Flat / Matte black opinions?

[Flying Scotsman]

After a shunt with a Range Rover which slid through a red light in the snow, my poor Nova looks like it might need a slightly quicker than planned paint job once the bodywork is fixed .
Its a gloss black just now but I've been kicking around the idea of the flat/matte black not rattlecan primer, actual hot rod black..
(http://www.performancecoatings.dupon...ack_color.html) and wonered if anyone had toyed with this before? In my head it would look badass but is it hard to keep clean? Is it just a 'trend' - there was a ton of matte paint jobs at SEMA. Is it just a crap idea????
Opinions welcome
cheers
FS

[LateNight72]

While it does look fairly cool, IMO, it looks unfinished . I personally would do a full BC/CC gloss black...

[Hdesign]

This is sort of a personal taste call. Some people like it some don't. Here's the generic answer: "It's your car, do what you want"

My opinion on the satin, semi gloss, flat issue is that it really depends on the application. Personally, I think there are certain types of cars that treatment looks killer on. Then again, there are some that were well intentioned and seemed to follow a "new trend" without regard. I think nothing looks more bada$$ on a custom or hot rod than satin black paint. For musclecars and g-machines I tend to think they look more striking as only an accent. Satin stripes or hood on a slick, high gloss car look great. To me full satin paint just looks underwhelming on musclecars unless there's some functional aspect to it. Honestly, it just looks unfinished. Just my $.02

[Flash68]

Here is another option:

http://www.tcpglobal.com/kustomshop/ksflatz.aspx

I am going to try this in black on my single hood stripe in contrast to a semi-gloss body color for the rest of the car.

I agree with Hdesign in that I think it works better as a stripe or hood color to create a nice contrast to a semi gloss body. There are many examples of that and I think it looks killer. Of course, to each his own. I also thought about doing the whole car in a flat/matte but decided against it.

Good luck!

[CraigMorrison]

I really dig the satin finish- I think there's a real sinister / stealthy look to it. Here's a link to today's Jalopnik story on it. http://www.jalopnik.com/photogallery/matte/496573 How bad does this Mercedes look? Cruisin around in this is going to scare old ladies and make children cry. I really want to do a satin finish muscle car. I don't think it's for everybody, but it definitely puts a point across.....

For those that want to do it, you can do any base coat and then top coat with PPG's "egg shell clear" It makes for an awesome satin finish.

[Rick D]

Ive used the Hot Rod black nice stuff. My friend has his whole truck paint with it not to bad to keep it cleans. As for the look it all depends on the car. If it's a show car I would use it for striping and such. If you going to drive it I say go for it I love the look. Here's a picture of my freinds truck.

[Lenie]

I like it, I'm going flat black inserts on hood,trunk,back panel and valance on gloss black.

[Diognes56]

For the most part, I personally don't like completely satin cars, though some 30's to early 60's kustoms and hot rods look awsome that way. I do like satin accents (stripes and such) on some other cars though, especially later 60's and up performance cars. Though that is just my opinion, it is your car .

Sorry to hear about the damage to your car .

David

[deuce_454]

if its not either a brand new exotic or somehow accented with somthing that makes it look finished.. it will look like somone covered dents or crappy bodywork on an old beater....

[Steve Chryssos]

I had a Ducati Monster Dark that looked angry and stealthy with its matte black paint. I mixed in a little carbon fiber and the look was complete. If you are not sure, try a really dark blue or green instead of black. That will corroborate that the finish is intentional rather than temporary.