Jet black paint. World of pain?

[Vvroom]

Evening chaps,

Apologies at the outset as I'm sure this has been raised before.

I'm about to order a 520d m sport. PCP finalised and I sign the order form on Saturday.

After mulling over the various options I plumped for jet black. I love the deep deep black but have I been hoodwinked by the showroom shine?

I tend to wash my cars weekly or fortnightly at a place near me that uses foam/water and only touches the car to chamois it down.

Has anyone got real world experience of jet black? How is the non-metallic finish holding up?

Thanks in advance.

[Monty Python]

A friend of mine had one - the finish was fine, when you could see if. Every bit of muck showed up so within a day of washing it looked just as bad. Best car I had colour-wise was the Space Grey 335d - that hid the dirt brilliantly and could go for ages without looking a mess. Maybe this is why silver/grey is so popular...

[rb5er]

Black cars are a nightmare. As soon you you wash it in the summer irs instantly covered in a fine dust and the swirlmarks are very visible.

Your car wash guys spray foam and then just chamois? Scratch n swirl city right there.

[Dannbodge]

Chamois will be doing the most amount of damage anyway.

Black is a pain regardless. Unless you are a keen detailer and wash it properly, it will always be scratched and swirly.

[hornetrider]

I had a black MX5. It looked awesome when it was just cleaned and waxed. But then 10 minutes later you could see the dust particles on it and it was all downhill from there. Impossible to keep clean.

My 5 series is silbergrau and hides the dirt brilliantly. Love black as a colour but just could not live with it again.

[steveo3002]

unless youre a polisher it will always look swirly and grubby , the overnight dew will show up as dirty patches on a mint car

[SuffolkIan]

Black is a pain and often heart breaking as it shows every mark. Even if you wash and polish regularly youself you'll always see a new stone chip every time you do and for me I lost interest in keeping it clean after a while because it looked so marked!

My current F11 is Sophisto Grey, it is almost black but seems to hide marks much better, may be a better choice?

Ian

[aeropilot]

Vvroom said:

After mulling over the various options I plumped for jet black. I love the deep deep black but have I been hoodwinked by the showroom shine?

Brave man, and yes you've been hoodwinked.

I'd never have another solid black (or even metallic black) car again.....ever, period.....not even if you paid me.

[H.....]

We've all done it once (me included), drawn in by the lovely shine in the showroom and ignoring everyone who says what the previous posters have said. Do it OP.........you won't do it again though.

[Bungleaio]

When I bought my Impreza in 2007 the salesman asked just after I'd done all the paperwork whether I'd had a black car. I hadn't and he just laughed quite loudly and said this will be my last.

He was wrong as I'm now on my 4th but they do take a lot of work. I'm one of those muppet that you see always cleaning their cars. If you take it to a hand car wash they will swirl it up almost instantly.

If you're not going to wash your own car very carefully then go for a dark grey, the dirt and swirls will be well hidden.

[cerb4.5lee]

Black is a pain to keep looking good whether its flat or metallic but flat black is still my most favourite colour when all polished up and I still think of an Escort Cosworth I once saw at a show that was jet black and it thought it looked amazing.

I had a 330d and Z4M in Black Sapphire and they looked nice when clean and also had a ST24 in Panther Black and a TTS in Pearl Black but as others have said its a very frustrating colour to live with.

[Vvroom]

Thanks for the replies. It's a good job it never rains up here in Manchester...

Called the dealer to arrange when to pop in to pay the deposit and sign the order only to be told it had been ordered! Pleased in a sense as it removes the doubt and I've secured an early build slot.

Looks like I need to invest in some swirl remover!

Thinking back I once had a black MR2 and swore I'd never have another black car.

I'm still hanging on for.someone to say something positive.....

[H.....]

Vvroom said:

I'm still hanging on for.someone to say something positive.....

It'll look amazing when you pick it up!

[hornetrider]

Vvroom said:

Thanks for the replies. It's a good job it never rains up here in Manchester...

I'd also say that whilst my MX5 was a pain to keep clean it was done pretty quickly - it's a small car. I do find cleaning the 5 is much more of a chore as it's so bloody big. Hence why I'm glad it's grey... sorry

[Vvroom]

Balls.

Oh well. Probably best for my mental health if I make my peace with it and not wonder if I should wave 675 under the dealers nose to change the order.

I suppose the consensus is:

- Lovely when clean.

But.

- Will only be clean for 10mins at a time

We all have our burdens in
life. Perhaps this will be mine!!!

[POORCARDEALER]

Get grey, almost as nice with non of the hassle.

Back in the day, solid black was a cost option on cars....

[aeropilot]

Vvroom said:

- Will only be clean for 10mins at a time

That's a very optimistic timescale......

[hornetrider]

Vvroom said:

I should wave 675 under the dealers nose to change the order.

I think they should do it for free, given that...

Vvroom said:

Called the dealer to arrange when to pop in to pay the deposit and sign the order only to be told it had been ordered!

[arch stant0n]

Vvroom said:

Balls.

...

We all have our burdens in
life. Perhaps this will be mine!!!

Ours is metallic black, we love it.
Looks great for 10 mins or so...still wouldn't change it though, it's a great 10 minutes!
We just get it washed before going anywhere we want it to look nice...you can get that done 60 or so times before that 675 pays itself back.
That and we've learned to love swirl marks, they really add character to the car

[RobM77]

My Z4 Coupé was black. It looked lovely, but yes, you could see imperfections in the paint more easily (mainly from over-zealous polishing from the dealership prior to sale...) and it showed dirt earlier than my other cars, which led to me washing it weekly rather than fortnightly. I'd have another black one though simply because I liked it - I think it's one of the few 'colours' that looks good but also discreet at the same time.