[Boostedphil698]

Hey everyone, I have the midnight blue metallic paint option and it looks great but it is an absolute pain in the ass to maintain. I wash every 2 weeks and wax every 6 months and it still needs massive attention. I'm thinking of getting the paint corrected and ceramic coated. Anyone else have experience with dark metallic paints?

[John in VA]

Originally Posted by 435i_Phil

Anyone else have experience with dark metallic paints?

As you stated, dark colors are a bear to keep clean & shiny, especially with pollen this time of year. Correction & ceramic coating are good choices - then touch it as little as possible!

[Boostedphil698]

Originally Posted by John in VA

As you stated, dark colors are a bear to keep clean & shiny, especially with pollen this time of year. Correction & ceramic coating are good choices - then touch it as little as possible!

The scratches drive me nuts.

[Billfitz]

I have Midnight Blue, it's no worse than most colors and a lot better than black. IME the best color in terms of requiring minimal upkeep is beige, but it's also boring.

[Desertnate]

Going on my second black metallic car and my wife's car is a dark maroon metallic.

I actually don't mind them so much. To keep a car looking it's best for a long time, regardless of color, requires frequent washing and a good layer of protection. I wash my cars around every two weeks as well, even my daughter's silver Honda.

Dark colors do require a bit of extra care to ensure you don't add any swirls to the process, but it is manageable. At least on a metallic paint, any very light swirls are really hard to see due to the metallic flake. On a solid, dark colored paint they would be really noticeable.

I correct and ceramic all of my own cars myself. It fun to do and makes the cars easier to maintain in the long run. I'd much rather polish and coat my cars every two years vs adding a sealant every six months.

[Boostedphil698]

Originally Posted by Desertnate

Going on my second black metallic car and my wife's car is a dark maroon metallic.

I actually don't mind them so much. To keep a car looking it's best for a long time, regardless of color, requires frequent washing and a good layer of protection. I wash my cars around every two weeks as well, even my daughter's silver Honda.

Dark colors do require a bit of extra care to ensure you don't add any swirls to the process, but it is manageable. At least on a metallic paint, any very light swirls are really hard to see due to the metallic flake. On a solid, dark colored paint they would be really noticeable.

I correct and ceramic all of my own cars myself. It fun to do and makes the cars easier to maintain in the long run. I'd much rather polish and coat my cars every two years vs adding a sealant every six months.

My car definitely needs a correction. I waxed it but I'd prefer a ceramic coat so I didn't have to wax again.

[anielsen71]

I have a citrin schwartz, Black with Brown flakes in it.
Wash aprox once a week in a machine.
Got it coated last year and yes there are swirls but only when you look for them.
Will prob. Get it coated again later this year.
What bothers me the most is all the stone chips on the bonnet😡.
Other than that, it is fairly easy to keep clean and shiny

[Boostedphil698]

Originally Posted by anielsen71

I have a citrin schwartz, Black with Brown flakes in it.
Wash aprox once a week in a machine.
Got it coated last year and yes there are swirls but only when you look for them.
Will prob. Get it coated again later this year.
What bothers me the most is all the stone chips on the bonnet.
Other than that, it is fairly easy to keep clean and shiny

Bro the stone chips are nuts. My front bumper is peppered.

[John in VA]

Originally Posted by 435i_Phil

Bro the stone chips are nuts. My front bumper is peppered.

It's too late for you now, but consider paint protection film if you repaint the front cover.

[Boostedphil698]

Originally Posted by John in VA

It's too late for you now, but consider paint protection film if you repaint the front cover.

I'll be switching to an M Sport body kit soon.

[bellguy]

I had a white 340 I until 4 months ago and now a Black Sapphire 440i, both are/ were a pain to keep clean but my new black metallic paint once polished and coated looks totally amazing, yes it's a constant battle but now I enjoy the process because in the sun when clean for ME, nothing can touch it lol
Did a full paint correction with DA buffer using Sonax cut and finish then 2 coats of Zymol carnauba wax, I can not believe how much more the metallic flakes POP in the sun plus because the surface is almost flawless it looks darker but more transparent if that makes sense, due to a perfectly smooth clear coat.
Will it be a regular thing, guess it will but owning and loving your car means it HAS to be done lol
I am lucky I suppose as I have a 4 post ramp I can detail my car on, makes it so easy as no bending down wrecking my old back.

