[JustChris]

Originally Posted by finnifinn

here´s mine M235i from Germany, hope u like it

M235i Lord Vader Edition!

[griz31]

Was looking through this post to try to get an idea of tint on BSM. Hope this will help some others. My car is Black on Black. Went with Llumar CTX30

Before:



After:



After from another spot with less light coming through:



Really happy with the results. It is funny how from some angles its pitch black and others it's less noticable. I think the 30% was perfect

[Dylan86]

I'll finally contribute to this thread,

[Shipy]

Had it 6 months now can't believe the improvement on M135i

[spartan75]

I thought I'd add a couple more pics of the beautiful M235 Convertible. Got some great pics taken today while driving in the Utah mountains...

[ramair311]

Track day in Colorado -

[Grentz]

Freshly detailed. Full sun pics, but still show the shine

[Dylan86]

Another shot.

[wtfbrah]

Question for you guys with BSM - do you garage your cars? Any of you have full Xpel Ultimate? I love the look of BSM but can't stand a dirty looking car. I noticed even in this shot that's "freshly detailed" you can see dirt:

[Dylan86]

Originally Posted by wtfbrah

Question for you guys with BSM - do you garage your cars? Any of you have full Xpel Ultimate? I love the look of BSM but can't stand a dirty looking car. I noticed even in this shot that's "freshly detailed" you can see dirt:

No xpel, opticoat or anything on mine. I have the front of the car wrapped in a 3M clear for long term protection. Good old fashioned wash/polish/wax jobs will keep it looking new. I park my car outside 99% of the time, on a busy truck route. So not even close to "ideal", but I'm over the OCD phase with cars now. If I get some swirls or blemishes, I'll just drop it off at a professional detailer and be done with it.

It's not "easy" to keep clean, but it shines so well through the base layer of dirt, it's not too noticeable unless you're right up on the car. If your car is well maintained in terms of wax etc, the dirt should just fall off with a quick powerwash. I usually blast mine 2 times during the week, then a two bucket wash on the weekends. I have a pure white GTI, and it's equally as hard to keep clean, as we have lots of brownish sand/dirt crud from the mountains and it's super noticeable on white.

If you want a low maintenance colour, I'd go with Silver. But it just won't look as good IMO as Black or White. The body lines look really good on a darker car too, and really make it "pop".

[wtfbrah]

Originally Posted by Dylan86

No xpel, opticoat or anything on mine. I have the front of the car wrapped in a 3M clear for long term protection. Good old fashioned wash/polish/wax jobs will keep it looking new. I park my car outside 99% of the time, on a busy truck route. So not even close to "ideal", but I'm over the OCD phase with cars now. If I get some swirls or blemishes, I'll just drop it off at a professional detailer and be done with it.

It's not "easy" to keep clean, but it shines so well through the base layer of dirt, it's not too noticeable unless you're right up on the car. If your car is well maintained in terms of wax etc, the dirt should just fall off with a quick powerwash. I usually blast mine 2 times during the week, then a two bucket wash on the weekends. I have a pure white GTI, and it's equally as hard to keep clean, as we have lots of brownish sand/dirt crud from the mountains and it's super noticeable on white.

If you want a low maintenance colour, I'd go with Silver. But it just won't look as good IMO as Black or White. The body lines look really good on a darker car too, and really make it "pop".

Thanks for your input. Swirls come out? I was honestly under the impression that swirls were permanent, basically micro scratches in the paint.

What percentage tints do you have on that btw? And how hot does it get in the summer sun?

I absolutely, positively like the look of the BSM the most. Looks just menacing and classy at the same time. But the Glacier Silver is attractive for a few reason: it will stay much cooler in the sun, it will be lower maintenance, it gives me the option of Xpel stealth for matte silver which I think looks better than matte black, it is more under the radar than black and attracts less attention, but at the same time with a gloss black roof, CF parts and black kidney grilles / dark wheels the car looks like a classic aggressive BMW.

