I went with "regular" black and I love it, but it's a pain to keep clean and virtually impossible to hide light scratches. I can't post photos, but here's a link from my detailer. He got the surface nearly perfect and applied Wolf Hard Body to seal and protect -- it's the cover photo:

https://www.facebook.com/Peachstate.Detail.LLC

Again, not spam but there are pics of the swirls that were in the black paint and what he was able to do with the surface. Regular black will be a labor of love.

 

Do you have this done in TO? Wha is the cost to have it opticoated?

 

I agree, I personally do not care for the Basalt Black color changes in different lighting situations. I love my regular Black.

 

Yes, place out in Mississauga called GTA in Detail. Ask for Kevin, does a great job. Will get your paint perfect before the application. I paid around $550 for my 4 door M3. That includes the Opit Coat, and getting the paint service perfect. Opti Coat should last 4-5 years.

 

I think they both look great. I would personally choose the Basalt because my experience has been that metallic blacks are easier to maintain than regular blacks. Neither are easy, but the metallic ones do not show paint blemishes as bad as regulars black.

 

It's really personal preference, I prefer bassalt black (it hides the swirl marks better) but my wife like the regular black, both look awesome when they are clean. Here's a pic of my previous 11TT in bassalt black.

 

I've had both basalt and flat black. Both are a PIA to keep clean (especially in the Northeast). For my money, i'd save it and go with flat back. The dealer has a flat black 991 in the showroom, zero miles and it was already noticeably swirled from just light dusting.

This time around i went with Agate and I dont stress anymore about cleanliness. That said, if I had a last day on earth to drive a 911, it would be black. Luckily, as far as I know that day isn't on the calendar yet

 

You don't really mean flat black, do you?

 

My bad. By flat black I mean standard black.

 

Black is certainly a challenge for a daily driver who doesn't have time to pamper the car.

That being said, if the car will never see rain and is cleaned in the correct fashion, black won't break your back.

One should also become acquainted with Menzerna:
http://www.menzernausa.com/

After an initial treatment with Menzerna Intensive Polish, and then an application of a finishing polish such as Wolfgang or Rejex, you'll be ready to maintain the finish with your normal two-bucket car wash. (you'll be able to dry the car with a soft stream of water and finish off the wheels and nooks & crannies with an electric leaf blower.

Average time from start to finish; less than an hour.

I love doing the car myself, but I'm sure one could always find a reliable detailer who knows the score.

 

I like regular black more, Basalt confuses me!
But of course, regular black comes with a lot of pain, so if you don't feel awkward about Basalt black it'd be a better choice.

 

I have basalt, and it's spectacular. Itappears to hide the dirt better than any other black I have had.