Matte paint finish on cars. WHY?

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GrasB

Veteran
Location
Nr Cambridge
I think you give them too much credit...I doubt most of the owners have given it that much thought and haven't actually worked out how they are going to maintain it!
Take one E28 BMW 5 series. Strip it completely down to the bare chassis metal. Maliciously repaint the inside & engine bay of the vehicle, mask off all good paint work VERY carefully. Salt & water blast the exterior of the car & then leave to rust, checking on an almost hourly basis. At the appropriate time use some epic paint voodoo to seal the now rusted body panels. Mask off areas of body work & glass, cut the glass very specifically so it will crack in a certain way when you place a metal crowbar against a body member & glass then hit it with a sledge hammer. Now you turn your attention to the interior, deliberately cutting/ripping bits & placing various bits of interior trim all stabilised so it will stay how you want it. At this point you’ve spent about €15’000 on the car getting it ‘up to’ standard visually.

Now time to turn your attention to the engine & suspension. The engine is stripped down rebuild & put back together all painted & clean. In this process you’ve also tuned the engine to hell & back. When putting the engine back in the car you take special care to make the wiring loom invisible & remove as much clutter as possible. All you see is glistening paint & metal with the occasional HT lead. You also spend loads of time on the suspension getting it just perfect, custom machining spacers to the mm so everything lines up just right, etc.

For finishing touches you weld an hammered aluminium mole grips to the bodywork in such a way you can’t move them one iota but you can’t see the welds.

Total cost €30’000-€35’000. I think you have not much clue about people who do rat ;)
 

JoeyB

Go on, tilt your head!
Take one E28 BMW 5 series. Strip it completely down to the bare chassis metal. Maliciously repaint the inside & engine bay of the vehicle, mask off all good paint work VERY carefully. Salt & water blast the exterior of the car & then leave to rust, checking on an almost hourly basis. At the appropriate time use some epic paint voodoo to seal the now rusted body panels. Mask off areas of body work & glass, cut the glass very specifically so it will crack in a certain way when you place a metal crowbar against a body member & glass then hit it with a sledge hammer. Now you turn your attention to the interior, deliberately cutting/ripping bits & placing various bits of interior trim all stabilised so it will stay how you want it. At this point you’ve spent about €15’000 on the car getting it ‘up to’ standard visually.

Now time to turn your attention to the engine & suspension. The engine is stripped down rebuild & put back together all painted & clean. In this process you’ve also tuned the engine to hell & back. When putting the engine back in the car you take special care to make the wiring loom invisible & remove as much clutter as possible. All you see is glistening paint & metal with the occasional HT lead. You also spend loads of time on the suspension getting it just perfect, custom machining spacers to the mm so everything lines up just right, etc.

For finishing touches you weld an hammered aluminium mole grips to the bodywork in such a way you can’t move them one iota but you can’t see the welds.

Total cost €30’000-€35’000. I think you have not much clue about people who do rat ;)

As above, I wasn't referring to the people who do true rat, more the 'council estate touring cars' wannabe rat look...
 

SomethingLikeThat

Über Member
Location
South London
I keep seeing this parked nearby, and it always makes me think of this thread. The ultimate cool scruffy hippie-wagon.
Looks a bit like the 'patina' type finish popular on VWs. Seems to be really popular in America.
5.jpg
332376.jpg
 

Cyclopathic

Veteran
Location
Leicester.
[QUOTE 3003014, member: 45"]I painted my Mini Clubman satin black in 1989, with rattle cans from Halfords. The rest of you are on catch-up.[/QUOTE]
I had a mini when I was about 18 and had the brilliant idea of painting it Hamerite black with a brush. It looked absolutely dreadful, like it had been stolen and burned out. Worst paint job ever. And I didn't have enough to paint it all nor the heart to spend more on paint to finish it. Just awful.
 

subaqua

What’s the point
Location
Leytonstone
I once timed my Morris Minor from 0 - 60. I think it was about 30 seconds.
more like 30 yrs
 

SteCenturion

I am your Father
Take one E28 BMW 5 series. Strip it completely down to the bare chassis metal. Maliciously repaint the inside & engine bay of the vehicle, mask off all good paint work VERY carefully. Salt & water blast the exterior of the car & then leave to rust, checking on an almost hourly basis. At the appropriate time use some epic paint voodoo to seal the now rusted body panels. Mask off areas of body work & glass, cut the glass very specifically so it will crack in a certain way when you place a metal crowbar against a body member & glass then hit it with a sledge hammer. Now you turn your attention to the interior, deliberately cutting/ripping bits & placing various bits of interior trim all stabilised so it will stay how you want it. At this point you’ve spent about €15’000 on the car getting it ‘up to’ standard visually.

Now time to turn your attention to the engine & suspension. The engine is stripped down rebuild & put back together all painted & clean. In this process you’ve also tuned the engine to hell & back. When putting the engine back in the car you take special care to make the wiring loom invisible & remove as much clutter as possible. All you see is glistening paint & metal with the occasional HT lead. You also spend loads of time on the suspension getting it just perfect, custom machining spacers to the mm so everything lines up just right, etc.

For finishing touches you weld an hammered aluminium mole grips to the bodywork in such a way you can’t move them one iota but you can’t see the welds.

Total cost €30’000-€35’000. I think you have not much clue about people who do rat ;)
Rat - $#AT

A bunch of limp peckers wasting €, £, $ on artificially aged nob extensions.

What a load of sad sacks, spotty nerds in a car park talking Bo - llocks & pumpin' the throttle coz they 'aint got nuthin' else 2 pump. (See what I did there).

Artificially hip
 

Mad Doug Biker

Banned from every bar in the Galaxy
Location
Craggy Island
If done correctly, I don't see why matte on a car can't look ok.
The picture in the OP is all very well, although, I can't help think that it somehow looks incomplete, like its waiting for vinyls or something.

Gloss is dead common and boring anyway, I mean YAAAWWWNNN!!
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
Gloss is certainly dead in interior decor - your woodwork has got to be satin nowadays. Anyway gloss reflects and shows all the imperfections.
 
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