[Dylan86]

Originally Posted by wtfbrah

Thanks for your input. Swirls come out? I was honestly under the impression that swirls were permanent, basically micro scratches in the paint.

What percentage tints do you have on that btw? And how hot does it get in the summer sun?

I absolutely, positively like the look of the BSM the most. Looks just menacing and classy at the same time. But the Glacier Silver is attractive for a few reason: it will stay much cooler in the sun, it will be lower maintenance, it gives me the option of Xpel stealth for matte silver which I think looks better than matte black, it is more under the radar than black and attracts less attention, but at the same time with a gloss black roof, CF parts and black kidney grilles / dark wheels the car looks like a classic aggressive BMW.

I had some swirls from before, when I was rush' washing, and not using the proper two bucket method. Left it with a detailer for the day, and he was able to polish it out. It wasn't 10+ years of swirls mind you, but if you stay on top of it, black can look great for a really long time. Since I've been using the two bucket wash method, I am not seeing nearly as many lines as before. I used to say the same thing btw "black cars are the worst". But really, it's not any more care than white, blue, grey or whatever. It's more of you wanting a clean car, all the time. Black shows and hides dirt, it's weird. Sometimes when I haven't washed in in a few days, I know it's dirty, but I look at it and say "meh, it's not too bad actually" lol..

As for tints, it's 50% up front and 35% in the rear. Tints are illegal here, so you gotta go light. It's so dark inside the car, it appears much darker especially at night. In the daytime, it's hard to tell if it's a factory tint, or not. I like it, keeps cooler than without tints for sure and noticeable on sunny drives with the windows up. But it still gets fuckin steamy in there with the Cali heat we've been getting here in BC. I can't say the seats get any hotter than my GTI though, which is white/black leather.

Silver can be a good look, don't get me wrong. I just appreciate BSM because it's such a nice metallic colour, and not too many black cars seem to be hitting the roads these days. Seems like Blue, White and Silver/Grey more than anything.

Everyone says "nothing looks better than a clean black car", and I totally agree

[wtfbrah]

Yeah, I agree about the clean black. I'll have to do more research about XPel ultimate. If it makes washing the car easier and prevents swirls, maybe I'll do black.

Those are actually the legal limits here in Ohio: 50% up front (and whatever in back, so I could go down to 15 if I really wanted to or 10 in the very back, but I still want to be able to see). So with an all black car, how much does that tint help keep the temperature down on a hot sunny day? Is it ever unbearable?

[Dylan86]

Originally Posted by wtfbrah

Yeah, I agree about the clean black. I'll have to do more research about XPel ultimate. If it makes washing the car easier and prevents swirls, maybe I'll do black.

Those are actually the legal limits here in Ohio: 50% up front (and whatever in back, so I could go down to 15 if I really wanted to or 10 in the very back, but I still want to be able to see). So with an all black car, how much does that tint help keep the temperature down on a hot sunny day? Is it ever unbearable?

I'd do 25% out back at the most, as it'll be pretty dark on the black interior and will allow good night visibility. Without tints, with windows closed and sun beaming in, you'll get hot to the touch but that can be countered with A/C, but could get pretty hot for some people. This goes in any car really. I notice the tint's the most if I have the windows down with sun coming in, then put them up and open the roof, it immediately takes most of the UV heat off of my arm/body. That's the best way I can describe the tint from a heat reducing perspective. If you had the car completely closed off without tints, you'd need a lot more A/C to keep the interior temps down.

Most of the heat comes through the windshield, and I've been meaning to grab a sun visor for just that. They worked great for me in the past, without tints. I imagine with tints and the sun visor in the windshield it would be easier to jump right in after sitting in the sun all day. That pic above is my parking spot at work, and it's in the sun all day.

