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Gloss paint. why no other choises?

unnamedny

Android Expert
Dec 26, 2010
1,091
162
Please let me explain where am I coming from. I own a carbon fiber bike and it's neatly painted with satin black paint by the manufacture. It's not a flat pain, it it a little glossy but almost no shine at all. I was just wondering is there a particular reason why no cars are being painted with this type of paint? Price? Durability? Moral and social standards?

I've seen a few custom painted cars, and in my opinion these looked beautiful.
 
Black matte paint is used to eliminate glare on racing cars and airplanes of all kinds. From time to time you'll see cars with matte black paint on their front decks to get the race car look. But these days modern construction techniques and materials have made it less necessary to use matte paint. In fact, with many road legal sports cars you can't see the front end at all from the passenger compartment!

Shiny paint jobs are what most car buyers want, so that's what is sold. I've seen one-off custom paint jobs (and plenty of homemade spray can paint jobs) that are not shiny. But they are relatively few. In our culture, a dull paint job is a sign of neglect, so people want their cars to be shiny.
 
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I see custom matte paint jobs all the time. Just not my cup of tea. When I was young, I owned a triumph before the days of clear coat paint. When the paint oxidized, it would end up with a dull finish. You had to polish and wax to make it shine. So for me a matte finish just reminds me of an old un-polished car.
 
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I owned a triumph before the days of clear coat paint. When the paint oxidized, it would end up with a dull finish. You had to polish and wax to make it shine. So for me a matte finish just reminds me of an old un-polished car.
Yep, and the societal norms say that an unpolished car has a lazy owner. That may or may not be true, but it's a fact that first impressions matter, and most people want to make good first impressions. Even people who want to be seen as "rebels" who "don't care" are in fact crafting a public persona that they desire.

Personally I'd love to do a paint job that mimics the "black balls" (yes that's what it's called, named after the radar-absorbing spheres in the paint) surface of stealth aircraft, complete with muted printing ("RESCUE", "NO STEP" etc.) and anti-collision lights. That would look pretty cool, and would make a great conversation piece at the general aviation terminal of the local airport. It would be easy to fix parking lot dings too!
 
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I never liked matte paint jobs. What's the point of having a nice car if you can't wax and shine and polish it to a mirror finish?
As nice it is to have a nice straight car with a great paint job and a mirror finish wax job, it's such a heartache when someone ruins your hard-won perfection by driving into your car, breaking into it and/or vandalizing it. I've suffered the heartache part enough that my ideal daily driver is a Q-ship. I'd much rather have a car that's nice and solid where it counts, has the power and handling...but is all but invisible on the outside.

I love my pony cars. It's a "mid-age crisis" that I've had since age 15. Aside from the less than kind verbal innuendo, I get a lot of drivers who think it's OK to use more violent methods to express their ill will. I no longer feel safe driving my nice little Mustang, and hate to see it bashed-in by haters. So I'm looking for cars that are fairly easy to modify for the performance that I seek, at a reasonable price, using off the shelf parts. Cars that don't attract attention, or the attention they do attract can be used to my benefit. For example, nobody wants to pick on a Crown Vic or 4-door Charger that looks like it might be an unmarked police car.

In the past there were a lot more great candidates for making Q-ships out of. But there are still enough. At my age, I don't need to impress anyone. If I do, I just rent a luxury car for the rare occasion.
 
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There are a handful of really high-end cars with matte or no paint (Lamborghini Reventon, Sesto Elemento (unfinished CF), Nissan Juke R, a hideous Hyundai Veloster...), but it does take a particular look to pull it off.

Myself? I love the Reventon/Reventon Roadster, and the Aventador's "Nero Black" matte job, but many cars can't look anything but old and disused. I know I love seeing a good old muscle car with high gloss paint like it just rolled off the lot.
 
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Here in the US, "boy racer" used to be any cheap, grossly overpowered car that lacked refinement, but went like stink. Now with FWD imports, the term has been co-opted.

We also have young people who spend a shocking amount of money making their cars look like they should go fast, but nothing on actual performance parts. They're typically referred to as "ricers" which is a pejorative term, although it originated with the affirmative "rice rocket" reference to super-fast Japanese bikes. That's where the comparison ends, as any make and model car can be "riced out". In fact, the idea originated right here in the USA!

