Matte-Paint Finishes Shine at SEMA

A tour around the halls that make up the SEMA show confirms the growing popularity of the matte finish for car exteriors.

So what's new now? Two things:

1. All the colors of the rainbow are fair game--not just the typical white, black and gray. Olive green? No problem. We've spotted the matte look on burgundy, beige and blue, too.

But there are drawbacks to a matte finish. It's hard to keep clean, you have to keep wax away and eventually it'll polish itself because of the elements.

But there are positives, too: It looks great on most cars, you don't ever have to wax it, and it's easier to do at home than a polished finish.

2. Because the mattle look is popular, there's an easier and less expensive way to get it--matte wraps. The material gives almost the exact same look as matte paint but for a fraction of the cost. A quick search brought up results for as low as $650 to wrap a car, and a few hundred more for a truck or SUV.

The Subaru wagon seen in the photo gallery uses a matte wrap instead of paint. Can you tell the difference?

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