back in '05, when i fell in love with the xB, i sold my maxima and marched down to the dealer only to find that they needed to be ordered. i wanted a white one. i couldn't wait and they had this black cherry pearl one on the lot. the deal had fallen through and it was still brand new so i bought it. i have wanted to paint it ever since but a real good paint job is real high $.
i was wondering if anyone had wet sanded (with very fine grit) one and just left it that way. you know, leave a matte or a satin finish. 'old school', kinda like the new harleys with the dull paint.
plus i figure i'd be somewhat along the way toward a repaint this way as i had planned on doing the prep work myself anyway if not the actual painting. feedback and/ or pics please!
also, does this shade of 'red' still need to be primer-sealed to prevent bleeding through? it has been decades since i sold auto paint for du pont and i am a bit behind the pitch, so to speak.
ps; i still got some stock stuff for sale too.

 

I've thought about that too. But i know the harleys matte finish still has a clear coat over it, just no gloss. Keep us posted if you give it a shot.

 

yes if you wet sand, it will get hazy. just do a little though. you dont wanna sand all the clear off. and also if you ever change your mind you can just buff the whole car, and there you go shiny again.

 

Ok, first things first... No matter what grit you sand your car down with, even if its 2500 grit, its not going to give you the look you want. Yes, its going to take away the shine, but you will still see the sand scratches. You wont get the uniform dullness that you are looking for. Its just not going to happen without a repaint.

The flat look that you are looking for that you see on bikes and old hot rods is achieved in one of a couple ways. You either add a flattening agent to the clearcoat which flattens it out and leaves it dull...

Or... You can use the paint from "the kustom shop" called Hot Rod Flatz. Its actually a single stage urethane that dries flat. Thats the best bet. However, thats not recommended to be sprayed over a factory finish. You would have to sand/scuff the whole factory finish, then spray with a sealer, then paint over the sealer.

So to get what you are really looking for, its going to be a repaint. Sorry for the bad news...

 

What he said!! As a professional autobodyman and custom painter, the only way to really achieve what you want , would require repainting the exterior of the car with at least a flat clearcoat after sanding. In reality once all the sanding and masking is done painting some colorcoats before the flat clear to be sure that the color is totally even does not add that much more material or time to the job....therefore totally repainting is what we come down to that way as well. What about the doorjambs can they stay glossy? If not and you really want a different color then do a complete color change and be done with it (do not forget about the engine bay....this could be blacked out or body colored either option will take some effort tho).

 

Do not color sand! It will look like a car that is sanded. People will ask you "When are you going to finish painting that car?" Flat paint looks a whole lot different. Plus, don't you plan to ever polish your car again? It would look worse after a couple of polishes. Urethane is the only way to go. Durable flat that you can polish. That's the one you want to shoot for.

 

why?!?!?! Black Cherry is such a pretty color.

 

I would suggest consulting Gothbox on DIY flat paintjobs. He seems to be the master...

 

ha ha thanx man.
all of my paint jobs have been repaints.

I totally agree with LastLook, and Ted
I think it would also be hard to get the removal of the clear to be even as well. I vote to repaint a flat color.