Polish for a Matt car?

[Divvyboy]

Hi all
I think a deal might be struck for a focus st.the car comes in a Matt grey finish..seeing as we have never owned a car in this paint type before.what is the best way to keep it looking good?

Thank you

[ConorE]

I might be being stupid here, but what's the point of polishing matte paintwork?

[LeoSayer]

I've always wanted to know how matt cars are kept clean.

I guess it's just washing and drying.

[CallorFold]

This is probably a bit OTT - but there's a detailing video /Drive uploaded a while back for detailing BMW's "Frozen Paint"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZUzvhhyGR8

I assume this isn't too dissimilar to standard matte paint finishes?

[MysteryLemon]

Last time I polished matt paint, it ended up glossy.

What you want is something like a quick detailer or similar. Cleans and adds some protection to the paint after cleaning but has no abrasives so not going to actually do any polishing. Last thing you want to do is actually polish matt paint, but there's a whole world of difference between some products that say "polish" on them and stuff that will actually polish your paint.

[devnull]

PH isn't the place for this - go to detailing world. Lots about, but Swissvax Opaque is probably what you need (and does make a difference!)

[Squishey]

There are specific shampoos and waxes out there, a quick look found these products.

[droopsnoot]

I was looking for something to use on the inner wings on my Firenza - they're satin black originally, and I don't want them to go shiny. Only one I found was Swissvax Opaque, unfortunately I then found the price, so I'm still looking. Different when it's the outside of something expensive, too much to keep my engine bay looking nice.

Thanks Squishey, that Nanolex stuff looks like a more reasonably priced thing for my use.

[FredClogs]

Google translate says Polish for "a matt car" is "Samochód matowy"

?

[iloveboost]

Doesn't matt paint just have a tinted lacquer on it like sunglasses are tinted to reduce the light? Otherwise it's like any other paint?

[TooMany2cvs]

ConorE said:

I might be being stupid here, but what's the point of polishing matte paintwork?

Well, quite.

Gloss finishes are gloss because they're smooth and reflect light evenly.
Matt finishes are matt because they're not smooth and reflect light unevenly.
Polish smooths out a finish, by abrading high spots and filling in low spots.

A wax, perhaps, to coat the surface so that the paint is not exposed to the atmosphere...

[easytiger123]

As someone who owned a matte finished car the number one piece of advice is you can't polish it, as others have pointed it. Swissvax do a decent range of cleaning products for matte finishes, but even then if you rub too hard it will end up making the finish glossy and once that happens there is no way back to matte that I know of, short of a respray. And matte resprays are much more expensive than standard paint finishes. Additionally, over time areas that you touch a lot like the door handles will gradually start to turn shiny after coming into contact with your hands on a regular basis.
They are quite easy to wash, but getting bird crap out can be tricky. My own personal take is that given the hassle and fairly fast deterioration of the finish around the door handles in particular, that i wouldn't buy another one.

[Elroy Blue]

Friend of mine has a very, very expensive matt finish on his Mercedes (can't quite see the point myself).

It goes back to the dealer for a full exterior valet every so often. This is included when you tick the option for the paint apparently.

[Lowtimer]

The only sensible way to have a matt finished car is for it to be something on which unevenness is regarded as 'patina' rather than 'a problem', and a colour available in an off the shelf spray can. Like this.

[img]http://someinterestingfacts.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Light-Transport-Vehicle-of-WW2.jpg[\img]