Stealth Black Paint

[blacksambo]

I don't know if you've seen them but there are some Porsches etc. out there now with what I call "stealth black paint". It's like a matte black surface all over the car. It looks uber tough! I was wondering, perhaps the VX , or at least approximately 50% of the VX was the first vehicle to offer this now ultra-hot look? What do we think?

[bearandbee]

I thought about a line x VX

[Chopper]

Mel Gibson's Falcon was sportin' the Matte look decades before any of these guys,,,,,
Mercedes scratch resistant paint contains ceramic and must be baked after shooting it....(great)
The Nissan "self-healing" is really something....
I personally like the BMW matte "silverlook" for curves the best of all.
matte black has been around since the fifties at least though

[blacksambo]

Mel Gibson's Falcon was sportin' the Matte look decades before any of these guys,,,,,
Mercedes scratch resistant paint contains ceramic and must be baked after shooting it....(great)
The Nissan "self-healing" is really something....
I personally like the BMW matte "silverlook" for curves the best of all.
matte black has been around since the fifties at least though

I think this hot rod stuff you mention is cars stuck in primer, a factory finish look like the Porsches etc. So maybe the VX was the first factory attempt?

[MustangO4]

Like this?

[technocoy]

Most of these "stealth look" cars are sporting a type of 3M vinyl wrap called Di-noc.

It's actually pretty tough stuff and supposedly last a few years and more if garage kept.

The awesome thing is it just comes right off afterwards.

[tom4bren]

I think I'll stick with my Stealth Sunburst Yellow.

[Ldub]

I think I'll stick with my Stealth Sunburst Yellow.

You OK Tom?...

It's called "proton"....

[tom4bren]

Nah.

I've been patina challenged ever since the discussion of hood insert color.

[Osteomata]

How much do you supposed it would cost to do all of the painted vx panels in that satin black vinyl wrap, and is it something a low skill person can DIY, or should it be done in a shop?

[LittleBeast]

After seeing the matte and satin car wraps in person on daily drivers I would say even on amazing cars it looks terrible from day to day. Even when totally clean it still looks kinda unfinished but when they get dirty they look terrible. I saw $100,000 BMW with this done once and it was peeling off at certain spots especially down low close to the bumper area, looked terrible. Seen many new Camaro's with this done and when they get dirty it looks so cheap and unprofessional.

[blacksambo]

Good point. This again points to Isuzu's wisdom with the polypropelene solution on the VX. Perhaps the VX did it first with the most practical finish?

[wekilled]

Been wanting to do this for a few years now. Still planning on it after I get out of grad school. I know its not for everyone, but satin (not flat) and some texture on all the cladding will work with the look I am going for. To me though, most bright colors look out of place on the VX. (to each his own I guess). Can't wait till my cladding spikes arrive from Thailand to complete the look.

[blacksambo]

What are cladding spikes?

[wekilled]

Been searching for something to replace the flat (star head) screws that hold the plastic cladding on. Finally found some gunmetal black spikes on eBay with threaded bottoms. My plan is to take a plant hanger screw that has fine threads on one side and VX screw thread pattern on the other end and screw one black nut on it with the spike on top (JB weld them to hold in place) then thread the assembled spike/piece into the hole. Voila! a black 14mm spike (10mm base) in place of the stock flat screw. I want them to be flat black so it wont be noticeable till you get close. (my preference is for mods that appear to have came stock.) Anyway, I bought 50x so I have a few extra to mess with just in case.