Still looking for anyone with experience with marvin window spacer bars - thanks! Here are two pictures of spacer bars I was able to find - aluminum spacer bar on top and the black on the bottom... but still can't figure out what is best.

I would think the black to be much less conspicuous than aluminum...we're facing a similar choice as we need to order windows and I'd prefer bronze spacers but these are apparently much more expensive than black.

I'm late to the conversation here, but curious about this as well. I think the black spacers might look better.

I too would appreciate knowing what Marvin offers for spacer color. I have 14year old marvin replacement windows and adding on. I was told they only do black

Black or aluminum-what did you decide & are you glad about the decision?

My new Marvin’s are black spacers. My 6 year old remodel Marvin’s were aluminum. To be honest I think if your windows are painted white - which mine are - I prefer the aluminum. The black looks a bit more like a shadow so less like the frame goes all the way through. I can try to take daytime pictures tomorrow if that would help. If I had black painted frames I might feel differently.

Hi-I so appreciate you sending this information. I was thinking the same thing—that the aluminum might look better with white but the designer has a personal preference for black spacers so I’ve been 2nd guessing. I would love to see pictures of your windows. It’s such a huge expense & it could be extremely helpful. Thanks!

For anyone still reading this thread: I just purchased Marvin windows with a wood interior painted white (double hung with six panes over six panes), I was told that my spacer bar options were black or stainless steel. I don't know what the stainless option would have looked like. But I do know that the black feels overwhelming. I was told that it's supposed to look like a shadow. It doesn't look like a shadow; it looks heavy, dark & distracting. I do not know why white is not an option for this element.

Follow up on my windows.
I had requested stainless steel as that what I had in the rest of my house. My local marvin store decided to order in black without consulting me because that is standard and slightly less expensive than stainless. I took it upon myself to contact marvin directly and they confirmed there was no reason Why my windows couldn’t have been stainless as it is available.
How did it finally end. For most of my window sashes that are highly visible first floor I had the rep reorder sashes at his expense. To be kind I agreed to keep some of the black.
Absolutely stainless is better. Black absorbs light and looks dark stainless reflects light, i wish I would have had him reorder all in what I asked for, stainless, from the start.
But I was trying to be nice.

We just bought interior/exterior white marvins and our rep also said the black looks like a shadow. I completely disagree. It looks stark and harsh and intense. I’m so bummed. Does anyone have another/better picture of the all white windows with the aluminum spacer?

Both my Marvin rep & my Marvin salesperson said to me that the aluminum spacer bar now comes only with black tape (beige tape is no longer an option). Part of what looks so bad in my windows is that the black tape ranges from about a 1/4" to a 1/2" inch thick. Also, I'm told that in the current models the glass is farther apart than it used to be, making the magnification far worse. Finally, I discovered that my Marvin windows were built by a computer machine (not a human). My windows look like they were designed by a madman, with black tape & ooze all over the place. I advise to anyone reading that it's best to find an old-fashioned window builder who will create true divided light windows with storms, as my experience has been a nightmare.

I would like to clarify that I did end up having several of my windows reordered in the stainless/non black. I wish I would have made them reorder all, I was being kind to my local salesman. I asked for the stainless green hen I ordered and yea that is a option, slightly higher cost. I was upset with the local rep be a he made the decision on his own to order mine standard, black, without asking me because well that’s what everyone does. When he tried to tell me that was the e only option I contacted Marvin directly and they did confirm it is a option for stainless.
My lesson to everyone is make sure you get what you ask for. And if you feel the need to confirm directly with the company do so. Like I said I wish I had made them reorder all my windows the way I asked.

Several months ago I asked for information that might help me decide on the color of the spacer bar for my Marvin window order. Happily, I am reporting that my windows are finally installed—with black spacer bars—& they’re gorgeous. Thank you to those who share their reactions & experiences.

Jillbaustin, would you be willing to post photos of your windows with the black spacers? I'm very close to ordering Marvin two over two, double hung wood windows for my townhome. The exterior will be painted black and the interior white. I'm leaning towards black spacers (vs. aluminum) but hesitating based on the previous comments. I have aluminum spacers in my current windows and they look fine, but thinking black spacers would blend better with the black exterior. I'm glad you are happy with your choice of spacers. Hoping I will be happy with mine. Stressful decision!

