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A few comments from me on my XE's paintwork, after having the car ~18 months with 10k miles.
The colour is Odyssey Red, which you will probably know was not as popular as Italian Racing Red, and was soon discontinued.
Having tried to blend in a couple of touch-up areas, I can tell than the base and clear coat finish are too thin. And the paint does mark very easily. I am very careful, but there are too many scratches on the body from brushing against it in a normal overcoat. In addition, the leading edges of the rear wheel arches are peppered with a stone-chip rash, despite mud flaps and care when driving over newly surfaced roads.
But the worst issue is the colour presentation. In the bright and uniform lights of a showroom, Odyssey Red is a deep and sparkly colour that is just the best Jaguar have done in ages. But outside is a different story. Overcast light means the colour goes to a dull and flat maroon - it doesn't even stay red. In sunlight, you can stand alongside the car and see two very different colours when looking towards the front or rear wings. The problem for me is the deep and sparkly red is only present in 5% of practical conditions, even on a clean car. I have never seen the paint appearance on any car change this quickly, and can only put it down to formulation and/or application.
Has anyone else with an Odyssey Red car seen this?

Not seen this myself yet on any modern Jag. Yours might be a rogue example.

Have you taken the car back to a dealer for evaluation?

Mike K

I have an Italian Racing Red XKR and can vouch for the fact that the colour changes dramatically under different lighting conditions but I put that down to it being a feature of metallic red finishes. I also have a Caesium Blue XE. Neither car's lacquer coat has proved especially susceptible to scratching so, like Mike K, I am left wondering whether your individual car has a specific problem. Mike.

Thanks for the responses. Before I made this post I had contacted my local dealer to assist in an evaluation. No response as yet, but in posting here I was wondering if others had seen this before.

As a follow up - and possibly the conclusion - I had the car's colour inspected at my local dealership today. They sympathised, but said words to the effect of 'some colours are just like that'. A great disappointment, and a unique colour characteristic in my experience. It didn't help that it was early morning on an overcast day, when the dull behaviour of the colour is at its worst. Come the afternoon, and bright sunshine, and Odyssey Red is utterly transformed into the colour I know it can be. Frustrating, but there we go.
Top tip: if you are thinking of buying a car in Odyssey Red, make sure you are happy with how the colour looks outside, on a dull day.

It could be possible that your paint is somewhat contaminated by atmospheric gunk. It doesn`t take that long to build up.

Have you considered giving the car a clay bar treatment. This removes paint contamination and polish build up very quickly. A water wash, dry off, then a good go over with a water-less cleaner followed by easy application/removal spray wax. Tons of the stuff in Halfords or similar outlets. From memory I think I bought Maguirs products. Certainly that regime changed the way I now keep my car looking good in the better months of the year. In the winter, well that`s a lost cause! Doing what I described on my 14 year old black XJR transformed the car. It might be worth a try?

Mike K

Hi Mike,

Sorry for the late reply - I have had my Jag mind on other things. Every few months I do go through the 'full works' with respect to cleaning my cars, starting with the clay bar treatment. And I know cleaning the car is not the problem.
Why? Because I can look at the same panel from two different viewpoints and get two completely different colours - one a deep ruby red that really sparkles, even on a dirty car, and the other colour a flat maroon. I'll just have to live with it while I still have the car.
Other Jag things means looking for an 02-06 XK convertible that isn't black, silver or dark blue, and doesn't have big wheels. And is still a good car that has been well looked after. Saw a very good one today at an auction, but each gearbox indicator light was flashing every time that notch was engaged. Not knowing enough about whether this was serious or not (I have checked here, and the answer seems to be maybe not, but you have to drive the car around for a while to be sure - not an option at an auction) I backed out. Maybe a good job, as the car fetched top money anyway. Same gearbox as my X-350, which has never shown this problem.