Is Black really Black ??

stan40

Hi
i am thinking of buying a new car and the colour is black.My question is that if buy non metallic black i am saving between 800-1300 euro then buying metallic.Is this a good saving or not in the long run.Is metallic more hard wearing and less likely to lose shine over time.

Thanks

Squirrel

When metallic black is polished it shows up lovely, flat black just looks black

Sandwich

Similar quandry. Am looking at a passat - but standard 'Black' or 'Deep Black' which is extra E580? Is their really any difference?

atlantean

Some metalic blacks don't look black, rather an off black where as most blacks do look black and you can get a mirror shine once polished well.

mike65

Black is cool but rather hot in summer and hard work on dirty Irish roads most of the year so think carefully!

Mike.

maidhc

atlantean wrote:

Some metalic blacks don't look black, rather an off black where as most blacks do look black and you can get a mirror shine once polished well.

True.

I'd go for the metallic though. The metallic is almost impossible to keep, so I can only suspect the non-metallic IS impossible to keep.

Every little dent, scratch and imprefection shows up on black cars, but they look stunning when clean and shiny.

Alun

Had a black (metallic actually) car once, and never again. Impossible to keep clean, shows every little scratch (on my car, a Civic, they used a white primer/base coat, so even the tiniest scratch appeared white), and worse of all, the number of people nearly driving into me because they didn't see me seemed to increase exponentially. It was as if I had become invisible overnight, although not quite as bad as a dark graphite metallic (i.e. road coloured!) Accord I had.

atlantean

maidhc wrote:

The metallic is almost impossible to keep, so I can only suspect the non-metallic IS impossible to keep.

Yep! A lot of work involved :rolleyes: And as for swirl marks :mad: we won't even go there!

Savman

they're probably all very very very very VERY dark blue :D

Squirrel

I used to work for a dealer as a valeter, and the difference between flat and metallic black on some cars was huge. An Audi A4 Cabriolet looked gorgeous with a little bit of effort on the metallic, but the flat never had the glint of the metallic. If you can afford it, I'd say go for it. What car is it btw?

Seth Brundle

Savman wrote:

they're probably all very very very very VERY dark blue :D

Father Ted: That's right, Dougal. You see, ordinary shops sell what look like black socks, but if you look closely, you'll see that they're very, very, very, very, very, very, very dark blue.
Father Dougal: That's true. I thought my Uncle Tommy was wearing black socks, but when I looked at them closely, they were just very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very dark blue.
Father Ted: Never buy black socks from a normal shop.
[Whispers to Dougal]
Father Ted: They shaft you every time!
[Dougal looks worried]

Larry David

kbannon wrote:

Father Ted: That's right, Dougal. You see, ordinary shops sell what look like black socks, but if you look closely, you'll see that they're very, very, very, very, very, very, very dark blue.
Father Dougal: That's true. I thought my Uncle Tommy was wearing black socks, but when I looked at them closely, they were just very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very dark blue.
Father Ted: Never buy black socks from a normal shop.
[Whispers to Dougal]
Father Ted: They shaft you every time!
[Dougal looks worried]

Yeah, I think we got the refernce the first time. But thanks for taking the subtleness out of the joke - that was half the humour...

maidhc

Larry David wrote:

Yeah, I think we got the refernce the first time. But thanks for taking the subtleness out of the joke - that was half the humour...

I didn't get it at all!

I do now Must get out the father ted dvds!

Anan1

Larry David wrote:

Yeah, I think we got the refernce the first time. But thanks for taking the subtleness out of the joke - that was half the humour...

Guess who's been at the cranky cornflakes this morning...;)

sk8board

they say (whomever 'they' are), that metallic is much better at withstanding scratches and especially stone chips. in black, it makes all the difference.

looking at a metallic black focus 1.6 zetec for Jan 07, and would have it in no other colour.

KTRIC

Or get a purple one and use some black polish to make it darker. I read somewhere here that it works a treat :rolleyes:

pm.

sk8board wrote:

they say (whomever 'they' are), that metallic is much better at withstanding scratches and especially stone chips. in black, it makes all the difference.

looking at a metallic black focus 1.6 zetec for Jan 07, and would have it in no other colour.

i drive a 05 tdci focus, would you not consider the diesel option? i find the return on a full tank great and its very nippy.

sk8board

pm. wrote:

i drive a 05 tdci focus, would you not consider the diesel option? i find the return on a full tank great and its very nippy.

Its actually for my wife The 1.4 is a dog, even though the 1.6 is only 100hp, which is not hectic these days.

Me, I get the train every morning, and have a 1.4 megane RXi to do the 1 mile trip each day. Had intended changing it many times,but love it. Its the whopping 16v 98hp engine ( ), and the spec is fantastic for a Renault, has pretty much everything. Also, anyone who parks a new car in our station car park is MAD. The cars are stacked, not parked.

Have had my eye on the 1.6FSI A3 Sportback, but not sure I could justify the 33k for a new one.

colm_mcm

100bhp is an awful lot faster in a diesel.

sk8board

colm_mcm wrote:

100bhp is an awful lot faster in a diesel.

