Munchpup

Anyone running a black car without any protection, either Xpel Ultimate, 3M, or otherwise?

Curious how your paint is holding up??

zia

Unfortunately I am. Surprisingly the paint is able to withstand potential scratches better than expected. I actually have more swirls and super fine scratches from washing my car than anything else.
You are inquiring because.............

Dustin Fennell

I have the Xpel Ultimate on the entire front bumper, 1/4 of the front fenders and hood, headlights, door handle cups, front door edge, mirrors (matt finish to better match the matt silver paint on the mirrors) and top of rear bumper (loading/unloading protection). Well worth it (IMHO).

laakness

I am in the same boat. No real problems but I only have 11k miles on it right now.

Munchpup

I'm about to lease a new one, while I'd love to have the protection, not sure I want to spend the $$ on a leased vehicle that will not be used as a daily driver.

jaybar

Phantom Pearl 2012 S4 in the Northeast exposed to winters. Few scratches on the front hood, but nothing noticeable on the bumpers. Most of my scratches show up on the doors.

Wax and polish every 3-4 months so paint is holding up great, looks brand new. Car is also garaged during the day for work.

nathanjbrown

$5,000 miles on my Brilliant Black Q5 TDI. A few hairline scratches are visible under certain lighting conditions (some were there on the day of purchase and another emerged when I brushed up against it with my briefcase). I had planned on Xpel Ultimate, but I decided I'd need to cover the entire car to "feel safe," so I opted for nothing at all. I'll just have it detailed with paint correction every 6 to 12 months.

atwsrgt3

I had my Brilliant Black paint corrected and Cquartz Finest applied a week after purchase. I was going to have film applied for protection but decided to wait and see how difficult it would be to maintain the black. So far it's holding up quite nicely. Taking my time and following the proper washing techniques is paying off, no swirls. Front still looks new also but I don't do much highway driving. Now I'm afraid to have the film applied, fearing it will get swirls or light scratches when it is applied. Nathanjbrown depending on how long you keep the vehicle I'd be careful about doing paint correction every 6 - 12 months. Every time it's done clear is removed. Detailer should be using a paint meter to measure the paint thickness before doing any correction work.

big residual

I did Xpel on front half and Gtechniq C1 + Exo on the rest. We have a dusty garage in our building and our parking spot is under some weird air blowing device. Drove it for 3 weeks. Left it at the airport. Went to the self car wash on Sunday. It was not a clean Estoril Blue SQ5. Power sprayed for 2 mins, soap sprayed (no brush) for 2 mins, water again for 2 mins. Totally clean, dried it off and we're done. Looked amazing, took 10 minutes and $5.

Better was the wheels. Did the Gtechniq Wheel Armor. Good amount of brake dust on the wheeks. Blew right off with just power sprayed water. Done.

USAVAGEU

I believe modern clear coat finishes will do at least OK as long as you keep it sealed with something. If you choose wax, you'll need to do it 3 - 4 times a year. If you use a poly sealer like Black Diamond or Opti Seal, you're goid for six months. If you use Opti Coat or something similar, you're good for a couple of years.
Black paint isn't as vulnerable as Red. Red paint often contains iron oxide which "oxidizes" easier and as a result, fades. It also absorbs UV light faster.