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I’m thinking of ordering a TTS in black, probably gloss black. It will be a 4 seaon daily driver in New England (except deep snow, etc).
My thinking is: what if I do a full XPEL wrap of the the car and ceramic coat it. Would it be reasonable to live with (as a highly OCD person)?
I haven’t had a black car since I was 16. Keeping it clean doesn’t really bother me (would probably give it a quick wash with my son most weekends, run thought a touch less wash in winter, and wax every month or two) but avoiding swirl marks and marred paint is a concern. Heat is also a bit of a concern driving it summer. Car will be garaged and I’ll have vented seats, but I still remember feeling like I was roasting in my black car in FL summer despite AC being on “Max”.
My other options are GT Silver (the best silver, but still a bit boring), Gentian Blue (a bit too purple in some light), or Guards Red (not sure I want to be “the guy” in a red Turbo though my son is begging me to go with red). I still remember getting picked up by an uncle in a black 993 Turbo as a teen and thinking “THIS is the car I will own someday”.
Last edited by wintershade; 08-31-2021 at 08:46 AM.
i think black porsches look great, but maintaining them might be a bit more involved than other cars. if you don't mind it getting dirty - most people's real issue - then i don't see a real problem. in new england, you shouldn't have a big issue with summer heat. i'm in TX and if i can manage, so you should be fine. i also think the interior color makes more of a difference for heat than the exterior color. my GT3 has a black interior and i don't think the yellow exterior is a big help in the summer. the vented seats are going to be your best friend! had them in my pan turbo and loved them in the summer here.
when clean, a black porsche looks amazing. i never seek black cars, but i have had many more black cars than any other color over the years.
I have had many black 911s (and other black cars) - I live in Ohio. I like black on the porsche 911 so much, I just traded my 992 C4S in Carrara White Metallic, for my allocation for the 2022 Targa 4s in Jet Black Metallic. The JBM does hide dirt and swirls a little better than the flat black (even though the flat black is a bet wetter black looking.) One of my previous 911s was Basalt Black Metallic, really like it - JBM is similar to it. I have also had a few normal black ones, outside of needing to be a little more diligent on washes - to make it look its best, I do like the look of a black 911!
I don't have a black Porsche, however I do currently have a black Mustang (lots more paint on it) and it does require a wee bit more attention than say silver, gray, or white. That being said, it does show swirl marks and whatnot much more than a lighter color. Swirl marks only show up on the car by marring the paint by touching it with something (wash, dry, bump, car cover, etc.). If you PPF the full car, this will cover up the paint and you won't have to worry as much as if it were "bare" paint.
As far as heat retention, I used to live in AZ and now in FL and notice zero difference in the interior heat when I get in to the car in white cars versus black. I mean gee, do you notice the difference at 140 degree interior temp versus 130? Probably not, but maybe you do. Bright side, when it snows, your car will be 'warmer' than the white cars, using reverse logic. (sarcasm)
I really like having a black car. Granted it is not a daily driver, but if you protect it with PPF, have the paint corrected before applying PPF, and put ceramic or wax or your choice of sealant/protectant then you should be just fine. Besides, being OCD is great for owning a black car, because you get to spend more time with it!
It's not bad at all . I was considering scratching it from the list because already have two black cars , The important thing is to immediately have it properly ceramic coated. That prevents swirl even if you dont use protection film. The regular black looks better but is a soft paint and harder to maintain unless ceramic treated . The JBM is easy as pie . Wife's Macan is JBM and it lives outside . It can go a month without our washing it and all it takes is one proper wash . We have the detailer spend a day with it once every two months to maintain the ceramic polish longer term .
It does get hot though inside. I live in Miami and summers can be tough with a black car . Thats why I felt a light color at least for one car was needed but after looking at the plastic over the exhaust and the various black plastic parts I feel that black wipes it away . It looks great on a 992.
I have had 4 black cars, all daily drivers. I have told my wife many times to “never let me get a black car again”. They look awesome, but only for “5 minutes” after cleaning. Dust, pollen, etc show very well, as do swirl marks. I do my own polishing and such, but it is just too much for me. A friend has 2 black cars that are rarely used and he says he will not go black again either.
Black cars look fantastic, but for many, the extra time needed for upkeep of the finish/looks just are not worth it.
I've had one black car in my life a '17 C4S. Black is beautiful but too much effort to keep it pristine looking IMO. I won't have another black car - I'm just too OCD for it. If it were a garage queen my answer might be different but I drive my cars.
if you're ceramic coating, then you don't want to be using wax over it.
