Jet Black Vs. Black Sapphire Metallic.

I went Jet Black - no regrets. As others have said it looks GREAT when clean but tough to keep clean.

any dark color is tough to keep clean then why not get the deepest and shiniest of them, ie black or sapphire black, for now i am delaying my purchase, i am also looking at is350. i thought it handled way better than 3 series. the loose power steering was the best handling aspect...... you guys can still vote and poll on here...

is350 Hmmm...........................

Originally Posted by champdude

i am also looking at is350

If you are even considering a Lexus.......jet black is your color......boring as hell, but very reliable

dude.. what the..

Originally Posted by Shark01

If you are even considering a Lexus.......jet black is your color......boring as hell, but very reliable

My understanding is that Bimmers have become pretty reliable these days
I would take a BMW any day over Lexus. I do have some love for Acura though.

I guess this thread is getting confused like Mr. championdude. Good luck man!

lol sorry i'm confused
i hope i can make up my mind eventually between these two colors and not go for something like alpine white which i am not even considering right now.

I love Alpine White

Originally Posted by eaglesfan83

I love Alpine White

beautiful color..i personally like dark colors though but i like AW too

Originally Posted by champdude

... i am also looking at is350. i thought it handled way better than 3 series. the loose power steering was the best handling aspect...... you guys can still vote and poll on here...

You are confused.

Originally Posted by champdude

beautiful color..i personally like dark colors though but i like AW too

I am just getting out of a black car into a white. I must say Black is a beauty but it so much more work than I expected. If I lived somewhere where there was no dust/pollen or rained alot than black would be awesome.

Here's a nice comparison between the two after detailed. I just LOVE the jet black's deep and wet reflections.

Black sapphire metallic with swirls and then finally detailed:
http://www.autopia.org/forum/click-b...-bmw-335i.html

Jet black with swirls and finally detailed:
http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-det...jet-black.html

Good comparison shots. No doubt that when the jet black is detailed its reflectivity is almost photographic.

I have a jet black 335i for about 37k miles when I sold it. At 37k miles, the hood and bumper is full of tiny chips about 0.5mm in diameter. Everywhere. I just bought a CPO 535i with black sapphire metallic at 28k miles. The hood and front bumper is absent of any smaller chips. The only chips that show are like 1mm in diameter or bigger, and there are less than 10 such chips in total. Perhaps the driving styles are different but this leads me to think that black sapphire metallic seems more durable than jet black.

I like sparkles, I guess --- makes the finish more interesting for me. Either one looks incredible when clean.

On the factory tour in Munich the guide said that the metallic is another step so yes the paint is thicker and more durable?

After owning an SB car now for almost a year I see a need long term for an orbital polisher so thinking of a Porter Cable.

My car has maybe 30% use on highways. I also have a clear bra.

First car I have used Zaino with and have to say it protects the clear and paint very well in even in winter conditions.

I think my cars speak for themselves....Jet Black all the way!

Jet Black is BLACK. It is deeper and shines better than Black Sapphire when clean. Black Sapphire looks like it has a haze to it when it is clean and is not nearly as deep. Black Sapphire also can look greyish in different lights and angles...Jet Black just looks BLACK. Sorry but saying Jet Black does not shine like BSM is a bit stupid...even on delivery I saw a BSM next to my JB 335 and my Jet Black was WAY deeper and shinier (both were cleaned up for delivery). Jet Black is also easier to repair if you do get a scratch or ding.

I have seen the two side by side many times and it is always the same. Both are very good looking though IMO. I really do like BSM as well as JB.

Originally Posted by kenomail

On the factory tour in Munich the guide said that the metallic is another step so yes the paint is thicker and more durable?

The flake is just in the paint, not an extra step necessarily. Both hold up about the same and both swirl the same from what I have seen. The metallic does hide light dirt a tiny bit better though (since the metallic looks like light dirt on its own at times )

Originally Posted by Shark01

Jet Black is like every other non-metallic shade...dull and boring

Then that must make BSM horrible looking and like matte? Jet Black is shinier and deeper than BSM when prepped properly...people have gotten way too into "metallic" IMO, it looks great on some colors but there are non-metallics that look amazing as well.

Originally Posted by sfbaron

I have a jet black 335i for about 37k miles when I sold it. At 37k miles, the hood and bumper is full of tiny chips about 0.5mm in diameter. Everywhere. I just bought a CPO 535i with black sapphire metallic at 28k miles. The hood and front bumper is absent of any smaller chips. The only chips that show are like 1mm in diameter or bigger, and there are less than 10 such chips in total. Perhaps the driving styles are different but this leads me to think that black sapphire metallic seems more durable than jet black.

I get my car detailed from a professional licensed dealer (probably the best in SD) and he's dealt with tons of bmws/benz/audis/porsches etc. you name it.. According to him, it is pretty much the same hardness. The hardness on your paint could differ though depending on the plant/factory where you car got painted... BTW, for all 2009s, the paint hardness has become better for both metallic/non-metallic BMW paint..

Those paint chips can be caused by multiple reasons...

Originally Posted by deznium

BTW, for all 2009s, the paint hardness has become better for non-metallic paints..

Just curious, where did you here that? Awesome if true

Originally Posted by kenomail

On the factory tour in Munich the guide said that the metallic is another step so yes the paint is thicker and more durable?

The extra step is for adding the metallic flakes, the clear coat durability is the same.. I mentioned that it also depends on which BMW plant your car was painted.

Originally Posted by Grentz

Just curious, where did you here that? Awesome if true

From my detailer.. he did some research and worked on a few 2009s and said that the paint is definitely more harder than before...

Cool, not complaining at all.

Originally Posted by Grentz

I think my cars speak for themselves....Jet Black all the way!

Jet Black is BLACK. It is deeper and shines better than Black Sapphire when clean. Black Sapphire looks like it has a haze to it when it is clean and is not nearly as deep. Black Sapphire also can look greyish in different lights and angles...Jet Black just looks BLACK. Sorry but saying Jet Black does not shine like BSM is a bit stupid...even on delivery I saw a BSM next to my JB 335 and my Jet Black was WAY deeper and shinier (both were cleaned up for delivery). Jet Black is also easier to repair if you do get a scratch or ding.

I have seen the two side by side many times and it is always the same. Both are very good looking though IMO. I really do like BSM as well as JB.



The flake is just in the paint, not an extra step necessarily. Both hold up about the same and both swirl the same from what I have seen. The metallic does hide light dirt a tiny bit better though (since the metallic looks like light dirt on its own at times )



Then that must make BSM horrible looking and like matte? Jet Black is shinier and deeper than BSM when prepped properly...people have gotten way too into "metallic" IMO, it looks great on some colors but there are non-metallics that look amazing as well.

BSM gets swirls pretty badly too and you can easily see them in the sun.. My friend has that color and I've compared it to mine.. It is not much different when it comes to maintenance..

To me (personally), I wanted to get a black car and not a greyish-black car with sparkles.. hence went for Jet black and very satisfied. The color is very deep and shines like a mirror.

So the Jet black vs. BSM battle continues...

I request BSM owners to post some reflection shots.