Matte Black Car Paint Pros and Cons

Last Updated June 7, 2023

The Batmobile. The stealth B-2 Bomber. Darth Vader’s TIE fighter. If these icons of cool are what come to mind when you see a car decked out in matte black paint, you’re not alone. It’s no surprise why — people associate matte black cars with mystery, sophistication and coolness. In terms of car paint, it’s the equivalent of a badass leather jacket. 

But not everyone gets excited by that seductive sheen. To many, matte paint for cars is more trouble to maintain than it’s worth. After all, you can’t use the majority of car detailing products on matte finishes. You also can’t buff out scratches in matte paint. On the other hand, some say it’s just a matter of taking the right precautions and using the right products. 

So who’s right? What are the pros and cons of matte black car paint?

Pros

• It looks cool because it doesn’t look like how you’d expect paint to look — instead of reflecting an image, it glows with diffused light
• It stands out because only 4% of vehicles on the road right now have a matte paint finish
• It photographs easier because you don’t have to worry about reflections or swirls
• It hides micro-scratches better because they blend in with the matte finish texture
• You don’t need to clay or polish because it negatively affects the matte appearance

Cons

• It’s easy to mess with the matte look because matte finishes are sensitive to rubbing
• You can’t remove scratches without repainting because polishing ruins the look
• You need specialized care products because many detailing products alter the matte appearance with wax
• You can’t use automatic washes because they use abrasive, dirty bristles that scratch the finish
• It’s hard to keep the finish looking even and sometimes it’s not obvious why the color tone isn’t uniform
• They’re more expensive because the paint costs more

But there’s a little more to it than that — so we’ve broken down all the pros and cons of black matte finish car paint below. 

Pros of Matte Black Cars 

PRO: Matte automotive paint looks really cool

When asked in a survey, over 55% of respondents said they purchased a matte paint car for the look. There’s a reason it was flashy celebrities like Justin Bieber that first took to matte paint for cars — it’s the ultimate statement of automotive cool.

This is why it’s the luxury OEMs that have taken the most to factory matte automotive paint. Automakers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Hyundai’s Genesis division recognize the aesthetic allure of a matte paint finish vehicle and have accordingly made dozens of models available in matte over the past decade. After all, OEMs wouldn’t be diving head first into the matte waters unless they were absolutely certain matte finishes are beautiful to the majority of car buyers.

Why does matte paint look so cool?

There are countless reasons, but a major factor is the element of surprise.

Human beings are psychologically wired to seek out novelty and surprise; it’s part of what fuels our collective social media obsession. After decades staring at the reflective finishes of glossy cars, seeing paint that doesn’t shine back is exciting, almost invigorating.

It’s different, and we like different. 

PRO: Matte paint cars stand out in a crowd

That sense of difference is another “pro” for matte black car paint. Cool is all about standing apart from the crowd. If something is too popular for too long, people looking for something “cool” look for something different. That’s sort of what happened with matte. If you were a high-net worth individual in the late 2000s looking for a flashy car to wow everyone with, there were plenty of options. The only problem is those options were available to everyone else, too. How do you outdo everyone else? You do things differently! In a world where everyone has glossy paint, why not hire a body shop to turn your Aventador’s paint satin black? Suddenly you’ve got the coolest car in the world. 

While today these finishes are widely available direct from the OEM, matte automotive paint remains a rarity on the road with only 4% of vehicles sporting this unique finish. So even if they’re more common now, they still leave a distinct impression. 

PRO: Matte finishes photograph better

Ask any photographer or cinematographer their biggest challenge when shooting a car and they’ll tell you all about how hard it is to manage the reflections on glossy paint. When you photograph glossy paint, you’re also photographing everything the paint is reflecting. 

You don’t want garage clutter in the background distracting from the car — you want a clean, uniform reflection to emphasize the paint’s beauty. To achieve this you have to organize the background carefully and position your camera strategically so you pick up a clean reflection that doesn’t show the photographer. All in all it makes taking professional-style car photos incredibly difficult!

Then there’s the trouble of swirl marks. Most glossy cars have micro-scratches in the clear coat that only become visible under strong lights, such as the light of the sun. To avoid these scratches showing up, you need to either remove the scratches entirely with a machine buffer or position the light in such a way that the paint is well-lit without exposing the micro-marring. 

Matte black paint finishes have neither of these issues. Because they don’t directly reflect images back at the viewer, you don’t have to worry about errant objects (or the photographer) ruining the reflection. Instead you get a beautiful sheen of diffused light that looks soft and luxurious on camera. 

