Phantom black & Midnight black
- Thread starter DANFR180
- Start date
Yeah that's what I said mate? "I'm fairly sure that Phantom Black is metallic while Midnight Black is not"
Just checked and Midnight Black is metallic. No idea why they changed it.
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Maybe because the phantom black chips more easily than a potato in hot oil. (I have the phantom black is is just full of bonnet chips at 18 months old)
The toners used to make each individual colour and the clear top coat will be from the same paint system so one colour is no more likely chip than another. If the paint chips easily it is more likely an adhesion issue between the paint and the bare substrate, due to poor quality or not enough electro coat / etch primer. If there was an issue with earlier models chipping then they may have changed to a different paint system which might explain some slightly different colours being used
got two very small chips on mine after 2 years. And I know where they came from - bloody lorry on motorway dropped some gravel from the rear chute thingy. Good job I was in the outside lane - if I'd been on his tail could have been a lot worse. But I tend to hang back more than most anyway. Don't like driving on the brakes...use the engine to brake for me
Not sure, but I am sure the paint on mine (black, phantom?) chips and scratches far too easily.
I had plenty around the front within 6 months from new.
Yesterday i managed to scratch it with my thumb nail. A frikking thumb nail.
It's enough to put me off SEAT tbh.
I had plenty around the front within 6 months from new.
Yesterday i managed to scratch it with my thumb nail. A frikking thumb nail.
It's enough to put me off SEAT tbh.
Yes, I have Phantom and it does scratch with a finger nail
Mine is 2.5 years old and 33K miles. I have a few small stone chips which I keep up to but otherwise looks nice still.
My son has just leased a Candy white SC FR 184 and I have detailed this and found the paint to be a lot more scratch forgiving.
Why on earth someone even thinks about buying a black Leon...
when there is a nice colors to choose from.
when there is a nice colors to choose from.
Good question...
Maybe it's because some people have different tastes and happen to think the black is a nice colour on a Leon. Maybe some of us think the Lima Green ones look frankly ridiculous... Maybe it's actually a good thing we don't all like the same things. Who knows?
I do agree with other posters though, the black does seem to pick up marks a bit too easily for my liking. The paintwork on my phantom black ST is in quite a poor state for the age and mileage of the car. To be honest though I don't think it's any worse than any other make of car I've owned for quality. Modern paint finishes just don't hold up like the old oil based paints used to. I don't leave my Leon on the drive, it lives on the road, it's a workhorse not an art installation... And you can tell which side faces the passing traffic most often.
My Phantom black, has no stone chips at 25 months, but I keep back from other vehicles and pass without going up their chuff. Had red cars since the 90's so tried black as a change, and on my black Biza Cupra I had before the Leon I had a couple of chips, but when you fixed them they were invisible compared to the red. I think the black being metallic is less likely to chip in normal driving and my Honda bike (Metallic black) is still chip free at 6 years old and has full fairing and gets driven as quick as the Cupra but with better acceleration.
agree totally with the keeping your distance tactic - mines 30 months in and only one small chip on the bonnet the size of a match head, which touched in OK.
When I was driving company cars the fronts were always peppered with chips, but I did do 30k miles a year, mainly on motorways. They always chipped, even before the big switch to water-based paints.
Now it's my own metal I keep a bit further back, and it seems to pay off
When I was driving company cars the fronts were always peppered with chips, but I did do 30k miles a year, mainly on motorways. They always chipped, even before the big switch to water-based paints.
Now it's my own metal I keep a bit further back, and it seems to pay off
Good question...
Maybe it's because some people have different tastes and happen to think the black is a nice colour on a Leon. Maybe some of us think the Lima Green ones look frankly ridiculous... Maybe it's actually a good thing we don't all like the same things. Who knows?
I do agree with other posters though, the black does seem to pick up marks a bit too easily for my liking. The paintwork on my phantom black ST is in quite a poor state for the age and mileage of the car. To be honest though I don't think it's any worse than any other make of car I've owned for quality. Modern paint finishes just don't hold up like the old oil based paints used to. I don't leave my Leon on the drive, it lives on the road, it's a workhorse not an art installation... And you can tell which side faces the passing traffic most often.
yeah there is only one colour to have.... but then I am biased.....
All of which I agree with.
The damage I was referring to on mine is not stone chip related. It is fingernail, shoe or dog related. Or as I say, just crud kicked up by passing cars. I don't generally use motorways much, and I didn't buy a 1.2 so I could sit right up people's chuff either. It's just not great paint in my opinion. My previous 2008 Volvo stood up to the same treatment far better, but was less reliable, unbelievably. They're all much of a muchness!
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