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Carbon black - how much does it suck?

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Old 02-11-2006, 02:58 PM
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Couldn't agree more. I too had issues with the Carbon Black paint on my 04 545i. Every swirl mark where C Pillar meets the trunk was so annoying to me. Rock chips, imperfections, hard to match paint, you name it! I would never select a metallic paint by BMW again.

Can't go wrong with WHITE...
Old 02-11-2006, 03:34 PM
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Carbon black looks fantastic, especially in sunlight when the blue tint comes out. However, like most dark colours it is high maintenance.

Solid black is just as bad if not worse than carbon black when it comes to swirl marks. My wife used to own a solid black 325ci and it really was swirl heaven and you could see every little blemish in the paintwork a mile off. Close up and in direct sunlight it just looked terrible.

Choose black only if you are willing to carefully clean your car on a regular basis.
Old 02-11-2006, 11:56 PM
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no, carbon black is a qualitative good paint like all the others. and it also looks pretty good.
Old 02-12-2006, 12:10 AM
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I had along think before I bought my Silver Grey...for me it was always between the CB and the SG options. In the end it was down to the fact that a colleages M3 in CB never looked clean...and he was always moaning about how quickly it became dirty

Looks great when its just been detailed though
Old 02-12-2006, 12:56 AM
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Carbon Black doesn't suck it is a great colour but it does like all dark colurs show the marks and swirls and it depends what light you view it in too, artificial light makes it look really bad, it's not as bad as a Lapis Blue Boxster I had that showed it much more than the Carbon. It's a known fact that Black and Dark Blues are a nightmare. Personally I am happy with Carbon Black as there are a fair few Silver and Silver Greys round my way so it looks a little different.

I face the fact that it will need washing once a week and if I don't it will look dirty and a proper clay and wax every 3 - 4 months to look good but when clean it looks awesome. I wouldn't change it for any other colour right now.
Old 02-12-2006, 07:01 AM
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Originally Posted by sese' post='238814' date='Feb 12 2006, 08:56 AM
no, carbon black is a qualitative good paint like all the others. and it also looks pretty good.
There's no denying it looks great (that's why I chose it!) but my point was that you shouldn't have to be a complete 'daily wax'n'wash' nazi for the car not to end up looking like sh*t
Old 02-12-2006, 07:33 AM
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Originally Posted by tachyon' post='238484' date='Feb 11 2006, 02:50 PM
I think Carbon Black is the best looking color BMW has ever made.

It's not the paint that is getting whorls and scratches ... it's the clear coat. :thumbsdown: It just shows up more with a dark color underneath it (Jet Black and Black Sapphire have the same problem).


I agree
Old 02-12-2006, 08:01 AM
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Originally Posted by paomien' post='238945' date='Feb 12 2006, 11:33 AM
I agree
Yep. I agree also with that. There is only one other colour to consider (for me) and that's alpine white.
Old 02-12-2006, 09:01 AM
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Happy with my Carbon Black although it does carry a of swirl marks - dealer did not present the car properly when new, so it had to be waxed several times. Eventually, the dealer applied Autoglyms Life shine - it had left a great shine on the car but the car does need waxing frequently.
Prashan
Old 02-12-2006, 10:33 AM
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Originally Posted by prashan' post='238986' date='Feb 12 2006, 06:01 PM
Happy with my Carbon Black although it does carry a of swirl marks - dealer did not present the car properly when new, so it had to be waxed several times. Eventually, the dealer applied Autoglyms Life shine - it had left a great shine on the car but the car does need waxing frequently.
Prashan
I just bought some Meguirs products yesterday, the Lambswool mitt, Gold Class wash, quick clay bar and their Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax.
I washed the car yesterday afternoon and did the bonnet with the clay bar but then it was dark, so quickly applied a little wax to the bonnet before calling it a day.
Got to say even though it was raining this morning you could see the bonnet was a lot better. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day and I can do the whole car properly.

I need to get some of their Scratch X and their Polish too, but seems to be a great product.


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