I got my driving license when all new cars in America were "gutless wonders" that were dressed up with sticker packages (the Pontiac Firebird's "screaming chicken" hood decal epitomized this fad) to make up for the lack of horsepower and handling. After a decade of suffering this crass nonsense, it's hard for me to wrap my mind around the idea of doing this in purpose!
 
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Thanks for the replies, so it seems like it boils down to what sells. I just wanted to post the image of the finish type. As you can see it not gloss, but it's not flat as well. It looks fairly cool I think, I really would like to see a car painted with it. I've seen one on a highway for a brief seconds, but that's about it.
2-19-2013 7-29-37 PM.jpg
 
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The problem with getting a car painted like that from the factory is supply and demand. Would they dedicate one of their paint lines to a low volume option like that? Doubtful. That's why when you do see it, it is on the ultra high end cars where money is no object.


well you might be surprised to know that this bike cost around $2300 and its not even a midrange road bike. Specialized has an S-works bike which has zipp carbon fiber wheels for $2k, not even includin the frame and components. I'm pretty sure they would have sold cars with this kind of paint. If its going to be on civic si, ford Fiesta etc. youngster's popular cars, they are going to sell some.
 
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well you might be surprised to know that this bike cost around $2300 and its not even a midrange road bike. Specialized has an S-works bike which has zipp carbon fiber wheels for $2k, not even includin the frame and components. I'm pretty sure they would have sold cars with this kind of paint. If its going to be on civic si, ford Fiesta etc. youngster's popular cars, they are going to sell some.

I'm not surprised at all, that was kind of my point, that it would be an expensive option that relatively few would take advantage of, which means it wouldn't be a good return on investment for the car manufacturers. That's why you only see those paint jobs on very expensive cars. The mainstream car companies deal in volume. Looks really cool on your bike, btw.
 
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Well, so at the end its not practicle, expensive and would not sell well. I think its more of a marketing gimics, Matte paint itself does not cost more than a regular paint.

I think it would find its consumers if it was released on a reasonably priced cars

I know its a small surface on the bike, but i never used any special cleaning solutions for it. My road bike went through 2 years of New York city riding and there are almost no visible scratches at all.
 
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Here in the US, "boy racer" used to be any cheap, grossly overpowered car that lacked refinement, but went like stink. Now with FWD imports, the term has been co-opted.

We also have young people who spend a shocking amount of money making their cars look like they should go fast, but nothing on actual performance parts. They're typically referred to as "ricers" which is a pejorative term, although it originated with the affirmative "rice rocket" reference to super-fast Japanese bikes. That's where the comparison ends, as any make and model car can be "riced out". In fact, the idea originated right here in the USA!

I got my driving license when all new cars in America were "gutless wonders" that were dressed up with sticker packages (the Pontiac Firebird's "screaming chicken" hood decal epitomized this fad) to make up for the lack of horsepower and handling. After a decade of suffering this crass nonsense, it's hard for me to wrap my mind around the idea of doing this in purpose!

Lots of those ricers on the road where I live. Noisy as heck, too. My fiancee had to explain to me that it wasn't about speed, its about looks and noise. I'm sorry, but if my Jetta TDI can pull out and beat your Honda Civic 'Si' (I half suspect the badge was glued on)... Your noise is for nothing. I don't understand a loud car without the power to match.
 
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Lots of those ricers on the road where I live. Noisy as heck, too. My fiancee had to explain to me that it wasn't about speed, its about looks and noise. I'm sorry, but if my Jetta TDI can pull out and beat your Honda Civic 'Si' (I half suspect the badge was glued on)... Your noise is for nothing. I don't understand a loud car without the power to match.

They don't even sound good. They put those fart cans on their exhaust and it makes them sound like a dirt bike lol.
 
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The problem with getting a car painted like that from the factory is supply and demand. Would they dedicate one of their paint lines to a low volume option like that? Doubtful. That's why when you do see it, it is on the ultra high end cars where money is no object.
Take the "color shifting" paint jobs, for example. Ford offered this as a factory paint option on a few late model Mustangs. If everyone had one, it wouldn't be nearly as impressive to see one!
 
