Allright, As of right now, I want to get my truck painted black. Now the problem, flatblack, or black that looks like its a mile deep. How hard is black to keep clean looking? Any other problems with black?
Thanks.

u have to keep gloss black really clean

flat black looks cool for that old skool look and gloss black is one nice color when done right and maintained properly, it is definately a pain to keep clean on a daily driver my 98 cobra was black and i loved the color but hated the maintence of keeping it lookin good....if it were me and a daily i'd say flat otherwise gloss for a garage kept cruiser....

daily driver flat black
show truck or occasional driver glass black

so i wont vote for either

it all depends on what you do with the truck. is the truck bad ass? engine? slammed? daily driver? beater? trailer queen?

big diff in price in the two too, shiny is $$$$, flat is done in your driveway.

The truck will be my daily driver, the engine is a rebuilt 454 that makes around 500 hp, the truck will have a 5/7 drop on it running probally 17's and 18's, or something like that, 15's and 17's, not shure yet. Their will be alot of body work done to it, shave everything, custom roll pan and probally interior as well(1 off dash). Any more information needed?

i think the flat black fad is pretty well overdone, and quite boring showing a lack of any imagination , just a monkey see monkey do type of fad

i like shiney colors

Im thinking of painting some nice blue flames on it....

i think a gloss black with house of cobalt blue kandy flames!!!! would look good this sounds like a badass truck

get the big white chevy emblem sticker for the back winder too

I like the matt black look, but its a fad color and it will be over with... sooner or later.
So if its something that you plan on keeping the same color for more then a couple of years, then I would shot the gloss black.
Flames are great, but do you really want something that gets that much attention all the time, if its going to be a daily driver?
I like a low key daily driver and something wild for the weekends or when I'm in the mood, but I'm getting old.

i never really liked the flat colors... i like the glossy black!! :metal: It was my original idea, buttttt it was my first truck, and i started out not knowing what the hell i was doing (i did ALL my bodywork) and the guys at the paint warned me that all the little dings and dents and scratches would show like your holding a magnifying glass to it. And good thing i didnt, cause i got a Dark Metalic Grey, and you can still see somethin things ehre and there, but it would have been 10x worse if i woulda got black. Soooo, keeping in mind that this is going to be a daily driver, it going to be Really hard to stay away from little scratches here and there, and maybe a dent in a blue moon. So i would just set my mind on that, and think about where you go and how likely you are to get just the littlest scratches and whatnot on this paint, cause it Will show, trust me. Well i hope this helps lol. Keep up updated with your decision.

I like the flat black, myself for a daily driver because its almost maintenence free. Well my 67 is flat black. As said before, the bad thing about gloss black is it REALLY shows bodywork, but gloss black and blue flames would look killer. Maybe some matte blue flames on flat black????

Metallic black, with your choice of pearl in the clear.....

SanitysBane The truck will be my daily driver, the engine is a rebuilt 454 that makes around 500 hp, the truck will have a 5/7 drop on it running probally 17's and 18's, or something like that, 15's and 17's, not shure yet. Their will be alot of body work done to it, shave everything, custom roll pan and probally interior as well(1 off dash). Any more information needed?



in that case paint it mile deep black! show off the body work!

Thanks guys, looks like I can't make up my mind because now I'm thinking of a candy apple red... :crazy: I can't seem to make up my mind.

Thanks guys, looks like I can't make up my mind because now I'm thinking of a candy apple red... :crazy: I can't seem to make up my mind.

I have been all over the color spectrum....going on two years ....and still cant decide. I feel you pain ;)

My truck is at the shop being painted flat black at the moment. I have a glossy black firebird and its a pain to keep clean. Even dust shows.

Im going candy apple red....I think...

I just changed my mind, dark dark green with white stripes.

Make up your mind like a man and stick to your guns!

flat black all the way

I had a flat black small block Monza back in the 1980/81 in High School. It wasnt cool back then, just didnt have the money to get it painted.
You cant be true to this hobbie unless sometime in your life you have own and driven something in the primer color spectrum LOL

The primer on my truck is showing, does that count?

The primer on my truck is showing, does that count?

From what I just read in section 16.8.32 subsection D of the 2004 hot rod builders official handbook... NO it doesn’t count. It must be a full primer from bumper to bumper.....extra points are awarded if done with spray cans or with one of those airless spray guns from the hardware store.

If its just a transition stage between body work and paint, that doesn't count either. You must drive it like that’s the end of your efforts and you are proud of it. And in order to keep your status it can only be sold in that condition. Kind of like a boxer keeping the last title he was awarded.

Sorry for being such a stickler for the rules, but some of us most make a stand to keep our society from the perils of degradation of the sport. Without our rules we would all be driving ricers with fart cans and subwoofers disguised as NOS bottles

I have owned my 74 GMC SWB truck since I was 18, Im 27 years old now (my mom bought it in 84) for the past 6 or 7 years it was primer black (with spray cans) looked cool but the thing is that the primer does not protect it from rain. I would paint flames, skulls, etc on my truck and later on paint over it with black primer cans. I really had a good time messing around with it. My truck needs a lot of work and is currently at the body shop. Just the paint and body work is gonna cost me $3500, plus all the parts I bought, basically I swiched everything except the chassis and the cab everything else I had to buy online or from the junkyard. Im going to paint it flat black and tell everyone its primer, hehe... Ill post pics soon, as soon as I get my truck from the shop

Im thinking for my truck john deere blitz black, with high gloss black flames, with a black chrome out line on the flames,

I do not even remember ever seeing a flat black truck. Mine is black but not a flat black and you do have to hose it off a little more but love the gloss. Does any one have a picture of a flat black truck? I paint the frame and other parts flat black but would not even think of painting the exterior a flat black,

i'm not so sure that dismissing flat black as a fad is accurate. maybe if it were the late 1940's, and we were a bunch of teenage kids building hotrods on a limited budget, you'd be somewhat justified. however, the "suede" look has endured several generations of hotrodding and car customizing, and it is one of the only "fads" that has held on over the years. thus, i think it has outgrown "fad" status, and has evolved into a "classic look"

i think a "fad" would be more like the GIANT hoodscoops and rainbow paintjobs of the 80's, raked stance monte-carlos, or ricer hondas with giant and pointless wings.


it's kinda like tattoos. the traditional black panther or pin-up girl design are classic images, which have endured countless trends and artistic "revolutions", whereas, almost everyone and his uncle has or wants a tribal armband tattoo, yet somehow, no matter how much you see them, they are never cool, or classic... only trendy.


same as blue jeans. while bell bottom slacks and parachute pants have come and gone, blue jeans remain.

suede paint is here to stay. it's just too cool not to. sorry. it is the "levis" of the custom culture.

A fad doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t ever be popular again, but you have to see that its popularity grows and shrinks with the different generations. It wasn’t popular for four or more decades. It just came back recently, so its really a fad. The only color you can compare to the ever used blue jeans is the color red and black . Red or black is the more or less popular color for all generations of hot rodders. Making it dull, flat, wet or pearl, etc... are just the different variations and are just considered fads.

I'm not that old.... but have been in the hobby for over 30 years and have seen most of the popular colors and this is the first for swades and flats. I dont ever remember seening it as a final product at any shows till 2004 or newer. Unless it was hot in another part of the country. But I dont even remember it even making the mags but a few years ago.