I thought I had my color choice locked in with the flat black until they introduced the obsidian black. Does anyone have experience with obsidian on an S or seen them in person? I ordered flat black but I’m considering making a change and wanted input from someone who has seen them in person.
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Obsidian Black - Worth it?
- Thread starter jsrawa
- Start date
JeffK
Well-Known Member
I don't have experience but many people are saying that the flat black shows dust and scratches like nobody's business compared to the obsidian black due to the metallic nature of the paint.
It’s still black. Will look amazing when clean and show scratches and dirt easily.
CFrolander
Member
So I haven't seen the model 3's Obsidian Black but on the S and X (and any cars when comparing flat vs metallic), flat black will look better (in my opinion) right off the show floor and if you baby it to no end. It's black like a baby grand piano. It will show chips, streaks, swirling, dust, dirt, and pretty much everything that gets on it. That's OK for some people, but it can be a whole lot of upkeep to look perfect.
Obsidian black on the other hand is more resilient to that sort of thing. You still need proper care for it to look nice, but the swirls and streakyness are less noticeable and you won't need to wash it every other day to keep it top notch.
Some people like the obsidian over the flat for looks, though. It reflects light a lot more brilliantly I'd say? It gives a bit more depth and feel to the car perhaps. It's still pretty subjective, but if you want less maintenance and worry about keeping it pristine, the Obsidian is probably a better choice. If you are going to baby it either way, then either could be good choice.
Obsidian black on the other hand is more resilient to that sort of thing. You still need proper care for it to look nice, but the swirls and streakyness are less noticeable and you won't need to wash it every other day to keep it top notch.
Some people like the obsidian over the flat for looks, though. It reflects light a lot more brilliantly I'd say? It gives a bit more depth and feel to the car perhaps. It's still pretty subjective, but if you want less maintenance and worry about keeping it pristine, the Obsidian is probably a better choice. If you are going to baby it either way, then either could be good choice.
Being somewhat of an expert at Black Tesla's 
and having both blacks I can say there is a difference in the 2. Solid black is great but you need to correct it ASAP and protect it to keep it looking great. Obsidian black has the metallic flakes in them so it has hints of a lighter black depending on the angle and lighting and the flakes help minimize the impact of swirls. If you prefer the shimmer of flakes get obsidian, if you prefer a deeper black get the Solid.
and having both blacks I can say there is a difference in the 2. Solid black is great but you need to correct it ASAP and protect it to keep it looking great. Obsidian black has the metallic flakes in them so it has hints of a lighter black depending on the angle and lighting and the flakes help minimize the impact of swirls. If you prefer the shimmer of flakes get obsidian, if you prefer a deeper black get the Solid.
Lhshockey24
Member
I feel like this photo shows the deep metallic side of obsidian black. This is after a wax, otherwise you see EVERY swirl and scratch from this previous service center loaner
chickensworth
Member
Being somewhat of an expert at Black Tesla's
Good info here... Do you have any experience with any type of protective wrap on your black cars? Do they eliminate the swirl / scratch issue?
jjh1234
Member
Also, I priced a full wrap and I couldn't justify $5k-$7k quotes I was getting. Especially knowing that Tesla will reduce trade value unless you remove it before trading. Of course, trade in values from Tesla pretty much suck regardless.
kev1n
Active Member
to put it in layman terms,
obsidian black is a deeper black black color whereas solid black is more of a whiter color black if that makes sense which also explains why others mention they can see swirls and dust easier.
obsidian black is the nicer color choice
In LBT (Life Before Tesla) I had a flat black Escalade and a metallic black ELR (which I loved). The flat black showed everything. I live in a wooded area off a dirt road and five minutes after washing it i could see a new coating of pollen or dust. In contrast, the metallic black ELR was much more forgiving. I will never have another flat black car but I would consider the metallic black. I would have to see it first though because I have noticed considerable variation in the appearance of the flakes in different metallic black paints.
ℬête Noire
Active Member
A couple months ago when stalking Model 3s at the local delivery/service center, to see all the paint on the cars in person, I saw a Model S right next to a Solid Black Model 3. "Well damn, I wish it came in that colour." So when the option opened up I pulled the trigger on Obsidian.
I think it's right to put it as Obsidian Metallic Black is to Solid Black as Pearl White is to regular white. It's black but shimmering with a bunch of not-quite-black/ambient colours. Solid Black is very, very black and is going look blah without polishing (but it's not a proper matte black, either).
P.S. My working plan is to wrap anyway, so was leaning hard to Solid Black. But I made my peace with the extra $1K because I feel I have something of an option now, even if I'll probably need to get PPF anyway. Because black is black, even if Obsidian is more forgiving and durable than the Solid Black.
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I wish people wouldn't call the non-Obsidian as "flat black". Flat implies to me a matte finish. Like some of those matte black vinyl wraps people do.
The standard black is more of a "gloss black" or "jet black" or "piano black".
And yes, it can look great if kept clean and waxed, but it does show dust/dirt/scratches more than the metallic finishes.
I think of obsidian black as a darker version of "midnight silver".
Lhshockey24
Member
For those who are BMW fans it's like Jet Black vs Black Sapphire Metallic
Tesla Roadster with matte (flat) black vinyl wrap:
Obsidian black (metallic) Tesla Roadster:
Jet black (non-metallic) Tesla Roadster:
Obsidian black (metallic) Tesla Roadster:
Jet black (non-metallic) Tesla Roadster:
chickensworth
Member
Ordered Obsidian, and planning on doing at least a partial wrap. i'm hoping the self healing properties of the PPF would eliminate the swirl / scratch issues... then you just deal with dirt... i always hated looking at the glare off a black car and seeing the 'spiderwebs' in the paint. was hoping someone with experience with wrapping a black car could chime in if this is in fact the case, or if the films show just as poorly in the sun.
