[hades281]

Ember Black metallic - Bad for swirl marks?

Likely ordering an S60 but have been undecided about color. I had an F-150 with black paint and it was a handful to keep it clean without swirl marks and to control other minor imperfections. I thought I would never own another black car.

My questions are: Is the metallic paint of good quality, and is a black metallic paint just as bad about showing dirt, swirls, and imperfections as a non-metallic black?

The color combo would be Ember Black & Beechwood.

 

[George @ ViVA]

A metallic black paint will always show less swirl marks than a solid (non-metallic) paint.

I have a black sapphire metallic 2005 S60R and another car in solid white paint. The Black SR is easier to keep clean than the solid white car.

 

[jkvmax]

Paint is of good quality but as usual all black, black metallic, dark blue metallic is hadest to keep shining without swirls. Silver or grey is the way to go if want a easy going maintenace.
I suggest to kleen off the worst crap with a high pressure washer, then foam and soak again. After this a 2-bucket wash. No wax for protection use some of the more up to date stuff like Gtechnique or some other bodywrap
to keep your paint protected and with less swirls.

My next car will be black.

 

[pattyweb]

Our black sapphire XC90 was a nightmare. Swirl marks. That's just life with black anything I think. But.... there is hope but you might not believe me.

Opti-Coat. Sure, there are tons of things being advertised as sealers, etc that really don't work or last, but based on everything I've read, Opt-Coat does appear to be the real thing. I had our new Black Durango opti-coated (around $400) right after we got it. It's been 6 months since, not waxed her once since the opti-coat was applied, but the water still just sheets right off and more importantly, it is just so easy to clean. And it stays clean longer. Bugs, droppings, etc just come off so much easier. Since it's so much easier to wash and we wash less often, that much less chance of swirl marks, and so far, I don't have any swirl marks.

I would strongly consider you research opti-coat and find somebody local that can apply it. You could do it yourself to, the chemical itself is not that expensive, but given it's "permanent" nature, you want to make sure you do it right the first time. The big thing with applying it is making sure the car paint is as perfect as can be first. Our guy was out there with a clay bar and all making sure it was as clean as possible, otherwise you are just locking in stuff.

When clean, black is just awesome. We were nervous about another black car after our XC90, but now, we have no regrets. Just love it.

 

[JRL]

I disagree with what George said about white but ALL dark colors, metallic or solid will show every flaw, swirl, spot etc, and unless it's hand washed, professionally detailed, and kept in a garage I would go with a (much) lighter color.
WHITE is exceptionally EASY to keep clean and hides a multitude of issues

 

[shaneous]

I've had several White cars and found them frustratingly difficult to keep clean. The main reason: Road Tar.

 

[Wayne T5]

I have both a black sapphire VR and an ice white T5 and the white is easier to keep clean by far. Ember black is a nice color and metallic blacks IMHO do a better job of hiding imperfections.

My only issue with the white is that bee poop will stain the paint and it's very difficult to remove though it doesn't happen very often. The car is not garaged all that often and I could use a car cover but my fear is that scratches from putting a car cover on even a dusty car would do more harm than good.

My black VR is pretty much swirl city at this point (was that way when I bought it used) but the car is 7-8 years old at this point and still looks okay.

 

[craigv60]

My black sapphire V60 comes up great even after a British winter with all the road salt and grit we get.

It is also highly resistant to bird sh*t, we get a lot of incontinent Canada Geese overflying here during winter / spring months and it often gets left for several days or weeks. Always washes off and buffs up nicely, and looks GREAT in the sun.

 

[George @ ViVA]

I disagree with what George said about white but ALL dark colors, metallic or solid will show every flaw, swirl, spot etc, and unless it's hand washed, professionally detailed, and kept in a garage I would go with a (much) lighter color.
WHITE is exceptionally EASY to keep clean and hides a multitude of issues

The OP doesn't care about other colors besides black.

Volvo non-metallic black (code 019) is much harder to keep looking good compared to Volvo's black sapphire metallic or ember black metallic finishes. I consider looking good to mean not showing signs of dirt, scratches, swirls, paint imperfections, dents, etc.

My white car after a rainstorm looks much dirtier than my black car after a rain storm.