Matt paint has almost no shine. Satin has a soft, low sheen, somewhere between matt and gloss. Both look great on the right car, and both ask more of you than gloss. They can't be polished, they have to be washed by hand, and a small repair can mean painting a whole panel or more.
Here's what to weigh up before you choose.
What's the difference between matt, satin and gloss?
The difference is in the clear coat on top. As Hyundai's explanation of matt paint puts it, the gloss on ordinary paint comes from the clear coat, a see-through layer over the colour, and a matt clear coat is made to take that sheen and reflection away.
Satin sits in between, with a little sheen left in. Either way, it's the clear on top that sets how much the car shines.
Can you polish matt or satin paint?
No. Polishing is what puts the shine on paint, so on matt it does the opposite of what you want. Polestar's owner's manual says it plainly: never polish matte paintwork, because polishing makes it glossy. Hyundai adds that a matt finish needs no wax or polish at all.
That also means marks can't be buffed out. On gloss, light scratches in the lacquer and the small faults left in fresh paint, like dust specks and texture, can be flatted and polished away. On matt they can't. Repairer Driven News, reporting on a collision repair industry conference, put it the same way: painters can't polish out surface faults on matt and semi-gloss clear the way they can on gloss. So the clear has to go on right first time.
How do you wash a matt or satin car?
By hand, gently, with products made for matt paint. Polestar's manual says matte paintwork must only be washed by hand, without rubbing hard when you wash or dry it, and only with cleaning products intended for matte paint. If any wax gets on it, it wants taking off straight away.
In practice that means:
- No automatic car washes
- No polish, wax, gloss sprays or paint cleaners, which are made for glossy paint
- Bird mess, tree sap and insects off quickly, with a cleaner made for matt paint
- No stickers on the paint, as Polestar warns the glue left behind can damage it
Why can't a repair on matt paint be blended?
Because the sheen has to match as well as the colour, and there's no polishing to even it out at the edge. On a gloss repair, the new colour is faded into the next panel, clear lacquer goes over the top and any edge in the lacquer is polished out. A matt or satin finish can't be worked that way.
In the same Repairer Driven News report, a refinish trainer from BASF, one of the big paint makers, said it usually isn't the colour that needs adjusting on a matt match, it's the sheen. The trainer also said the sheen varies enough that several test panels are needed, and that it's usually best to paint the whole side of a matt car rather than only the damaged panel.
So a scuff on one door of a matt car can turn into a door, a wing and more. That's worth knowing before you pick the finish, and before you ask for a price on a repair.
Is satin easier to live with than matt?
Not much. Satin still has a low sheen that polishing would raise, so the same rules apply: hand wash, no polish, no wax, and repairs that have to match the sheen as well as the colour. The conference report above covered semi-gloss finishes alongside matt.
Is matt or satin right for your car?
It suits an owner who is happy to wash by hand, keeps the car somewhere sheltered and accepts that a knock can mean more of the car being painted than the same knock on gloss. It's harder work on a daily driver that lives outside under trees or goes through the car wash every week.
On a show car, a custom build or a weekend car, the look can be worth the care. Our custom paint page covers how a one-off look is worked out from a photo or a paint chip.
What does a matt or satin respray cost?
It's priced like any respray, from photos and a look at the car. The finish is one of the things that moves the price, along with how much comes off the car, what's under the paint and the size of the vehicle. See prices for how we quote and resprays for what a full respray involves.
Send us a few photos and the look you're after from the quote form.
