After doing some research a quality matte paint job is pretty costly and should have multi layers/stages of paint. There is primer, a base, and clearcoat on top. The difference is they spray on another layer of dull coat onto the clear. A cheap painter will skip the dull coat and just paint the car a base coat. I found this post on Bimmer Fourms: I had my E34 painted in a matte black several months ago. There is so little information available on the topic that I thought I would talk about my experiences with caring for these finishes. The following comes from several conversations with an insider at Meguiars. I e-mailed them asking about info for matte care and nobody had any experience with it. They are currently working on a detailing system for matte finishes, but that's a long ways off. The first thing to know is that these finishes CAN NOT be buffed/polished. If any scratches or blemishes happen, it's all over. This means that using washing and drying methods that don't scratch or abrade are imperative. One trip through one of those auto washes that uses brushes can destroy an EXTREMELY expensive paint job. Second is that these finishes still need to be protected against the elements like traditional paints. The problem is that traditional waxes can not be used. These finishes have a matte appearance due to microscopic surface imperfections that reflect light in a random manner. Using a wax or polish will fill these in/knock them down and turn the finish shiny. The key is to remove any and all dirt. Seems obvious, but traditional paint care methods basically boil down to being able to wipe dirt off a smooth surface. With a matte surface it's all about lifting dirt out of the surface imperfections. Think if like cleaning a carpet vs. a hardwood floor. The process that I have found that works the best is this: 1) Wash the car using a heavy concentration of dawn dish soap. Traditional purpose made car wash solutions have small concentrations of waxes/polishes that are great for traditional clear coats, but can cause some funky stuff to happen on mattes. The biggest enemy I have found with these finishes are oils from hands/dead bugs. Dish soap does an amazing job of lifting these oils out of the finish. 2) Use one of the Mr. Clean auto dry systems (or the spot free rinse at a coin-op wash) to rinse the soap off. Any soap residue left on a gloss finish won't be noticed. On a matte finish it will create some blotches. 3) Dry the car by hand with a SUPER clean chamois. Ambient dust can cling to the water droplets left behind by the Mr. Clean system. 4) Use Meguiars gold class trim detailer. Apply the stuff with clean pads like you would when applying a wax to a traditional finish. Use super clean soft towels to remove the stuff. This step only needs to be done every few months (as often as you would wax a traditional finish, the trim detailer contains protectants just like a wax). Any body else with a matte car have some other suggestions?
w/o I would use. I will have to disagree with this. With whats out there you can do a SS flat paint job and have it look just as good. Most painters aren't just going to base a car and leave it like that. Theres no reason to me why I would spend the money on a BC/CC system just for flat. I would just use HRF or sort. When it starts to look "bad" in a few years have it resprayed. Its not going to break the bank.
If it's not a cheap paint job there would be no need to respray in a few years. That'ts just my opinion, if you getting a custom paint job, mise well get it done right. Just my opinion. That is just the info i found. A quality matte paint job consists of multi stages. Only thought i would pass on what i found for those who are curious.
Being the son of a painter I know my way around a booth : Though I am only 21... Being its flat the ability to say keep it like it was when is was sprayed it hard and the same can be said for a regular BC/CC shiny paint job, just you can buff that. I wouldn't say a flat paint job is custom, but then again I just hate this trend. Regardless if its a flat or reg. painted vehicle all the same prep steps are taken. Your going epoxy, 2K primer, sealer, and then paint. The cost for HRF is cheaper then a BC/CC. Its all personal preference, don't mean to sound like Im arguing mate.
Correct. You cannot buff or sand the clear. The agents that cause the "flat" appearance are retained very close to the surface. If you rub/sand into this area, it will remove the flattening agents and the appearance will start to go glossy. Here is another non black flat finish if you will... HRF carnival red And another one of the VW...
I'm not a painter, but the basis on why we polish and corrct paint tells me that we should NOT polish or correct a matte finish. Matte finishes are such because they are reflecting light from the surface. Paint correction is done to level the top coat (usually clear) of the paint so light reflects rather than refracts. Light refraction happens when the top coat is scratched, marred, orange-peeled, etc. While the finish may be smooth, the depth does not allow a reflcection. On the flip side, scratches will probably be faint as there is very little light refracting out and any that are highly visible are probably pretty deep. Just my $.02.
