Matte finish wrap or Line-X?

[toddjb122]

Just a "what-if" thought for me, but a few of my friends have matte finishes on their vehicles and I'm really liking them. So, it got me thinking that maybe when I upgrade my LR3 I should just plan on painting it right from the start...

...and then I though, "the one I have is running fine maybe I should paint it?!" At 10 years old mine still looks great to the casual observer but on close inspection there are some chips and scratches too deep to compound out.

I've seen pictures of both a full truck wrap, matte finish AND painting the truck with Line-X in a variety of colors.

What are the pros and cons of either?
Which one lasts longer?
Which is lower maintenance?

I think I read that the wrap will eventually peel off and you can't take it through car washes. I wasn't sure if the Line-x is more durable and how you touch it up when needed.

Two pics I found online. If I had a color choice, I'd go somewhere in between these two. I like the hunter green I have now -

LINE-X MATTE PAINT

MATTE WRAP

Thanks for any tips. Seems to be more trucks driving around with a matte coating so hopefully this posts helps others even if I don't pull the trigger.

 

[BearishDriver]

I think line-x is far tougher but I have no experience with neither...
you may consider Plastidip as well

As for the looks, I think line-x's texture makes the car look super bizarre tbh

 

[toddjb122]

When I first got my LR3 I met up with a guy who had an old Defender. The paint on the thing looked a lot like LineX. It wasn't, but had that same textured matte finish and he commented that when he did get a scratch, it was nothing a paintbrush couldn't take care of.

I've seen two cars up close recently with the LineX finish and they have that rugged all-terrain look to them. So, more utilitarian in function and less just for fashion, which is what I like about it. Heck, that's why I'm driving a box to begin with!

 

[BearishDriver]

yah it looks well utilitarian but I think linexing (can that be a word hahahah?) the whole vehicle is a bit over the top, I'd line-x perhaps the wings, bumpers, mirrors and the likes while matting out the rest, that would be more practical. Or like this defender: only the lower edges



screenshot from the ebay

 

[jwest]

Can't you just leave it dirty? That makes it basically matte and doesn't look stupid or devalue the vehicle if you decide to sell or trade it at some point. I like the look of some vehicles in the matte black but pretty much only when it's factory paint, not wraps and definitely not rattle can Line-X type jobs.

Leaving it the classy green paint you have but doing something on all the plastic black parts would look the best in my opinion and much less juvenile.

In fact, my lr3 plastic fender flares, mirrors, were getting a bit UV washed out so I removed them and did 2 layers of "forever black" and then a couple layers of Rain-X and they look great and wash off a bit easier too.

The paint being Java black really made the plastic look less black as it aged. I found that the vertical slat on the front door is actually paint which turns out very nice when done with some compound and wax whereas other trim parts are either plastic or rubber which come back to life with the black "renew" stuff and/or Rain-X.

I've never been a "shiny and washed/waxed" all the time sort of person but this was all part of a big one time in depth cleaning project where all the time was removed and crud build-up cleaned out. Now it can go back to the annual wash routine

 

[toddjb122]

Interesting. The vehicles I see do the opposite. They leave all the trim (flares, grille, etc.) natural and paint the vehicle with the rugged matte finish. It looks more like a camo/military/trail hardened vehicle in my view. Clearly personal preference though.

I don't have a true offroad look to my LR3, but when I see the matte finish combined with winches, light bars, and other offroad racks or protection tubes... It looks bad-ass.

 

[jwest]

Well, I meant on the LR3 specifically. Although a vehicle like the Mercedes G in factory matte paint obviously comes with everything not a painted surface left in its usual chrome or other finish....and they look awesome.

 

[Codename Duchess]

Honestly, just leave it be.

I plasti dipped a car once, it was a waste of money, and a maintenance nightmare. 2 years later I'm still peeling it out of all the crevices.

line-x, you'll have the original paint in the door jambs, and good luck selling.

Vnyl, It will peel, and if you get a scratch you're done. Also you have to make sure you're buying top of the line stuff or the sun will fade it.

Not to mention offroading with vinyl and PD will turn it into a clown car right quick.

 

[toddjb122]

Thanks, Duchess. Good first hand info. The vinyl or plasti-dip feedback in particular as that's what I was concerned about. I don't want something that'll look worse when it gets a few trail miles on it.

One of the LineX cars I saw recently was an FJ. They guys who completed it pulled all door trim and such off and it looked great. Looked factory, honestly. My buddy bought it because of that look and certainly paid more than a stock FJ would go for used. So it increased the value in this case. (had a full aftermarket offroad package though)

In my case...heck, I have a 2005 with just under 200K miles on it. I'm afraid to look up the trade-in cost of it but I'm guessing it's pretty low as it is!

Good info all around, though. Thanks for the tips and opinions.

 

[Codename Duchess]

Line-x would hold up great on the trail I would think. It would most likely hide the dings too!

I would imagine that it would be super expensive to do though.