At the same time, you won’t see thousands of tiny scratches if you wheel the car out in the sun for a shoot. As we discuss in the next “Pro”, matte finish paint doesn’t show the same swirl-like scratch patterns you see on glossy paint finishes. 

With these advantages combined, matte cars put professional automotive photography in easy mode. It’s not hard to take an awesome video of some Mercedes Designo Night Black Magno paint and rack up the likes on TikTok, so it’s safe to say a matte black color is a great option for those trying to make a splash on social media. 

PRO: Matte finish paint hides scratches better

Like we mentioned in the last “Pro”, matte finish paint doesn’t show the same “swirl” scratch patterns you see on glossy paint. That’s not to say the paint is scratch proof — deeper scratches will still show up — but it’s not going to show the same shallow, circular scratch pattern. That’s because of the textured nature of matte paint finishes. 

Glossy paint, at the microscopic level, is relatively smooth. This is what produces the shine. Light reflects directly off of the flat surface at a uniform angle. Because the light hits your eye from the same angle, it produces a distinct image. But when a glossy finish is scratched, the scratch creates a valley that interrupts the flat surface, scattering the light in that specific area. When it hits your eye, you observe a disruption in the reflection, which tells you a scratch is present.

Typically shallow scratches like micro-marring will only become visible under strong, direct light. With ambient light, there’s just not enough light rays scattering off the shallow walls of the valley to interrupt the reflection. With a direct light, however, enough light will scatter to expose the swirling scratch pattern. 

Matte paint, on the other hand, is textured on the microscopic level. This texture is already scattering light, so shallow scratches can easily hide among the hills and valleys of the finish. Deeper scratches will still stand out — they’re so deep that they scatter the light even more than the texture, interrupting the even diffusion of light to reveal a distinct scratch. Even so, the fact that the most common type of scratch won’t show up on matte finish paint is a huge pro for this unique look.

PRO: You don’t need to clay or polish with matte black cars

We’ve talked about the reasons why you can’t clay a matte finish as well as why you can’t polish a matte finish before, but to put it simply it’s because of the textured nature of the finish. When you polish matte, you sand down the texture and make the finish smoother, which produces a distinct reflection. When you clay matte, the finish’s texture grates against the clay, leaving tiny bits of the stuff embedded in the finish. 

This is a good thing. Paint correction (and the claying that comes with it) is expensive, time-consuming, and if you choose to do it yourself, exhausting. It’s also harsh on the paint with 3 microns of clear coat removed in the process on average. Most auto makers say you can’t remove more than 7 microns without compromising the clear coat!

Plus, even if you could polish matte, it’s not like you’d really need to. Most people polish to remove the pesky “swirl” micro-scratch pattern which is something you don’t even see on matte finishes. 

Cons of Black Matte Finish Cars

CON: It’s easy to mess with the matte finished look

There are a number of ways you can negatively alter the appearance of a matte finish. One of the biggest concerns is excessive rubbing. Remember how we said polishing sands down the texture, slowly causing the matte finish to turn glossy? This principle also applies to heavy buffing with microfiber towels. If you rub too forcefully for too long on matte finish paint, you will eventually cause a slightly shiny spot to appear. When this happens, your only option is to repaint the affected area. 

This can be problematic for people who aren’t experienced with matte finish paint. If someone who doesn’t know much about matte encounters a bonded bird dropping, for example, they may think they need to put in some serious elbow grease to get it off — when in reality they’re damaging the finish even further. 

It can also spell trouble for the folks at your local dealership or repair shop. Many dealership detailers and technicians aren’t very familiar with matte finish paint and can easily cause damage by rubbing too hard to remove gunk. 

Ceramic coatings are often applied to matte paint finishes to avoid this kind of rubbing. That ceramic coating will make it more difficult for grime to stick to the finish, therefore reducing the effort required to remove it, consequently obviating the need for any heavy, damaging rubbing. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that when asked in a survey, almost 50% of matte finish owners said they have a ceramic coating protecting their paint. It’s the easiest way to avoid altering the matte look.

CON: You can’t clay contamination or polish out scratches

Yes, we realize we listed this as a pro above. But it’s also a con! While it may be nice not having to buff out swirl marks, it’s not so nice being unable to remove deeper individual scratches without touch-up paint. That also goes for bonded stains that can’t be removed chemically and etch marks from stains that have sat for too long. We won’t lie; it’s a major frustration that re-painting is the only option for most scratches and blemishes. 

On top of that, it’s not always easy to get touch-up paint or have panels repainted. While there are certainly plenty of body shops out there that handle matte, sometimes they won’t have the exact matte finish paint you need to match the existing paintwork. Other times, they won’t even touch matte paint due to its purported temperamentality. Even then, matte finish paint can be more expensive to repair than glossy. We’ll get into that later. 

