My table arrived with the butterfly leaf mechanism broken, so I initiated a return on Wayfair's site and am expecting a new table in a few days. In the meantime, I removed the leaf completely, attached the legs, and I am using it until the new table arrives. It looks great; the black is deep and all the way into the grain of the wood and there aren't any blemishes or scratches in the surface. If the table looks this good without the leaf, I imagine it will look even better with it.