From Gloss black to Matt Black, recomendations please
 

I want to change my gloss black Raven to a flat or matt black finish. Looks like three possible options.
Re-paint, about $2500.
Wrap, $1500 to $2000.
Plasti Dip $550.

Is there anyone here that has dipped or wrapped their car and can comment on likes, dislikes, pros and cons.

I have done a search but haven't really come up with anything.

Thank you.

Of course this is my opinion, but I can honestly say that flat black cars look awful almost all the time. It just looks sloppy. This may be because of the fact that we are trained to like the glossy look of cars, and flat black is out of the norm.


I would consider spending your money on either better aesthetics, or actual performance parts.

I've pretty much got the performance part where I want it. Long before I bought my FRS I saw a matt black car with gold wheels and just fell in love with the look.
So this is the look I'm after.

Fair enough.

Well if you're committed to do this, and are willing to pay, do it right.

That's my intentions, I just don't know what right is that's why I'm asking for advice.

Repaint with chalk board paint, would be a lot of fun to draw all over it when you're bored. ;)

On a serious note if your going to do it, spend the money on a full re spray from a reputable shop. Taking it to a place like maaco would be a waste of a car.

Wrap it unless you're a perfectionist.

Unless you're going to remove your engine and interior to do a proper job which I doubt if you're saying it's $2500 wrap it.

Flat/Matte black looks like shit

A proper satin black paint job is amazing however.

Matte Black Plastidip never looks right IMO even when sprayed properly by someone with experience. If you're just fucking around I'd say go for it, you can do it yourself for a couple hundred bucks and its easy enough. However if you're really determined to get that kind of look. Pay a professional to do a proper satin finish on your car.

Semi-Gloss to Satin > Matte/Flat and Chalkboard

Here is about a 65% gloss mix. :)
http://i59.tinypic.com/hwk1o9.jpg

Painting a car matte will limit it's resale which is a plus for vinyl.
Vinyl won't hold up as well as a proper 2k paint job. But can be redone cheaper.

Satin cars can have gloss black accents. There is a (originally red) C7 vette running around locally that is satin black, they left all the gloss metallic pearl black factory painted parts (diffuser, spoiler, qtr vents, grille) still gloss and the contrast is absolutely beautiful!

I can tell you right now a proper respray isn't $2500.

I agree with @Kiske about satin/gloss. I'd be considern satin wrap but leave the fender garnish gloss, maybe the trunk garnish too. The beauty of a wrap is that you could try that, if it doesn't look good you can then wrap the extra bits. There's a guy here in the UK with a flat black car, I think it looks OK.

Boy, I have a lot to learn, like the difference between satin, matt, and flat finish. I thought they were the same. So far I like the idea of the so called "Dipped" coating. It's the cheapest and can be just pealed off if I don't like the results. Then if I do like the look I can peal it off and get a good paint job later.

It's still going to be black so I say spend that cash elsewhere.. Of course it's up to you but in the real world, yes outdoors, people will see it and say, wow that's a nice 86 regardless of gloss, satin,matte etc

Forget the forums and please yourself... :)

I was hoping to find some members here that have a satin or matt finish, how it was applied, and that could tell me what they liked or dis liked about it.

Just an FYI matte is difficult to maintain

I am going to second this a lot. You can't wax it so no protection from the elements. you get a scratch and you can't buff it out or you will have a shiny spot. IMO it looks cool on other peoples cars but I would never spend the extra for something I couldn't take care of.

There is a guy running around near me with a matte 86, may be satin though. Have only caught him out of the corner of my eye twice. Next time ill try and catch up with him.

I've been thinking about satin / gloss, maybe matte, for my sterling silver BRZ. I wanted the red brz which is so sexy looking, but decided to play it conservative in the color to avoid unwanted attention.

This has paid in the sense I havent gotten a single ticket, while my GF who owns a Molten Lava Fiesta ST has been pulled over 4 times. We drive about the same, spiritedly nothing excessive, and she has owned her car for a month less.

despite this, the silver is starting to bug me.

This is the kind of help I'm looking for. I love the look but sure don't want anything that's harder to take care of.
I'm really disappointed in the Palm Springs car scene so far. I haven't seen a single matt or satin finish car around here. Haven't been able to find any good car tuning shops, and only 2 FRS/BRZ owners, who both have their cars tore apart for modifications.

We're taking the Wife's Mini Cooper to car show this Sat so maybe there will be some satin finish cars there I can look at.

I would dip the car in satin clear to see if you like it, and then if you're 100% committed just have the car re-cleared with a satin clear instead of a whole new base coat.

https://www.dipyourcar.com/Satinizer-Satin-Coating/

Like others have said, it's exponentially harder to maintain!

I tried something like that. I painted a test piece of metal with the spray can and don't like it. The finish was soft feeling. I have been told the spray cans have a softer finish than the gallon cans meant for whole car applications.

I am unsure if repainting it would cost too much. Reason being is that gloss and matte is just a finish. So in other words all that would need to be done is have the gloss finish sanded down, then have a matte finish sprayed on top. You wouldn't need to repaint black again.

Unless I am missing something?

Oh in terms of expense, reversibility and longevity it definitely goes from the least to the most

Plastidip -> Vinyl -> Paint

Paint being the most expensive the least reversible and the longest lasting (i think some vinyl people might argue)

If I were you, i'd plastidip if unsure and wrap if you want something a little more expensive. Dont paint, if you decide to resell this wont be a fun venture for you to go down

I agree.

The matte/satin effect finish is achieved in the clear coat, not necessarily the black paint nowadays. Just saw this Cadillac at a show last week and I thought it looked pretty damn cool. All the trim that was chrome is now gloss.
Black was not 'flat' and had some sheen to it, but was far from glossy.

Attachment 94158

Attachment 94159

Remember, take a kid to a car show. They're closer to the ground at it's easier for them to clean the wheels...........

Rear 1/4 panel has enough metal in it to build 2 twins.............:lol:

That Cadillac is nice, that is what I'm after.

Dip Your Car now has a detailer called "DIP COAT" which changes the feel and finish if you end up going that route. https://www.dipyourcar.com/Dip-Coat-Spray.html

A good quality full re-spray will run you like $4000-$5000 (base and clear), to just have the existing finish prepped and cleared with a satin clear would still likely be $1500-$2000 for a GOOD job, and given the nature of satin paint it's not something you want to cheap out on if it's permanent.