airdoug

Hello All,
I am new to the forum. I drive a silver 03 E55 and am looking into a new E63. I have had 3 silver cars in a row and need a change. Whenever I see a black amg car I always think they look real nice and clean. I don't know the difference between black and obsidian except for the little shiny metal particles with the obsidian. A dealer told me the obsidian tends to be harder to keep that "super clean look." Is one or the other easier to keep looking clean or easier to maintain?

Thanks.

Scott in H-town

Black is freakin' black. It's going to suck to keep clean regardless.

newton22

I have obsidian black and its so god damn hard to keep clean. After a long week, the car is usually a mixture of brown and white watermarks.

Regardless, I would still buy a black car in the future. No other color, in my opinion, looks as sinister as black on black. Metallic grey/gunmetal gets close.

chiromikey

anyone know the paint codes for both?

MB_Forever

The code for Obsidian Black is 197
I don't know about black ???

eddietr

Having owned a couple of pure black cars and two "almost black" cars (cosmos black and now obsidian black), I think the almost black cars are a bit easier to maintain. At least with BMW, we bought a jet black car within two months of a cosmos black car and kept both for 4-5 years and the cosmos car looked better (harder to see fine scratches, swirls) and was easier to own (fewer applications of swirl remover, you can get away with more commercial hand washes, etc.)

(Cosmos is a metallic black with grey/silver in it like obsidian. Jet black is pure black)

Which is why with a car with as many sq. ft. of paint as the 221, I never really considered the pure black. Although, freshly detailed, the pure black does look better (for that one day) than an obsidian car in my opinion.

197 is the paint code for obsidian. Not sure about black.

JMoney

Black paint code is - 040.

MB_Forever

I think Obsidian Black looks MUCH better than standard black. Standard black looks a little dull and sometimes when dirty, it looks too brownish while Obsidian Black has this exotic shine and gives nice reflection under light...

They both look nice when they have just been detailed, but overall Obsidian Black is better overall.

pterion

I love my jet black car right after I wash and wax it, but swirl marks are a ***** and it just won't stay clean.
I love black but this is going to be my last black car...

PT

sack5000

Black is beautiful. It sounds like most people just need the courage to keep one clean....and like most things in life it also takes some good old fashioned disipline. All that being said, I do wish I had waited for the white E63 I dreamed about....

BenzoBoi

+2

Dogshine

i had the cosmos black bmw e39. wasn't a fan, even when freshly polished, didn't shine like jet black. that being said, obsidian is blacker than cosmos.

Dogshine

i have silver now, kids and no time to polish every other weekend.

zoink

I have both

Side by side.... and both are clean, obsidian black looks like a faded black (more greyish). I personally love my pure black more than obsidian. To each his own...

sack5000

TEHO to each his own.

2K6E55

+3. Black is freaking hard to keep clean.

xlr8tin

I agree...I have a black benz. Hard to keep clean even for 5 minutes. It looks great when clean though.

I like Tectite Gray. I think it looks great as well. But you may have to ask how it is took keep clean.

airdoug

Thanks for all your replies everyone. I looked at both black and obsidian today next to each other. The black was slightly dirty on the lot and actually looked like a clean obsidian. Then I turned around and saw a designo graphite on a E350 and I really liked that one. The dealer said the designo on the amg's is a no cost paint option. Didn't know that. Hard to find though on a E63. Now I am still undecided...

MB_Forever

Any designo paint will always look MUCH BETTER than standard paint. However, designo paint costs an additional $5,550 !!! Make sure the salesman UNDERSTANDS what you mean by designo. Maybe he/she thinks it is some kind of paint coating???

You can verify this by going to www.mbusa.com

By the way, Obsidian Black also costs more than normal black by about $700 because it is a Metalic paint, but that extra $700 applies only to some of the models: C-Class, SLK, CLK, R-Class, part of the E-Class (mainly the E350), and so on...
So on models like, C280, C350, SLK350, SLK55, CLK350, CLK63, E350, etc... you'll have to pay extra to get any metallic paint. But on the E550 and E63, metalic paint is standard (no additional charge).

machz990

Black = higher resale value. The most sought after color when trying to find one of these used is black.

jangy

Obsidian "Black" > "Just" Black

zoink

Designo is a high-priced option.... don't ask me why... but the color is simply beautiful.... IMO, way better than regular metallic. I have designo espresso (black mocha exterior).... under the sun, I would say it's much better than regular black or obsidian black hands down.

Designo graphite is also beautiful.... it's greyish black... vs. black mocha is brownish black.

If designo color were a no-cost option, everyone would've gotten designo color...

For your case, ask the salesman to have it in writing.... order a designo one and ask for discount when you see the $$$ you need to add.