Matte vs Gloss... what am I not thinking of?

[67SSDan]

So I've been thinking about going with a matte finish for my camaro project and I'm just curious what other owners that have matte or satin think about it? Would you do it again? Is the upkeep any different than regular gloss paint? How do you deal with rock chips? Is there something you didn't know till after the fact?

Thanks for any insight you might have!

Dan

[Auto Rod Technologies]

I think a matte finish could look really nice on the right car if everything was done right, that being said it's going to be harder to take care of later, light surface scratches will be hard to deal with and you won't be able to really polish it, with a clear coat finish if you have a light scuff or surface imperfection you can lightly sand and buff it to bring it's finish back, you can't do much with a matte finish.

I tend to like a gloss finish with matte accents, such as bumpers and window mouldings..

[charchri4]

I had the same battle and couldn't decide so split the difference and when with semi gloss. I ordered the paint today!

[andrewb70]

Have you considered vinyl wrap?

Andrew

[67SSDan]

I think a matte finish could look really nice on the right car if everything was done right, that being said it's going to be harder to take care of later, light surface scratches will be hard to deal with and you won't be able to really polish it, with a clear coat finish if you have a light scuff or surface imperfection you can lightly sand and buff it to bring it's finish back, you can't do much with a matte finish.

Good comments here. I hadn't considered dealing with scuffs and scratches. Maybe a dumb question, but do scuffs and scratches (obviously talking about light ones) show as bad on matte as they do gloss? It seems that those things show so bad on glass because of the light reflecting back off (or not reflecting), where as it wouldn't with matte. Maybe not? I have no idea. Also, I'm assuming you would still wax a matte finish?


Have you considered vinyl wrap?

Andrew

I hadn't until I saw the OLC car done that way; I didn't even realize that was an option. I'm not sure if people in my area are doing that yet... and frankly I'm looking for a more longer term solution. That said, maybe there are things to consider there?

Thanks for the thoughts guys,

Dan

[sccacuda]

You have options on the matte. Single stage, and base/clear with a matting agent in the clear. Before you even get to taking care of it, you first have to apply it. This is the tricky part. ANY trash or nibs require sanding the entire panel (at least) back down and repainting. This stuff is dependent on application coats for the matte, so panel painting will probably not match. I've never seen one painted and be good the first time. Depends on where the trash is and if you can live with it. An example is my tail panel. It is a base/clear matte. It took 5 times of sanding and repainting before I got a trash free panel, and that's just a tiny part of the car! Never seen one that wasn't at least a 3 time ordeal, so it's expensive!

Care is another thing altogether. The base/clear is better in my opinion. You can wipe it, but it's usually recommended to use alcohol and deionized water to clean. If washing, soft water only. No rubbing, no waxes, etc…

IMO, the matte look is at it's end of trend and what's involved to preserve the finish, not soon enough!!

[Auto Rod Technologies]

I don't think the Matte trend is near it's end, maybe for use as a complete paint job, but for accents I think it will be around for a long time.

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

I'll echo what has been said above. I do not like it for an entire car because the upkeep would be terrible based on the scratching mainly, as stated above. I do like it as an accent though, which I used on the stripe of my Mustang, using a basecoat/clearcoat system since I started with a modern metallic color. The first problem is mixing it. I've heard so many problems people have had using the matte additive as far as having to keep it mixed always, or it will settle, the clear turning chalky, no set mixing guide so I was told to mix several mixtures to spray onto test cards. I didn't have the time or patience for that so I used the pre-mixed Matrix matte clear, which is a very nice eggshell type gloss. The next difficulty I had was laying it down fast enough. The stripes on the car were fine, but underhood was a huge pain. It dries a LOT faster than glossy clear, and needing 360 degree coverage underhood, if I didn't shoot all underhood in literally under 4 minutes, I'd have dry spots where I got overspray from one section onto the others (ex. I'd spray the shock towers and the side aprons would be covered in dry overspray, and not mix in). I didn't want to try any reducer since I've heard that can affect the shine. I had to spray underhood 4 times before I got it satisfactory. The stripes I luckily got 1st try, but I knew it was a 1 shot deal, so I prepped my garage to be absolutely dirt free. Though I learned this after I had to paint my tail panel twice. It's a great contrast to the gloss adjacent to it, and I'm glad I did it. And it's a small enough area where maintenance isn't a problem, nor is scratching. Any more surface area and it would be a pain to maintain.

[pro67coupe]

Have you thought about plastidip? There is a video on youtube of a guy doing an m3 in matte white. It looked good

[Auto Rod Technologies]

For Matte finishes I have been using the newer SPI matte clear,, that stuff rocks and makes it a lot more user friendly but I still don't like the look of it for a complete paint job.

And I hate plastidip, looks terrible, and my SRT wheels were done with it when I got it so I power washed it off.. lol.. It has a place perhaps,, I'm just not a fan.

[67SSDan]

Thanks for all the comments guys. You've all touched on every one of my fears... so I think I've effectively talked myself out of the whole matte finish idea. I think I was trying to talk myself into it because I *thought* it would be cheaper in the long run to do and maintain. What I'm trying to avoid is a car that I've got so much tied up in paint and body work that I'm scared to drive it (frankly I've got so much tied up in the entire project at this point that I'm almost there anyway) the way I'm building it to be driven.

Thanks for the insight!
Dan

[72LeMans]

I agree with pro67coupe look into plastidip. I did it on my daily driver and I love it. Really easy to maintain if it gets dirty I just coin wash hose it off. If I get sick of this color I can peel it off and respray it with another color. The kit cost me $400 including the spray gun.97301

[armourmark]

Plastidip is some good stuff! A lot of guys around here use it for bug protection and then peel it off and respray when it gets too beat up.

[scott_fx]

plasti dip is coming a LONG way. i actually think this one looks amazing:
98003

and they even have chameleon colors too (not a fan of it, but impressive for a temporary spray).
98004


info i found on the mazda:


The body is originally black and the wheels gunmetal.

New Colors: Body: Stormcloud Grey Metallic (custom mix) Wheels: Glossified black

Dip Company: Dip N' Detail (https://www.facebook.com/dipndetailnj) Photo: Ge3kspd Photo (https://www.facebook.com/ge3kspd)

[charchri4]

I split the difference with semi gloss single stage urethane here. It looks really different in low light than it does in sun light and very mean near dusk or under street lights.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/06/zoc4sw-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/06/fmsb3m-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/06/10zcwmo-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/06/20ifdrr-1.jpg

It's had bugs all over the front and rained on this morning and shows no different than gloss paint. I'm running an autocross with it this weekend and there is a 70% chance of rain so we'll see how it does with that mess.

[MuscleRodz]

2 years ago at SEMA all the matte cars were painted, last year most were wraps. Very difficult to maintain a complete matte paint job over time.