Motoring Discussion > Matt black cars	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: BobbyG	Replies: 26

New Wed 14 Apr 10 21:46   Matt black cars - BobbyG

I am seeing an increasing trend of cars that are covered in dull matt black paint. In fact last week's Auto Express featured a drive in a Mercedes special edition which they said came with various warnings about not washing the car. So, if you are either mega rich, or a chav, and have your car matt black what do you do in the way of washing it? I assume you won't spend any money trying to get a concours shine to it? Stu? Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 14 Apr 10 22:00   Matt black cars - Bagpuss

I mentioned this before on the...er...other site. Whilst deciding on my company car I was offered a BMW 530d Estate by our my company's supplying dealer at a knockdown leasing rate as it was a cancelled order. Unfortunately it turned out to have an M-Sport bodykit and was finished in what BMW refer to as Carbon Black, in other words matt black. Not wanting to have my customers think I was driving around in the Batmobile I turned down the offer. I like cars to look shiny. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 15 Apr 10 13:51   Matt black cars - midlifecrisis

>> Unfortunately it turned out to have an M-Sport bodykit and was finished in what BMW >> refer to as Carbon Black in other words matt black. Carbon black is most definitely not matt black! www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/auc/car_details/0,,1260_159980106__,00.html?currentCh=WBANX32000C041613 Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 15 Apr 10 16:08   Matt black cars - Bagpuss

>> Carbon black is most definitely not matt black! It certainly looked that way to me as it was not shiny. Any colour on a car that is not shiny I consider to be matt. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 14 Apr 10 22:04   Matt black cars - Runfer D'Hills

We get Bentley "mules" round here quite often. There was one recently which was based on a Continental but looked like its evil cousin. Matt black everything including even bigger wheels. Lower slung than normal and sounded, well.... it sounded fast. Very fast. Lad who had it home would only say it was something "special" they were working on. Never really fancied one before but that appealed to me. Piggy bank way way too small unfortunately. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 14 Apr 10 22:24   Matt black cars - sherlock47

Somebody has probably sold the owner a can of radar absorbent paint! - for a very high price;) Reply to this message | Report message       1

New Thu 15 Apr 10 10:21   Matt black cars - Boxsterboy

>> radar absorbent paint >> Ah! Now I see the point of matt black paint! Off to the paintshop pronto! Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 15 Apr 10 10:59   Matt black cars - DP

The new Focus RS500 comes in a special matt black finish developed especially for Ford by 3M. Personally, I think it looks fantastic: www.dubdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Ford-Focus-RS50020.jpg Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 15 Apr 10 11:58   Matt black cars - Skoda

There's a porsche 911 997 kicking about Glasgow and it's been "wrapped" in matt black. Ruins the look :-( But i can see the attraction of "wrapping" to protect the paint underneath, just not the point in painting matt black ! Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 15 Apr 10 13:28   Matt black cars - Cpt. Flack

Prefer a car to shine. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 15 Apr 10 14:18   Matt black cars - Kithmo

What next, pre scratched ? Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 15 Apr 10 16:04   Matt black cars - Armel Coussine

Matt black is a bit poncy. Dark grey primer, patchily applied, is classier. :o} Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 16 Apr 10 00:14   Matt black cars - Londoner

>> Personally, I think it looks fantastic: Dull black paint, black wheels, black spoiler, black ugly-kid glass. Looks like the kind of car that Death would drive. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 16 Apr 10 00:37   Matt black cars - DP

>> Looks like the kind of >> car that Death would drive. I know. Great, innit? ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 15 Apr 10 19:47   Matt black cars - Diamond

Saw a matt black Bently the other week. It looked hideous. Probably would appeal to those who like orange wheels etc. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 16 Apr 10 08:59   Matt black cars - Redviper

I sw a matt black VW Passatt, dont know if this is how it was made, but i cant say I was that impressed with it Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 16 Apr 10 12:30   Matt black cars - MVP

Didn't some Capri's have matt blck bonnets I'm sure I had a Dinky toy with one - Cool ! Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 16 Apr 10 12:37   Matt black cars - Runfer D'Hills

I painted the bonnet of my mk1 Escort matt black. It was otherwise beige and had an 1100cc engine. The paint job didn't make it go faster, disappointingly enough. The addition of some purple-ish swirly carpet off-cuts to the interior in place of the standard rubber mats did add a certain air of opulence though. A "Feu Orange" jauntily dangled from the headlamp switch added to the sophistication of course. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 16 Apr 10 12:50   Matt black cars - bathtub tom

What would be the effect on internal temperatures on sunny days? Would there be any appreciable difference? Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 17 Apr 10 14:56   Matt black cars - Dave_

>> What would be the effect on internal temperatures on sunny days? Would there be any appreciable difference? I saw a Mythbusters episode that asked exactly this question. From Wikipedia: A fan wrote in and asked a follow up question: "Does the color of a car affect the way it heats up?". The MythBusters used two identical cars, one black the other white and left them both out in the summer heat with thermometers in both. By mid-afternoon the white car had a temperature of 126 °F (52.2 °C), while the black car had heated up to a temperature of 135 °F (57.2 °C), about 9 degrees hotter in the Fahrenheit scale. The explanation was that black paint absorbs the heat while white paint deflects it. :-) Last edited by: Dave_TD {P} on Sat 17 Apr 10 at 14:56 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 17 Apr 10 16:25   Matt black cars - Old Navy

While white is seen as a commercial or "van" colour in the UK, white is a common car colour in hotter countries. Last edited by: Old Navy on Sat 17 Apr 10 at 16:26 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 17 Apr 10 17:36   Matt black cars - Iffy

...swirly carpet off-cuts... And the backing would unravel leaving bits of string in the footwell. Haven't seen an off-cut pressed into service as car mat for years. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 17 Apr 10 18:00   Matt black cars - crocks

Matt black car mats in matt black cars? Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 17 Apr 10 19:24   Matt black cars - Tooslow

Reminds me of the space ship in Hitch Hikers Guide. The one that was so stylish it had a matt black control panel with matt black labelling and lights that showed matt black when you prseed the (matt black of course) buttons. Bet that's an optional extra for the dash. JH Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 17 Apr 10 20:46   Matt black cars - JohnM{P}

Apologies for slight drift, but many (many!) years ago, I had a seller earnestly trying to convince me that the flat paint on his Hillman Imp was a special eggshell factory finish! Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 18 Apr 10 19:49   Matt black cars - Dave_

>> a Mythbusters episode that asked exactly this question is on Quest at this moment! Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 27 Apr 10 23:57   Matt black cars - Typ 8L

Matt paint on cars seems pretty impractical to me. Bound to weather badly, increases aerodynamic drag, can't use T-Cut, polish or wax in the usual way. It's not for nothing that old military aircraft that are preserved in flying condition tend to get their original matt camouflage finish repainted in gloss! Reply to this message | Report message