Diesels sound like old Massy Fergesons first thing in the morning, and should be started for 5 minutes at least before driving them anywhere! I wouldn't wait for 5 seconds, let alone 5 minutes.

If we did a lot of miles, then maybe i'd consider it (or if we didn't live in town) for sure (that new Saab 9-3 1.9TDi is brilliant, as is the Volvo D5 plant)

prospect

sk8board wrote:

Diesels sound like old Massy Fergesons first thing in the morning, and should be started for 5 minutes at least before driving them anywhere

Where do people dream this SH1T up from? :rolleyes:

sk8board

prospect wrote:

Where do people dream this SH1T up from? :rolleyes:

diesel engines, because they are a higher compression and are made from heavy steel, and not aluminium as with petrol engines, are under-powered when cold, and take justa little longer than petrols to get going to full power. fact.
Thats where this **** is dreamt up

prospect

sk8board wrote:

diesel engines, because they are a higher compression and are made from heavy steel, and not aluminium as with petrol engines, are under-powered when cold, and take justa little longer than petrols to get going to full power. fact.
Thats where this **** is dreamt up

blah, blah, blah....

I have owned and driven many many diesel cars.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WAIT 5 MINS BEFORE DRIVING A DIESEL CAR.

I sometimes cannot believe the crap that is spouted on this forum.

sk8board

hardly the point.
they are underpowered until they warm up. perhaps you just didn't notice.

next thing you know you'll be telling us "ah but see how quiet they are these days!"

drove them for over 10 years, until 2 years ago. Now have 2L petrol, and its a joy to start it first thing on a cold morning, and not hear the clack clack clack until it warms up.

prospect

sk8board wrote:

hardly the point.
they are underpowered until they warm up. perhaps you just didn't notice.

I am not disputing that point, I am disputing the fact you said you cannot drive a diesel car for 5 minutes after you start it up.

Also,
Anyone who drives ANY car on full revs/power before it has warmed up needs their head examined. Reason, the oil lubricant will not have reached its full operating viscosity until it is at full temoperature. This means your engine will not be receiving its optimum lubrication until it is fully warmed up.

So, your point regarding the 5 minute idle time is incorrect.
So, your point regading full power when cold is insignificant, as all cars should be driven at low revs until fully warmed up.

sk8board

prospect wrote:

I am not disputing that point, I am disputing the fact you said you cannot drive a diesel car for 5 minutes after you start it up.

Also,
Anyone who drives ANY car on full revs/power before it has warmed up needs their head examined. Reason, the oil lubricant will not have reached its full operating viscosity until it is at full temoperature. This means your engine will not be receiving its optimum lubrication until it is fully warmed up.

So, your point regarding the 5 minute idle time is incorrect.
So, your point regading full power when cold is insignificant, as all cars should be driven at low revs until fully warmed up.

know what, so far off topic i couldn't care less!

do you feel better now that you've had your daily row? (and mentioned 'optimum lubrication' in the course of general conversation)

and all that from talking about black metallic on a ford

prospect

sk8board wrote:

know what, so far off topic i couldn't care less!

LOL
That is probably as close to conceeding you are wrong as we are gonna get. :rolleyes:

Anyway, as you suggested, back on topic.

My car is black metallic, it certainly never looks true black. To be honest, I would prefer a well polished 'regular' black.

sk8board

prospect wrote:

LOL
That is probably as close to conceeding you are wrong as we are gonna get. :rolleyes: QUOTE]

tit2tat stuff on these boards can go on for days Prospect. Good man. you win. hurray.

mike65

Diesels do not need 'warming up' outside the artic circle.

PSA/Ford have developed an all-aluminium 1.4/1.6 diesel and a 2.2 unit. Heck did'nt the old AX/106 1.4 have alloy block? Or was it just the cylinder head?

Mike.

Savman

Diesels + T.L.C. = bonding

wouldn't have it any other way!

maidhc

mike65 wrote:

Diesels do not need 'warming up' outside the artic circle.

There is a theory that any turbocharged car should really be idled for a minute or so before driving. The manufacturers don't recommend it anymore, but I think it is a good idea.

(The above is not in support of sk8boards silly statements re diesels!)

BTW black metallic on a focus looks very black! A few years ford changed their balck colour from "ash black" to "panther black". The old colour was almost grey.

Seth Brundle

Stay on topic folks or it gets locked!

Sandwich

I'm still not clear - do metallic black diesels warm up quicker and with less clatter than normal black ones or not ?

sk8board

maidhc wrote:

There is a theory that any turbocharged car should really be idled for a minute or so before driving. The manufacturers don't recommend it anymore, but I think it is a good idea.

(The above is not in support of sk8boards silly statements re diesels!)

BTW black metallic on a focus looks very black! A few years ford changed their balck colour from "ash black" to "panther black". The old colour was almost grey.

but, maidhc, this is exactly my point: "There is a theory that any turbocharged car should really be idled for a minute or so before driving. The manufacturers don't recommend it anymore, but I think it is a good idea."

thats all I was sayin Lets kill the tangent, and get back to the other tangent, of Focus Panther black .....


I think its the best colour on the focus by far (next perhaps to the seal gray), simply because of those silly gray plastic parts around the fog lamps; they stick out a lot, and takes away from silver and other colours