I think the 992 looks killer in black, but only when its clean of course, which will require work. Ceramic over Xpel is the right way for black as it will make the car super easy to "lazy" clean without worrying about being too rough or scratching or swirling while cleaning; Xpel is bulletproof in that regards.
But among your other color choices, I'd say go with Gentian Blue. It's not really that purple but a darker color in most lighting other than direct sunny days (I've heard maintenance on it can be almost as tough as black).
Last edited by reddsektor; 08-31-2021 at 10:32 AM.
I love my Gentian Blue C2S. I had a 997 in Midnight Blue and that is still available through November but I think Gentian has a bit more life and don't feel the purplish thing. It is great because it looks great and deep and dark in cloudy conditions and at night and pops in the sunlight too. I would say I would consider Guards Red even though previously I would never have, just because Porsches do look fantastic in that classic color, and really you should not have any fear / anxiety / whatever over being in a red sports car. Black and Silver are boring and every SUV, sedan and crossover on the road are in those types of colors. Don't get a TTS and waste the opportunity to own it in a color you wouldn't have in some ordinary vehicle. Go Blue or Red!
I’m thinking of ordering a TTS in black, probably gloss black. It will be a 4 seaon daily driver in New England (except deep snow, etc).
My thinking is: what if I do a full XPEL wrap of the the car and ceramic coat it. Would it be reasonable to live with (as a highly OCD person)?
I haven’t had a black car since I was 16. Keeping it clean doesn’t really bother me (would probably give it a quick wash with my son most weekends, run thought a touch less wash in winter, and wax every month or two) but avoiding swirl marks and marred paint is a concern. Heat is also a bit of a concern driving it summer. Car will be garaged and I’ll have vented seats, but I still remember feeling like I was roasting in my black car in FL summer despite AC being on “Max”.
My other options are GT Silver (the best silver, but still a bit boring), Gentian Blue (a bit too purple in some light), or Guards Red (not sure I want to be “the guy” in a red Turbo though my son is begging me to go with red). I still remember getting picked up by an uncle in a black 993 Turbo as a teen and thinking “THIS is the car I will own someday”.
Your greatest chance of OCD-ish satisfaction if black is in your future is indeed Paint Protection Film like XPEL + a ceramic coating on top. The self-healing properties of the XPEL will provide the resolution to minor scratching and marring while the ceramic on top will provide the ease of cleaning, environmental resistance and some measure of self-cleaning behavior which you seek. Ceramic coating alone has a very, very limited ability to protect from all but the lightest swirling/marring but the self healing of the film will still work nicely, even when topped by a ceramic.
That said, year-round use in a Northern Climate w/ a black car will still be a challenge as far as keeping black paint spotlessly clean. The salt residue and such in the winter will leave your paint with a light dusting regardless of PPF or ceramics, it's just the life of an owner of a black car and while you can do things to mitigate the aesthetic toll it takes on one's OCD-ish desire for pure, deep, velvety, black paint, well...black is still black. As a fellow devotee of black paint, we do the best we can, realizing there is no universal solution for 100% clean black paint at all times. "This is the life we have chosen..." as it were.
If the appearance of just dust on the vehicle bothers you I would avoid black. Literally - wash a black vehicle, drive it once (even short drive), and when you return the paint will show dust. The nicer your black paint is the more the dust will show. It really does depend how picky / OCD you are. Many people say they are but in reality they are amateurs at the OCD game. I recently retired - I was a pharmacist in a children's hospital and during the majority of my career I worked with pediatric cancer patients. Recommended therapies, processed chemotherapy orders, supervised preparation of chemotherapy products administered to pediatric patients, etc. I'm OCD - and you want your pharmacist to be that way. I've owned multiple black vehicles in the past - and will never own one again. Too much time spent looking at / worrying about a dusty/dirty black vehicle. My last two vehicles (718 Cayman and 2021 992) were GT Silver. I love silver - NO color hides minor dirt / dust better.
I've had several black cars and driven them through hot/muggy summers in the DC area. No issue - especially with vented seats. I think the interior color matters more than the exterior for heat reflection/retention, but with vented seats, black is fine.
08-31-2021, 08:44 AM
How bad is black, really?
) and it does require a wee bit more attention than say silver, gray, or white. That being said, it does show swirl marks and whatnot much more than a lighter color. Swirl marks only show up on the car by marring the paint by touching it with something (wash, dry, bump, car cover, etc.). If you PPF the full car, this will cover up the paint and you won't have to worry as much as if it were "bare" paint. 
