What is the Difference Between Phantom Black and Black?

[HaileyDella]

In essence, they are the same, just named differently by various manufacturers. Additional information is as follows: 1. Advantages of automotive paint: The paint film has good fullness, high gloss, high hardness, and strong adhesion. The paint film possesses excellent mechanical properties, outstanding gloss retention, weather resistance, and abrasion resistance, as well as good resistance to acids, alkalis, alcohol, and gasoline. 2. Classification of automotive paint: Automotive paint can be roughly divided into solid paint, metallic paint, and pearl paint. Solid paint is the most basic type, usually in white and red, with a pure overall color. Metallic paint is based on solid paint with the addition of metal powders such as aluminum and copper, giving the paint a more textured appearance. Pearl paint, on the other hand, is more dazzling, similar to metallic paint but with the addition of mica particles, making it radiant under sunlight.

[OAdam]

Just the other day, I ran into this dilemma while helping a friend pick a car paint. Phantom Black has this metallic powder-like reflection under sunlight, almost like it's mixed with fine glitter, making the body lines appear more three-dimensional. The regular black is just a solid color paint, looking duller on cloudy days and more prone to showing swirl marks. My friend specifically chose dusk for the test drive, and the flowing light effect of the Phantom Black was truly stunning. However, it costs an extra two thousand bucks, and touch-ups later would require going back to the dealership for accurate color matching.

[DeJude]

An experienced auto repair shop master told me that Phantom Black is a three-layer metallic paint process. The base layer is sprayed with black primer, a pearl mica layer is added in the middle, and finally covered with clear coat. Ordinary black paint is just a single-layer baked finish, and after three years, the sun swirl marks become particularly noticeable. Their shop has handled several Phantom Black touch-up jobs, with color matching alone taking two hours, and the labor cost is 45% more expensive than ordinary paint. Nowadays, some manufacturers play word games, calling it 'Onyx Black' when it's actually still ordinary paint.

[DelJudah]

Last year's brand training covered color marketing strategies. Special colors like Phantom Black make owners feel like they're buying a limited edition, when in reality it's just a renamed metallic paint. BMW calls it Carbon Black, Lexus calls it Ink Black, but essentially they all contain light-sensitive additives. The real difference lies in the color code, such as DuPont color cards starting with 880 for the Phantom series. Interestingly, dark-colored paints heat up faster in summer—test instruments show Phantom Black is 5°C hotter than regular black, but it also cools down more quickly.