Upkeep of Matte Paint
 

Can someone please go over the conditions/needs in order to clean matte paint properly.

The amount of people I've heard saying it's hell to clean/upkeep/avoid etc is getting slightly bothering!

I remember hearing something about BMW coming out with some agreement regarding their matte paint?

Thanks!

I apologize if this has been posted before but i couldn't find anything on here about it

If you want Matte, I suggest you look up SR Auto Group and get a vinyl matte wrap. If you do really screw up with the upkeep, at least it can all be torn away and you still have your shiny "regular paint" left behind

Yes go to SR, but please please stay away from MM Design............

Swissvax has matte paint cleaning/maintenance system which I believe was formulated for Lamborghini. So not all is lost.

Like just regular paint, make sure to wash off all bird droppings immediately.

For matte upkeep theres not really much you can do. Simply just wash ONLY. If you wanted to go all out, as kyoshiro mentioned Swissvax did come out with something for Matte. (EXPENSIVE though)

for most part if you got factory matte paint, the cost of the products are justified most of the time as the car itself probably is probably worth quite a bit.
For the SV products we're talking about around 240 bucks for the wax with 12-20 applications (depending whether you're using hand or applicator) and each coating lasting 6 months as with most of the other lines of wax in the swissvax line up (Crystal Rock is 12 months and Shield could be in the ranges of 8+ months). thats about all the wax you'll need in the lifetime of your vehicle. The other stuff may set you back another 200 or so but things like the wash are fairly concentrated and you'll prolly only end up buying more quick finish for maintenance washes (QD for matte).

There is a special wax for matte paint. . .
but as stated above upkeep and maintenance of matte paint is a pain, a tiny scratch will turn into a huge paint job because you cant touch it up, you have to paint the entire panel...

Therefore I suggest you get a matte vinyl which can be applied to regular paint and give that matte look...I believe 3M makes one and there is also something called Satin Guard:
http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20Guard/2.jpghttp://i556.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20Guard/1.jpghttp://i556.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_6653.jpghttp://i556.photobucket.com/albums/s...0Guard/1-5.jpghttp://i556.photobucket.com/albums/s...0Guard/4-4.jpg

thats sick!

If you have vinyl wrap done, can you still go through touchless wash at gas stations?

the thing with the touchless is that some of em use quite strong chemicals and with a vinyl wrap, it might not be such a good idea. Some of the chemicals are able to strip wax from what I remember correctly.
but yeah dont know what the stations are using in general anyways so I wouldnt risk it.

+1 almost all touchless car washes use very strong chemicals with some acidity in them to strip away built up wax and grime therefore the vinyl will deteriorate overtime if exposed to these chemicals over the long run (how many times before it starts looking like crap?, i don't know)...not to mention some of the high pressure water cannons they use may also damage the vinyl and cause peeling at the edges

I see. What about actual matte paint? Would touchless be ok?
Posted via RS Mobile

yea it should be ok because the matte paint has a special matte clear coat on top, but i would still not recommend it, whether matte paint or not because the acids still have a negative effect on the clear coat of the paint

matte clear coat is same as normal shiny clear coat
matte clear coat just dries matte and shinny clear coat dries shiny. same base formula...just different hardeners

i painted my car matte black when i worked at a body shop..

and for washing car wise...touchless is good to go...but....best is yourself! wash and rinse twice....touchless can never get into the cracks and corners that well

Roughly how much is the matte paint service?
Posted via RS Mobile

lol personally i think it's kind of cool too,

It depends on what kind of car you are planning to vinyl.

What's wrong with MM Design?
I got my Benz done in Matte White @ Canawrap in New West. They did an excellent job and I'm happy with the result.
Here's a link I referred too;
http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49291
Posted via RS Mobile

Wow, for the first time I actually like the matte look - but only on that silver. Never seen that before! Kind of cool. You expect silver to be shiny, that's different.. like!!

I hate it on black, white, red... they all look like shit.

How much does it typically cost to vinyl wrap a car locally, including labour?

i've heard anywhere from 1800$ - 3500$

+1.

$1800 for decent quality wrap, around $2200 for higher quality vinyl wrap.

Not bad considering the cost of paint these days. Might give it a try, thanks guys.