What do you guys think of nebula gray pearl vs. obsidian? My current '08 is SGM (smoky granite mica) and feel the nebula color is very close to that pushing me to the black. The upkeep and dirt on the black is pushing me back to the nebula. Can anyone give me some clarity, something to tip the scales!?!?!

Thanks guys!

 

nebula gray is a great color, and do this day i still wonder if i should have picked it over obsidian, but something about a clean black shiny lexus.





black shows scratches easily, attracts dust, and shows swirls, but if you're able to not pay attention to those, then IMO it's worth it.

 

Nice car, and exactly why i can never go for black exterior......but i love seeing a clean and shiny black

 

I went through this exercise and most of the decision comes from emotion, not logic. However, putting that aside, here are five factors that can help you make a more "objective" decision:

1. Consider the interior color/combo. You may prefer for instance NG/R.Red over just Obsidian/Black .

2. Consider exposure to the elements, of course with Obsidian being the more "delicate" of the two:
- Harsh winters
- Road salt
- Frequent highway driving, especially behind trucks
- Road debris/rocks
- Construction areas
- Car parking at home and work (indoors/outdoors, under trees/sap/bird poop, etc)

3. Consider your free time and personal care towards cars with of course Obsidian requiring more. Do you have time to polish and wax your car regularly? Do you wash your car at the car wash or do you use a 2-bucket system?

4. Consider color popularity. How many gray cars versus black in your neighborhood, if you want to blend in or stand out more.

5. Consider inventory availability/deal. See what inventory is available at your local Lexus dealer. You'll get a better deal on the one on the lot as dealers always want to move their stock versus placing a special order or making trades with other dealers.


Give weight to each of the 5 points for each color based on what's more important to you (with "20" points each if you weight them the same) to tally to 100. The highest color score wins - sign the deal on that color and don't look back and enjoy it! Good luck and keep us informed.

 

I have the grey and love it, doesnt show dirt too badly, and is a very unique color

 

I have Obsidian, it's a pain to keep clean. but when it's clean, all worth it IMO.

 

First things first, nothing looks better than a clean black car. You will never get that "wet" look with the Nebula grey. As others have said, obsidian is a pain to maintain but it's not impossible to keep clean. No matter what color car you have it's going to look like s*** through harsh winters, salty roads, or rock chips. I don't think that should be a determining factor in purchasing one of these colors. Also, I don't think "popularity" should be a determining factor as most cars on the road are black, grey, or silver. I do agree that you need to look at how much time you willing to spend maintaining the paint and look of the car. If you can wash it yourself and possibly get some protective finish on it (Opti coat or 22PLE) I think obsidian is the way to go. I have Obsidian and I LOVE it. When I'm done washing it I probably stare at it for ten minutes because it looks so good.

Either choice you make will be the right one. These are two great colors and it have yet to see the 3IS look bad in ANY color. Good luck!

 

Bottom line, if you have the time to keep it clean and polished ALL the time, then it's worth getting Obsidian.

Here is my scale for exterior appearance:

Obsidian Black - When clean (10/10); When slightly dirty (7/10); When really dirty (4/10)
Nebula Gray Pearl - When clean (9/10); When slightly dirty (8/10); when really dirty (6/10).

Clean = right after you wash it & wax it.
Slightly dirty = within the first week or two of a great wash/wax.
Really dirty = not washing the car for several weeks (or 1 month +).

This is of course assuming you're driving the car as a daily commute and not storing it in some garage all the time. Obsidian drops in my ranking quickly because even with a LITTLE bit of dust/debris/nasty snow or salt/etc you don't get that "glossy" look anymore and it takes away from the whole appeal.

Btw, I love both colors and they are probably my favorites for the IS350 F-Sport.

My two cents,

~ Im2bz2p345

 

Can anyone give me more insight on applying an opti coat? I just got an obsidian 350 and within a few hours was already dusty. Will the opti coat take away from the car's shininess? Will it protect from water stains? Thanks.

And one other thing, from what I've heard, the coat is essentially permanent. Would the dealer know I did the coat when I return back in a couple years?

 

I would go for Nebula Gray Pearl just because Obsidian is a very soft paint, and it's a pain to maintain. Like others said, you see every little thing that's happening with Obsidian.

 

Not exactly !

See the rock chip ? The problem is that after the paint layers are the primer coat, and then plastic, or metal.

Talking about rock chips, they are usually front bumper, and hood, and dent as far as the primer coat. Therefore, chips are easily shown on bright color....say White. But not those like obsidian...because they are both black

Which make you think black is better for DD.

Thing is just like any darker color, they look dated and aged easily, compare to Ultra White or Luster Red

My personal opinion is the Grey look too soft, weak. It has nice shade, and showing most of the creases and cut of the car, it still look weak, and sad. A sport car color have to excite your senses. That can only be achieved by either Ultra White, or Obsidian....well unless you are excited with midium, then grey.

 

My opinion buy whatever color you can enjoy without being overly paranoid. You are buying the car for the frill....if you obese over how clean it is all the time or if the paint swirls you are not going to enjoy the car. With this in mind I still purchased black I do as much preventative cleaning as possible or when I can. I use the auto wash if needed...if I get paint swirls I get swirls. Its life but damn this car is way too much fun and will always look amazing in black

 

I went for Nebula Gray because I loved how it looked in the sunlight and at least in my area its not a color you see often so it stands out a bit. Also my 3 series was black so I wanted a change

 

Obsidian!
But Ultra White over all colors.. biased lol

 

Have the IS in black and a GS in gray. Love them both. That black is hard to keep clean. But when it is clean, whew! Can't go wrong either way in my opinion.