would expect at a big Porsche event, there were plenty of 996's in all variants to look at. You guys have beautiful cars. The more I see 996's, the more I think that the 996 (IMHO) is a great looking, proper evolution of the 911. Don is right in his post above. When Porsche bastardizes the 911 with a V8 and 4 seats, the 996 will be viewed as "the last real 911" just like we heard when the 996 replaced the 993. Just my $.02 (from an old school thinking, 964 guy...) Jay 90 964

Silver, I'm have the same question. After using 3M IHG the paint looks perfect in what is the most revealing light, 45 deg. florescent. But looking at a reflection of the sun, which shouldn't show anything, I see scratches. signed, obsessive

I can also see it in flourescent...I dont know. i am afraid to do too much polishing, I do not want to damage the clear coat and take alot off.

I use P21S polisher before about every third wax (wax about 2x a month) and it keeps the swirl marks at bay. My Range Rover is black and it shows dirt much worse then my Lapis cab. If it was a daily driver I would probably be more concerned w/how it shows dirt.

i don't think thst lapis blue is nearly as hard to keep clean as black. imo silver has gotten boring! every mercedes, honda, bmw, etc is silver. for ease of maintenance i prefer white but i find lapis to be a nice change. <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Drove a friend of mine to the dealer a couple months ago to pick up his brand new artic silver (of course) Boxster S. We took along another friend who came along just for the ride. The dealer had a new C4 cab on the lot in Lapis Blue. The friend who was tagging along fell in love with the color so much he decided to sell his M3 and upgrade to a 996. His wife has vowed that he's not allowed to go with us to any more car dealers! The funny thing is that, by all acounts, he was more enthused about the color (Lapis Blue) than the 996 itself. <img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" />

Here's the thought process that I went through before my Lapis Blue C4 Cab: First: Silver looks good. Some pre-conditioning from all the silver cars I've seen, I think. Then: Too many silver p-cars running around. Seal grey adds a touch of class over the silver. Yeah, seal grey sounds good. Finally(At the dealer): Whoa! Lapis blue is great! It's really is a good place between the extremes as defined by silver and yellow or red. Plus the metallic is pretty deep finish. Only (very minor) issue so far: I have the 3M film protectant on the front end. Lapis blue really doesn't "hide" the tape line as much as silver. Good Luck, Jack

I saw my car in Lapis Blue and immediately feel in love! It gets more compliments that I can ever possibly count. However, I would have never had chosen the Lapis Blue as a color until I actually saw it on the car. I am positively in love with it now and keeping it clean is not as bad as one may anticipate. It is about as much work(for me) as keeping my lighter blue or red cars clean.

I agree the 993 is nostalgic. I love the look of the updated 996 exterior and interior. The only thing missing from the 996 is an intergrated wing such as the one on the 993. There is no other car I have seen that can match the lines with the wing. I am thinking about the Techart type 2 wing with the new from addon spoiler. I already have the flared rockers. Any thoughts?

People are afraid of lapis blue, therefore dealers trying to tradein and sell quickly like to play it safe. Silver or black. But at the end of the day, it's porsches best color and most complimented color not to mention thats because there are not a million of them running around. As far as resale, lapis blue is the only color in california because the light out there makes it dance. With ebay and/ or a sharpe dealer willing to do the work, these cars are an easy trade to a dealer in california. The trick to lapis blue is getting the car power buffed (refloat the clear coat) to bring in a mirror glass finish that a good coat of wax can maginfy into a stunning look. I think the pictures on ebay showed this process the best. If you get Lapis just spend the $200 bucks for a detailer to set it up right and then it will be easy to keep clean.

Silver - It may be that your swirl marks are too deep for the 3M IHG to take out. Or, if you are using a power tool, you may be putting the swirl marks on your paint. The people at Car Care Specialties have some great articles on car care. If you haven't already read them, I think you'll fine they are very helpful. You can also talk to them direct on their support line. <a href="http://www.carcareonline.com" target="_blank">Car Care Specialties</a>