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Lots of those ricers on the road where I live. Noisy as heck, too. My fiancee had to explain to me that it wasn't about speed, its about looks and noise. I'm sorry, but if my Jetta TDI can pull out and beat your Honda Civic 'Si' (I half suspect the badge was glued on)... Your noise is for nothing. I don't understand a loud car without the power to match.
Oh, don't get me started on the "fart pipe" mufflers and the "overcompensating for a shortcoming" tailpipes! They do sound horrible! The epitome of poor taste and a tin ear for automotive sounds. I've heard, even owned some I-4 cars that sound really nice, so I know it's possible. It takes a hot cam and tri-y pipes to do it though. Sticking a Helmholtz resonator on a mild cam I-4 is not impressive in the least. And the way oversize tailpipe is a real chick magnet...turned to the "repel" position, that is! Seriously, are that clueless?

My old '89 Mustang LX had such a quiet exhaust that I could hear the exhaust pulses pinging against the tubular headers. Now that was cool!
 
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Oh, don't get me started on the "fart pipe" mufflers and the "overcompensating for a shortcoming" tailpipes! They do sound horrible! The epitome of poor taste and a tin ear for automotive sounds. I've heard, even owned some I-4 cars that sound really nice, so I know it's possible. It takes a hot cam and tri-y pipes to do it though. Sticking a Helmholtz resonator on a mild cam I-4 is not impressive in the least. And the way oversize tailpipe is a real chick magnet...turned to the "repel" position, that is! Seriously, are that clueless?

My old '89 Mustang LX had such a quiet exhaust that I could hear the exhaust pulses pinging against the tubular headers. Now that was cool!

Around here? VERY clueless.

I will admit, I like my car's "shhhhhhhhhhhcccccccccccvvvvvvvvvvvoooooooooooooooooooooomoommmm" vaccuum sound.
 
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Please let me explain where am I coming from. I own a carbon fiber bike and it's neatly painted with satin black paint by the manufacture. It's not a flat pain, it it a little glossy but almost no shine at all. I was just wondering is there a particular reason why no cars are being painted with this type of paint? Price? Durability? Moral and social standards?

I've seen a few custom painted cars, and in my opinion these looked beautiful.

Personally, i love that look, we call it hot rod black and that is the color my truck is going to be as soon as i have the money.

I've been seeing more and more vehicles painted like this in our area than ever before, its become quite popular in our area !

The guys i've talked to that have this paint job said that they use a clearcoat on top ,but its not a high gloss coat, but a satin gloss clear so you can wash and wax it like anything else.
 
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Take the "color shifting" paint jobs, for example. Ford offered this as a factory paint option on a few late model Mustangs. If everyone had one, it wouldn't be nearly as impressive to see one!

Pontiac used one also, on the Grand Prix. It was Blue-Green (or "Bleen"), was an option on 2004-2007, though maybe not all years.
 
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Pontiac used one also, on the Grand Prix. It was Blue-Green (or "Bleen"), was an option on 2004-2007, though maybe not all years.
Very cool, thanks!

I've only seen one color-shifting car with my own eyes, and it happened to be a Mustang just like the dozens I've seen photos of in my Mustang forums. I would love to spot another car with that paint, but they're so rare...which makes them that much more desirable!
 
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Personally, i love that look, we call it hot rod black and that is the color my truck is going to be as soon as i have the money.

I've been seeing more and more vehicles painted like this in our area than ever before, its become quite popular in our area !

The guys i've talked to that have this paint job said that they use a clearcoat on top ,but its not a high gloss coat, but a satin gloss clear so you can wash and wax it like anything else.


its called plastidip. after a proper prep and taping off a few select areas you just spray it on like a very thick/heavy paint.

best part is....it peels off when you want it gone.


here are a few before/after pics....

66919FEE-C0F4-42BB-BA83-1B38934C57F0-5197-000002A2B6F2C8A9.jpg


C5C06B1E-8BE0-4414-9FB0-FAFA819C70FC-1968-000000B28E1D36A6.jpg



yes...they have colors...
FE52974F-C0FA-4A05-B22C-D0419D58E765-868-0000007603273733_zps2b44505a.jpg
 
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