[Boostedphil698]

Originally Posted by bellguy

I had a white 340 I until 4 months ago and now a Black Sapphire 440i, both are/ were a pain to keep clean but my new black metallic paint once polished and coated looks totally amazing, yes it's a constant battle but now I enjoy the process because in the sun when clean for ME, nothing can touch it lol
Did a full paint correction with DA buffer using Sonax cut and finish then 2 coats of Zymol carnauba wax, I can not believe how much more the metallic flakes POP in the sun plus because the surface is almost flawless it looks darker but more transparent if that makes sense, due to a perfectly smooth clear coat.
Will it be a regular thing, guess it will but owning and loving your car means it HAS to be done lol
I am lucky I suppose as I have a 4 post ramp I can detail my car on, makes it so easy as no bending down wrecking my old back.

Yeah I'll pay my detailer to do the correction and coating. I don't have the patience for it

[bellguy]

Originally Posted by 435i_Phil

Yeah I'll pay my detailer to do the correction and coating. I don't have the patience for it

Look forward to seeing a few pics when he's done it

[Boostedphil698]

Originally Posted by bellguy

Look forward to seeing a few pics when he's done it

It won't be for a bit, but I'll definitely be posting pictures.

[KingsXman]

Originally Posted by John in VA

As you stated, dark colors are a bear to keep clean & shiny, especially with pollen this time of year. Correction & ceramic coating are good choices - then touch it as little as possible!

I have Imperial Blue Metallic. For me I'll usually go through the touch free car wash and get the superior wash package. When I get home I'll hit it with Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Detailer. I agree with you, after I'm done cleaning don't touch it much and it's really not that much work. Obviously I'm not a pro detailer and there are many good brands of ceramic detailers to choose from.

I'll agree with someone else's comment to. It's certainly not as bad as black. Black is absolutely beautiful when it's cleaned properly, but when it's dirty it shows everything. For people obsessed with our cars any little swirl used to drive me crazy when I had a black GLI. The silver 2013 GLI I had was great in that it didn't show dirt as easy.

[Mixitt]

Originally Posted by 435i_Phil

Yeah I'll pay my detailer to do the correction and coating. I don't have the patience for it

Pay someone to prep, that's the hardest part. They washed, applied an iron killing compound, clayed the car. I then coated it with CQuartz UK 3.0. Easy peasy and probably the best, toughest nano ceramic coating on the market. YouTube videos comparing products verify that fact. Whole thing coast around $140. Have the RELOAD stuff, don't need it yet and it's been a few years.

Before wiping on the CQuartz wife wiped down the spot I was gonna work on with watered down Isopropyl. Trust me, it was BARE.

[djacinto]

Man if this isn't the thread for me. Like someone above, I have an imperial blue as well. Op I when i was looking for cars, it was hard to tell the difference between midnight and imperial in pictures and it made licking the right one harder than it should have been 😝

Anyways, I saw you were going to do an m sport conversion and I'd like to as well, but since the m sport option wasn't available in our colors, I wanted to ask what you're doing for paint?

[Boostedphil698]

Originally Posted by djacinto

Man if this isn't the thread for me. Like someone above, I have an imperial blue as well. Op I when i was looking for cars, it was hard to tell the difference between midnight and imperial in pictures and it made licking the right one harder than it should have been 😝

Anyways, I saw you were going to do an m sport conversion and I'd like to as well, but since the m sport option wasn't available in our colors, I wanted to ask what you're doing for paint?

I'm going to buy the bumpers and side skirts through BMW and have them painted at the dealer. Unfortunately, having the paint color I do, I think it's best BMW paints them. I can't imagine why BMW would say no just because of the color.

[Desertnate]

Originally Posted by 435i_Phil

I'm going to buy the bumpers and side skirts through BMW and have them painted at the dealer. Unfortunately, having the paint color I do, I think it's best BMW paints them. I can't imagine why BMW would say no just because of the color.

The dealership has it's own body shop? Most I've seen simply outsource it to a body shop in the local area.

[Billfitz]

Dealerships that don't have their own body shops are missing the boat. Repairs, both mechanical and bodywork, are the most profitable areas of any dealership. The least profitable is new car sales.

[Boostedphil698]

Originally Posted by Desertnate

The dealership has it's own body shop? Most I've seen simply outsource it to a body shop in the local area.

My dealer does at least.

[340iGUY]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Dealerships that don't have their own body shops are missing the boat. Repairs, both mechanical and bodywork, are the most profitable areas of any dealership. The least profitable is new car sales.

Finance, trade-ins, and used sales is the most profitable parts.