CON: You need to use detailing products designed for matte paint cars

Many car detailing products will negatively affect the appearance of matte finish paint, either staining it or turning the finish into a sickly semi-gloss. This is due to the presence of silicone, wax and/or oils in these products. Ingredients like silicone are designed to fill in any imperfections in a glossy finish, making it flatter and therefore shinier. Obviously that’s something you don’t want to do with a matte finish — you want it to stay “imperfect”. 

Ceramic coatings have a similar effect. Most are engineered to make glossy paint look as shiny as possible in addition to protecting the finish. This is achieved by coating over imperfections in the finish so a stronger shine comes through. With matte, however, you don’t want to coat over those imperfections. You want to preserve them to maintain the diffused matte look. 

Instead, you need to use products explicitly engineered for preserving the appearance of a matte finish. Thankfully these products are out there, such as the line of products from Dr. Beasley’s (Full disclosure: Behind the Detail is owned by Dr. Beasley’s, so we’re a little biased).

These products aren’t just formulated without silicones and wax — they are chemically engineered to keep matte finish looking as uniform as possible. With regards to our matte ceramic coatings, they’re designed so they adhere to the hills and valleys of the finish’s texture so the diffused matte look still comes through. 

So yes, it is certainly a negative that you can’t just stroll into any auto parts store for detailing products if you own a matte black paint vehicle. Thanks to Dr. Beasley’s, however, you can at least know there’s something out there to keep that matte black looking beautiful. 

CON: You can’t take matte cars through automatic washes

Here’s the thing, though — we don’t recommend taking any type of finish through an automatic wash. For those who aren’t aware, automatic car washes use dirty, abrasive brushes and harsh chemicals to clean vehicles as they slide down the conveyor belt. This process scratches paint like crazy and weakens the clear coat over time whether the finish is glossy or matte. 

The only difference between glossy and matte when it comes to automatic washes is what can be done about the scratches they inflict. With glossy paint you can buff them out; with matte, you’re stuck repainting. If you’re already the type that cares for their paint and avoids automatic washes, this shouldn’t be that big of a deal.

CON: It’s hard to keep a matte finish uniform in appearance

One problem we often hear about when it comes to matte finish paint is how hard it is to keep it looking uniform in appearance. Matte finishes will sometimes appear uneven, with some sections looking darker while other areas appear lighter. This is often because the finish is dirty, but sometimes it can be maddening trying to figure out what exactly is causing the lack of uniformity. 

That problem was something Dr. Beasley’s took into consideration when formulating their products. All of Dr. Beasley’s matte care products are designed to maintain a uniform finish. In fact, many users of their Matte Paint Coating and Matte Paint Coating Pro ceramic coatings have noted that they keep the finish more uniform in tone. 

CON: Matte finish paint is more expensive

Matte paint finishes are just plain more expensive than glossy ones. For example, how much does it cost to matte a car? On average, it can cost up to $7,000 to re-paint a car with a matte finish. Glossy paint, on the other hand, will generally cost around $1,000. That being said, you can always go with a matte-finished PPF or vinyl wrap to get a similar look for less money.

Matte car paint is also more costly to repair. While a scratch in a glossy finish can easily be addressed by a skilled detailer using a machine buffer, a matte paint car finish will require re-painting to fix major paint defects. Even then, many body shops will charge a premium to repair matte paint — due both to the cost of the materials needed as well as the difficult nature of matte. 

OEM matte paint is more expensive as well. Across the board, a vehicle optioned with matte finish paint will cost up to $6,000 more than a vehicle with the standard glossy finish. So whether you’re going aftermarket or straight from the factory, matte paint will command a higher price. 

The Verdict on Matte Black Color for Cars

So — should you get a matte black paint car? Ultimately the answer depends on how badly you want it. If you find the matte look completely irresistible, no amount of special care requirements or risk of permanent scratches will stop you from getting what you want. When you’re this obsessed with a particular look, the pros outweigh the cons. 

But what if you’re a little more lukewarm on matte? Maybe you’ve seen a couple on Instagram that looked kind of cool, but they didn’t leave a big impression. If that sounds like you, we would advise against a matte black car. At the end of the day, the additional needs of the finish just won’t be enough to justify the look if you’re not totally crazy about it in the first place. 

So which category do you fall into? If you’re part of the first group, make sure you’ve read up on all the do’s and don’ts of matte paint finishes so you’re prepared to protect and maintain the vehicle as soon as you take it home. If not, don’t worry — matte paint isn’t for everyone!