Help Please.. Metallic Paint or Non Metallic Paint

[d3eep]

Hi Everyone

I need help please. I'm due to order my company car but can't deicide on paint for the GTi. I want the car in black but will have to pay £365 from my pocket for metallic paint.

Is it worth me saving the money and opting for non metallic black as I will never own the car and resale value won't matter or spend the money for metallic paint for the looks??

Ta

[Tarmac_Terrorist]

A very personal thing I guess, but I much prefer solid black paint as it has a much wetter look to it. I've owned both metalic blacks and solid blacks before and to me the metallic blacks can look a bit too sparkly close up.

[winrya]

I think both look fantastic, in the sun the diamond pearl looks amazing. Solid black looks lovely and dark but shows up swirls and scratches much worse than the pearl.

[RedRobin]

Firstly, A Warm Welcome to Tyresmoke, d3eep .

As T_T says, it's a very personal decision which you prefer. I prefer the metallic black and think it looks especially good with the cloth seat pattern. But, whether you own the car or not, you're the one who is going to be living with it.

[johnnysenna]

I think metallic black looks better, somehow classier and more expensive (subjective thing obviously). Also, you have to keep solid black 100% clean AND swirl free, otherwise it doesn't look as good. My metallic black car can get slightly dirty and still look OK. A solid black car can't do that.

[Simonl]

[ QUOTE ]

I think metallic black looks better, somehow classier and more expensive (subjective thing obviously). Also, you have to keep solid black 100% clean AND swirl free, otherwise it doesn't look as good. My metallic black car can get slightly dirty and still look OK. A solid black car can't do that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Rubbish, my GTi is solid black and my old 3 series coupe was solid black. I've also owned many Metallic black cars. A dirty black car is a dirty black car. I can almost guarantee that 99% of people wouldn't even be able to tell unless they are right up close. Even my wife didn't know and she's seen the damn thing every day for nearly 2 yrs.

Whatever colour you have you need to look after it, keep it clean and keep it polished. Anyway a flat black car will actually give you a much deeper shine than a met black one (when polished).

[pany]

iam in the reverse position to you, lol. I wanted flat, but have to have metallic.

Have you looked at the flat red?

It really works imo with the GTi, highlighting the red grill edge and calipers.

[RedRobin]

[ QUOTE ]

Have you looked at the flat red?

[/ QUOTE ]

....The Mk5 GTI only comes in "flat" red - Tornado Red. The new Mitsu X will be available in a nice metallic red.

[d3eep]

Thanks for the help everyone. I think I'm going to go for the the solid black then, but will make a trip to a dealer and see what non metallic paints look like close up. I'm counting the pennies at the moment as I've just bought a house and the mrs is pregnant.

[d3eep]

[ QUOTE ]

iam in the reverse position to you, lol. I wanted flat, but have to have metallic.

Have you looked at the flat red?

It really works imo with the GTi, highlighting the red grill edge and calipers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not thought about the red actually because I've always wanted a black car. Will look at some pics.

[RedRobin]

Whatever colour you decide, try and see an actual car in the colour first - The Tornado Red in particular isn't done justice in photos. It's a very deep red and anything red never photographs very well.

[winrya]

Here's some pics of my diamond black (taken with a mobile phone, so not perfect)

Nice deep black- Like the solid

And the lovely flake that comes out in the sun.

[d3eep]

Thanks ryan for those pics. Never really noticed before how metallic paint sparkles in the sun.

[winrya]

[ QUOTE ]

Thanks ryan for those pics. Never really noticed before how metallic paint sparkles in the sun.

[/ QUOTE ]

Here is a better flake shot

[Snoopy]

[ QUOTE ]

Whatever colour you decide, try and see an actual car in the colour first - The Tornado Red in particular isn't done justice in photos. It's a very deep red and anything red never photographs very well.

[/ QUOTE ]

That true of nearly all the colours imo especially all the blues.

[ekin_88]

[ QUOTE ]

Here's some pics of my diamond black (taken with a mobile phone, so not perfect)

Nice deep black- Like the solid

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Pics, really good from the phone, and we get to see the face off the owner lol

[pany]

thats so cruel. Got to wait until the end of July for my diamond black to turn up

[fresco1]

Although I appreciate any black car will look superb cleaned up, it's unfortunately true that black isn't actually a colour it's a hobby!

Our current black car will be our last black car - it's a nightmare to keep clean (and I do try), every mark shows up, swirls are a pain to keep at bay (despite Megs 2 buckets), constant waxing to enhance the shine .... and after all that in an hour in May it's virtually yellow with pollen!! Argh!

Metallic silver hides a multitude, white is even better!

Tornado Red is to be recommended (as mine is red).

[Snoopy]

We use to have an Audi thats very similar in black to the golf metallic black after quite a few years the stone chips ment we had to get it repainted as it looked a mess. The galv would turn any chip mark white and then you had to spend ages trying to touch it up and it never looked right.

I had a solid black Leon cupra R never again it was such a pain to keep clean and on that car the paint was way way too soft.

Im off blacks for good, also the amount of people that pull out on you if your in a black car as they don't see you is scary.

[gtc197]

Tough decision! my previous gti was met black and it looked

fab....when clean! One of my mates has a 2.0tdi in solid

black, it gives off a mirror like gleam, way 2 shiny

i reckon and it shows up minor marks, scratches etc more

than met black but really you need 2 go 2 a dealership and

compare the colours side by side and pick whatever you

like best...(i bet u go metallic, its worth it!).

[johnnysenna]

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

I think metallic black looks better, somehow classier and more expensive (subjective thing obviously). Also, you have to keep solid black 100% clean AND swirl free, otherwise it doesn't look as good. My metallic black car can get slightly dirty and still look OK. A solid black car can't do that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Rubbish, my GTi is solid black and my old 3 series coupe was solid black. I've also owned many Metallic black cars. A dirty black car is a dirty black car. I can almost guarantee that 99% of people wouldn't even be able to tell unless they are right up close. Even my wife didn't know and she's seen the damn thing every day for nearly 2 yrs.

Whatever colour you have you need to look after it, keep it clean and keep it polished. Anyway a flat black car will actually give you a much deeper shine than a met black one (when polished).

[/ QUOTE ]

Rubbish yourself. My Porsche 993 RS is flat black and it definitely looks dirty more quickly than my metallic black GTI does given similar driving conditions. So there.

[ekin_88]

[ QUOTE ]

Although I appreciate any black car will look superb cleaned up, it's unfortunately true that black isn't actually a colour it's a hobby!

Our current black car will be our last black car - it's a nightmare to keep clean (and I do try), every mark shows up, swirls are a pain to keep at bay (despite Megs 2 buckets), constant waxing to enhance the shine .... and after all that in an hour in May it's virtually yellow with pollen!! Argh!

Metallic silver hides a multitude, white is even better!

Tornado Red is to be recommended (as mine is red).

[/ QUOTE ]

I totally agree, black is really nice when cleaned and is a pig to keep cleaned,

I once owned a MKIV golf in pearl black, brill when kept cleaned, sorry if you do trees... here goes, I once lived in a house that had a very large cherry tree above my drive way and in the summer the tree would weep Sap, birds also sat on the branches eating the black cherrys and then pooping on the car, I ended up washing my car 3 times a week to keep it clean, in the end i gave up and chopped the cherry tree back , because i loved my golf too much...... the tree grew back and i sold my golf, now drive a silver car, far easier to keep clean and dows not show up dirt too much