Difference between the A3 black paints?

[Agent_Trig]

What's the difference between the A3 black paints? Some are Phantom, some are Ebony etc.

I was just wondering what the difference is because on the photos, they are identical.

Also, could anyone tell me if the Lava Grey is just as prone to swirling/holograms as the black paint? I know all paint is prone to swirling, but black is the worst for it (visibly).

Thanks

 

[FranA3]

any dark colour is prone to swirling mate even red cars i should know mine has some lol , phantom is metalic and ebony too not 100% sure on ebony tho brilliant black is solid black(not metalic) , phantom is the best tho if im honest looks very nice in sunlight

 

[Vertigo1]

Have had both Ebony and Phantom black A3s and couldn't tell the difference between them.

As for swirlmarks, as fnmrst says, all dark colours are prone to it but it's worst on solid colours like Brilliant Black. Just take care when washing it - get a wool mitt, two buckets with grit guards and wash from the top down, rinsing regularly and only applying light pressure. Had my Phantom Black car for four years and there were mininal marks on it when it went back

 

[sub39h]

i've had both Ebony and Phantom too. Ebony was only available on 8P1s (i.e. dual grille cars)

the Ebony Black seemed to have faded on my bonnet at the end of 5 years and 70k miles of ownership, but on the other hand the Phantom Black seems less hard wearing and more prone to swirling.

a user on here called Paddy reports that apparently the paint finish of the newer water based paints (i.e. Phantom) isn't as durable as the older paints. how true this is i don't know, but he's a million years old and he's seen it all so i trust him. (no offence pad!)

personally i think black is an awesome colour - yeah it's hard to keep clean but when it's clean no other colour compares imho

 

[FranA3]

a user on here called Paddy reports that apparently the paint finish of the newer water based paints (i.e. Phantom) isn't as durable as the older paints. how true this is

this is true im a professional car valeter and i can also report that the finish on water based paints isnt as good and is more prone to swirling but as long as you look after it then its happy days as i prefer phantom to briliant black ,met black is better looking too

 

[Vertigo1]

Black is awesome when clean but I just couldn't bring myself to have a third so I went for the closest thing to it - Lava Grey

 

[FranA3]

lava grey is an awesome colour i was looking at a sportback today in work in lava grey it looked so nice

 

[R55 MRU]

i have ebony black.... it looks slightly grey in some lights but comes out nice when polished

 

[Agent_Trig]

lava grey is an awesome colour i was looking at a sportback today in work in lava grey it looked so nice

I'm very tempted with the Lava Grey as it does look almost black in some lights but I would imagine its not QUITE as bad for swirling.

I've owned a black car for the last 6 years and I've done everything to keep it swirl free, but I just dont think I can go through with the hassle on my next car (A3). They do look the best when clean, but that lasts all of 10 minutes haha

What's people's opinions on Lava Grey then? In terms of maintenance, paint quality etc

 

[Vertigo1]

Can't say much about durability or swirls yet as I've only had the car two months but the colour itself is awesome, especially when clean. The metallic effect is really pronounced, producing a deep sparkling effect and the colour is dark enough that it doesn't look like "just another grey car".

 

[S3RYE]

basically Phantom has a lot more flake in it...! and will look more wet when polished up...

i don thave any close ups of the flake but this is a pic after cleaning no wax applied yet...

 

[PilotAudi]

We have had x2 Ebony and now awaiting or 6th Phantom .. Phantom is a great colour and easy to maintain.

On the family fleet we have had on a 2006 A4,2007 A6, 2008 TT, 2008,A3 and a 2008 A5... Best Black ever and much better than Ebony.

 

[FranA3]

I'm very tempted with the Lava Grey as it does look almost black in some lights but I would imagine its not QUITE as bad for swirling.

I've owned a black car for the last 6 years and I've done everything to keep it swirl free, but I just dont think I can go through with the hassle on my next car (A3). They do look the best when clean, but that lasts all of 10 minutes haha

What's people's opinions on Lava Grey then? In terms of maintenance, paint quality etc

benskin07 has a lava grey car his looks awesome its a very nice colour close up in sunlight the met shines very well but then again so does phantom too its your choice really if i had my choice of colours for my next car it would have to be misano red sorry to be different but its my fav audi colour

 

[sub39h]

benskin07 has a lava grey car his looks awesome its a very nice colour close up in sunlight the met shines very well but then again so does phantom too its your choice really if i had my choice of colours for my next car it would have to be misano red sorry to be different but its my fav audi colour

Misano or Monza silver for me. i love Phantom but this car is black, my last car was black, my sister's car is black and both my parents' cars are black lol

 

[FranA3]

this car is black, my last car was black, my sister's car is black and both my parents' cars are black lol

thats alot of black cars lol

 

[sub39h]

lol my dad's last car was black as well. tbh i do think that the vast majority of cars look best in black

 

[FranA3]

yeah they do but in my opinion there is too many black cars on the roads and all i clean in work are black cars i get a bit sick of them after a while lol its nice to have a diffrent colour every now and again lol

 

[sub39h]

haha hence why if i stick with audi i'll be going with Monza or Misano

but if i have my way it'll be a Tornado Red Mk6 GTI

 

[FranA3]

oooo they do look nice in tornado red dont they i saw one today with black rims mmm i want one

 

[audicruiser]

lava grey is an awesome colour i was looking at a sportback today in work in lava grey it looked so nice

Lava Grey is a really nice colour. I do like black but lava is a good compromise and a bit more forgiving...