I'm thinking about painting my car flat black. It is shiny black now and full of nicks and swirls. Any opinions? I treat my RAV4 like a work truck. Also thinking about putting a truck liner paint on the roof. Talk to me folks!
What year & mileage? What did you pay for it? How long ago? Do you anticipate keeping it "forever" like my son did with my old beat up '86 Accord? He finally sold it with 409,000 miles for $200 to a guy who hauled lumber on it's roof and didn't care that it broke the sunroof glass.
Give RAV to your niece now, before you mess with flat black paint & make it too flug-ly to look at.
- truck bed liner on the roof, will look awful thick & pebbly
I had a '49 Chevy coupe that I bought when it was being prepared for new paint. Being young, I recoated it with black primer, and every year scrubbed it and reapplied primer. It was a statement. My best friend said, "Your statement is, ""I'm Stupid"". He's still my best friend.
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for a work truck...maybe
for hand off to the niece...prolly not. (especially when she sees the plastic truck liner goop on the top and says: ewwwwww....)
I have loved the feedback! And I love my niece. So flat black is out! I liked the attached photo. It looked like a semi-gloss. I love my car also. Maybe I watch to much velocity channel. I always want to do something to the RAV4.
Why not sink that money into an engine rebuild? Once your niece acquires the car will she be checking the oil every week? Will she blow it off and be stranded somewhere with a locked up engine due to no oil?
True. I have gotten used to adding oil. My niece won't remember. But everyone tells me it isn't worth overhauling the engine. Hum...what to do?! Probably nothing.
You can always plasti dip the car any color you want, this will cover up the old paint and imperfections and add an extra layer of protection. If you get bored or tired of it, you can peel it off and apply another color.
I would find it more appealing if I understood how we would maintain the finish.
Lifts? I'm hoping one of our esteemed experts can tell us if there is an accelerated wear risk. In another thread I should ask how we can keep from dragging the exhaust on a sudden steep rise. I am disappointed with that.
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I read that dawn dish washing detergent is good. Don't want to use anything for a shiny paint job. And that getting a good flat or matte finish is all about the clear coat.
As for the lift, lots of rules. But biggest is not going over 2" and making sure the camber is okay.
My opinion is this. Being in the performance car world, doing a flat black paint job that is mostly maintenance free and doesn't look horrendous isn't cheap. Most of the cheap jobs look hazy, chalky, and eventually look way worse than your current appearance.
That brings me to this next opinion. If it's treated like a work vehicle, why spend a ton to change it to flat black? Leave it as it is, keep the oil full and run it into the ground. If you want to breathe some new life, maybe a paint correction would do wonders for the current paint job, but that doesn't seem logical if it's just being "treated like a work vehicle."
I have painted alot of stuff flat black not for looks just for protection. What I have found is that it is DIRTY. Dirt actually sticks to it like crazy. I off road pretty much everything I own. And the flat black though better than bare steel attracts dirt. The dirt attracts moisture, and rust spots will start to form through the paint. I use brush on glossy black paint now.
If you want to do something about the appearance a good professional buff will do wonders for a black paint job.
I hear you about not worth rebuilding the engine for oil burning. However I think that giving it to your niece is a FINE idea. Show her how to check the oil, fill, and even change the oil. Stress the importance of doing so with every tank of gas, or she will seize the engine. This added bit of mechanical responsibility will go a long way in her life. And don't assume that since she is a GIRL that she won't be able to do it. That kind of gender stereotyping is BS.
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