Unbearable? Only if it's been sitting outside for a full shift at work, in 34*C sun. I usually just open the door, start the car and let it sit for a few minutes with the A/C on and it's fine. If you were to jump right in, it could be pretty bad I would imagine. Everything in moderation

[wtfbrah]

Originally Posted by Dylan86

I'd do 25% out back at the most, as it'll be pretty dark on the black interior and will allow good night visibility. Without tints, with windows closed and sun beaming in, you'll get hot to the touch but that can be countered with A/C, but could get pretty hot for some people. This goes in any car really. I notice the tint's the most if I have the windows down with sun coming in, then put them up and open the roof, it immediately takes most of the UV heat off of my arm/body. That's the best way I can describe the tint from a heat reducing perspective. If you had the car completely closed off without tints, you'd need a lot more A/C to keep the interior temps down.

Most of the heat comes through the windshield, and I've been meaning to grab a sun visor for just that. They worked great for me in the past, without tints. I imagine with tints and the sun visor in the windshield it would be easier to jump right in after sitting in the sun all day. That pic above is my parking spot at work, and it's in the sun all day.

Unbearable? Only if it's been sitting outside for a full shift at work, in 34*C sun. I usually just open the door, start the car and let it sit for a few minutes with the A/C on and it's fine. If you were to jump right in, it could be pretty bad I would imagine. Everything in moderation

Thankfully windshield tints are legal here in Ohio, up to I believe 70%. So with a good ceramic tint, that should be great for heat reduction.

Thing is, I still think a silver car might make a massive difference.

I think what I have to do is go to the dealership at around 4PM on a hot sunny day and ask to get into a silver car and a black car, both cars that have not been moved all day. And I'll be able to see the difference there.

But still the biggest deciding factor would be the ease of maintenance with Xpel installed. I'm willing to install Xpel and get BSM if it makes cleaning the car really easy, but if it's still going to be a bitch I'll just get silver.

[Dylan86]

Originally Posted by wtfbrah

Thankfully windshield tints are legal here in Ohio, up to I believe 70%. So with a good ceramic tint, that should be great for heat reduction.

Thing is, I still think a silver car might make a massive difference.

I think what I have to do is go to the dealership at around 4PM on a hot sunny day and ask to get into a silver car and a black car, both cars that have not been moved all day. And I'll be able to see the difference there.

But still the biggest deciding factor would be the ease of maintenance with Xpel installed. I'm willing to install Xpel and get BSM if it makes cleaning the car really easy, but if it's still going to be a bitch I'll just get silver.

I thought black would be a bitch, but it's really not. It's literally the same effort to keep clean than my white GTI. Try out the cars on the lot, just remember, after having the door open for 30 seconds, both should feel relatively the same. In any case, once you go black, you don't go back

[vietboyx1115]

Honestly it's pretty easy if you choose to do some sort of coating. Mine has the opticoat pro coating on it. Washing it is a breeze and it sits in the flat-top parking lots of Dallas during the day.

[wtfbrah]

Ohio also requires front license plates though. So that ruins the look of an all black car moreso than a silver one.

[Grentz]

Originally Posted by wtfbrah

Question for you guys with BSM - do you garage your cars? Any of you have full Xpel Ultimate? I love the look of BSM but can't stand a dirty looking car. I noticed even in this shot that's "freshly detailed" you can see dirt:

On my car (pictured) you are seeing more dust than dirt. Yes if you get super up close you can see things on any car quite frankly.

Black is a bit tougher to care for, but well worth it IMO for the results you get when it is clean. I have my car coated with CQuartzUK sealant and that helps a lot in making it very little effort to keep clean.

Also, BSM is easier to care for than Jet Black (non-metallic), I have a Jet Black M3 and that shows EVERYTHING.

[mwhalley]

Originally Posted by Shipy

Had it 6 months now can't believe the improvement on M135i

Normally not a fan of the chrome line but works with yours. Good job.

[Craig20]

[jettison]

Here is my black M240i so far. I keep adding stuff to the wish list so it may be getting some more love soon.