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A Gallery Of The Good, Bad, And Ugly Of Cars With Matte Paint Jobs
While I wouldn't say that matte paint jobs on cars have caught on "like wildfire," they sure seem to be sticking around longer than many people thought. The reason for that is simple: sometimes they look really, really good. But not always. In fact, most of the time I would say it looks tacky.
And here's why:
(In my opinion) Matte paint jobs tend to look better on more austere cars. Simple, even cheaper cars. Taking an exotic or super-luxury car tends to just be overkill, not unlike the way an orange or neon green Lamborghini looks like overkill. Despite the connotations, matte paint jobs should be demure, and not scream, "HEY LOOK AT ME! I'M A CUSTOM PAINT JOB MY OWNER IS RICH!"
For this reason, I've found that some of the best-looking matte paint jobs are on simpler cars, like Jeep Wranglers, most any type of Audi, (seriously) Volkswagens, and some BMW's. And the all-time sharpest looking car in matte black? The Panamera. The other thing all these cars have in common are that they're pretty small when compared to Range Rovers, Escalades, Phantoms, and S-Classes.
Allow me to demonstrate (starting with the bad):
Ugh. It takes all the refinement and luxury of a Rolls and pisses it away. I find that matte black coloring works best when it suits the purpose of the car. A Rolls is meant to convey luxury and should be shiny. Doing this to the poor car seems like one of those instances of "I'm doing this only because I want people to know I can and not because it's a good idea or tasteful." Sure, it will turn heads, but it's just not good-looking.
I don't like Lambos to begin with, so this Murcielago doesn't do a whole lot for me, but the black paint makes it look like an incognito prototype. Like it's been through the factor but hasn't been painted yet. Don't get me wrong, it will get your attention, but it looks more like a stealth fighter than it does one of the fastest cars on the road. "Don't Like" button. Keep it a normal color. Better yet, sell it and buy a Ferrari. There are too many angles on this beast for the paint job to start competing.
Range Rovers are more luxury cars than they are trucks, so this follows the Phantom rule of "don't go against the car's purpose." These are big, clunky cars, again, like the Phantom, and they don't need much else to command attention. It would look awesome in a desert or presidential caravan, but parked on the street it looks like its owner may have delusions of being a secret agent.
Although the design is getting better, it's still really hard to get a Corvette to look not-ridiculous. This is not the right path. Keep it red or silver, and just own it man. It looks like you're trying to hide the fact that it's a Corvette, which isn't fair to anyone.
Ok. Those are the bad. Now let's get positive about some cars:
One of my first posts for JAGT a couple years ago was a gallery of matte black cars (I'm not out of ideas, I just thought it would be fun to revisit), and I still think that this car (and maybe this exact picture) still represents the best that can be done with a can of paint. This is the equivalent of a tuxedo for a car. And I think this combo might supersede any match of color and car that I've seen (classic cars notwithstanding).
And this is a close second. The awesomely basic shape and lack of articulation on the car allows the color to really sell the car, rather than compete with a million other embellishments. Audis are the right canvas with their simplistic but elegant design.
And this is pretty damn sharp too. Jeeps are SUPPOSED to look like battle tanks. In my eyes this doesn't look ridiculous. A shiny Jeep looks ridiculous. The black serves as functionality, too, as dirt won't ruin the luster of this bitch. Frankly, I'm surprised this isn't a stock color on Jeeps, because it doesn't appear as though this paint job tries to make the car something it's not.
And finally, I don't think this is the best-looking car in the world, but it's a testament to how the color works on cool, sporty cars rather than overstated monstrosities like the Phantom or a Lamborghini. You'd be the coolest dad at soccer practice with this chariot, no?