Marvin window with black spacer and aluminum spacer

I think if exterior was black it may look nice. My exterior color is coconut cream

Here's a photo of my Marvin window with black spacers bars:

And here's a close-up photo:

To clarify, Marvin does not use an aluminum spacer, it's stainless steel which is much more energy efficient with a significantly longer field performance life than aluminum.

@Susanne Spellacy, Marvin uses IG units from Cardinal and to be frank, Cardinal is incapable of making an IG unit (spacer) that looks like your pictures. What it appears is that the IG was mounted in the window sash using black silicone on the outside of the glass that ran and smeared all over the place. But I cannot believe on any level that Marvin would ever send out a sash that looks like that.

How long have you had those window and did you have the window distributor out to look at it?

That window is in no way acceptable and should never have even been installed looking that way. Is that the only one that looks that way? It looks so bad that it doesn't even look real to me.

This is what the spacer actually looks like....I know it's hard to see

Hello oberon476. The window estimate was signed fall 2021, and the windows were installed May 2022. In June 2022, I had a meeting at my home with the Marvin representative, the Marvin salesperson and my contractor's project supervisor. The Marvin rep explained that there's something called black ooze, adding that during the height of the pandemic Marvin quality control was not ideal and sometimes the black ooze amount was more than it should be. The rep said that he'd replace the sashes at no cost to me.

I then received an estimate from the Marvin salesperson, and the quote was for the full price. I emailed the Marvin rep, who relayed that I'd need to ask the salesperson to waive the cost. So I did. The salesperson then provided a quote that was approximately 70% of the total price. That was the moment my patience turned to fury.

The black ooze problem appears in all my windows, not just one. (I can try to upload more photos.) The ooze is between the double-pane glass, so I see no way that the sashes could be fixed. I was later told that my windows were assembled by a computerized system, not by a human.

Susanne Spellacy, your situation is puzzling on a couple levels, but first and foremost, those windows are not acceptable in my opinion and if the ooze is between the lites then at the very least, also my opinion, the IG's should be replaced at no cost to you.

For a couple decades Marvin has been using Cardinal IG units in their windows (with a very few exceptions), but I have heard that relatively recently they have embraced the corporate concept of not using single source suppliers so that (if true) a small number of their IG units may be coming from a suppier other than Cardinal. If true I have no clue who they might be coming from, but if this is a sample of what they are making, then Marvin needs to step up and take responsibility for this junk.

The reason that's important is that those IG units did not come from Cardinal who is still Marvin's bread-and-butter supplier and clearly whoever made them has a serious problem with manufacturing and an even bigger problem with quality control.

The Marvin rep explained that there's something called black ooze, adding that during the height of the pandemic Marvin quality control was not ideal and sometimes the black ooze amount was more than it should be.

I can't even imagine a company rep from Marvin talking about "excessive black ooze" like it's somehow a normal thing. I am almost at a loss for words imagining any company rep telling a customer that something called black ooze is acceptable in any fashion, or saying that quality control was not ideal? Again, totally unprofessional.

The rep said that he'd replace the sashes at no cost to me.

Again in my opinion this was the right answer and there is nothing to excuse that whoever you are dealing with didn't follow through on that promise....with the provision that the entire sash may not need replacing, just the IG units, but it might be cheaper and easier to just replace the sashes....either option is possible.

Are you still pushing back? If so make sure you emphasize that you want Cardinal IG replacement units and not the crap that you have now.

KEEP PUSHING BACK until they fix what's wrong.

You might find this video to be interesting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JcCqIkc3lA

Just placed an order for Marvin Essential Windows for our new build. Black perimeter spacers is an option for an additional cost. We decided to stick with stainless. Not a fan of the black spacers personally.

I had a window replaced at my condo after it was broken by the window washers. The spacer in the replacement pane is black, it looks more like a rubber gasket vs the clean stainless steel spacer. I've not had a chance to see what the black spacer looks like in-person in the Marvin windows. The quality of the images posted in this thread aren't that clear so it's hard to tell what it actually looks like up-close.

Black conducts heat, is it really good for the inner spacer to absorb heat?