Satin or Matte Black on Factory Gloss Black 2009 Silverado?

Cloudsplitter · January 29, 2014

Doing searches on this forum and web wide has shown me a pretty wide variety of options, products, and methods along with some very strong opinions by truck owners, DIY painters, and pro painters. So I am asking here to get this forums advice and maybe settle on a plan of attack.

My 2009 Silverado (pic below) is starting to show a bit of wear and tear as it approaches 5 years old & 85K miles. I'm going to have a few dings repaired and address some other issues, but I think I want to end up with a satin or matte black finish that will stand up to 5 more years of use and still look fair at the end.

In the spring of 2011 I de-badged the truck, put on the self adhesive non-skid strips on the rocker panels (X-Pel Kit), Wrapped the bumper and bumper covers with 3M Di-Noc (Front and Rear), and wrapped the Body Side Molding with the Di-Noc as well. Thats the way it sits in the pic below, along with the black XD wheels.

So after living in Phoenix for 18 months the X-Pel Rocker strips just gave it up from the sun beating on it. The material got brittle and separated from the adhesive. Now I have big mess on my hands cleaning the adhesive off the truck, but it comes off pretty easy and without damage using Goof-Off adhesive cleaner. It is just time consuming and I have not finished yet.

The Di-Noc wrap on everything else has held up really well, no real problems with it other than a few nicks and scratches which are my fault anyway. The Line-X bed liner is in good shape, but faded and has a few stains.

So Once I finish cleaning off all the adhesive crap I'm thinking of having a refresh Line-X spray on the bed along with the UV protective coating. While I am at it I will probably strip all the Di-NOC and have the bumpers and bumper covers sprayed with Line-X. I'm also thinking of having the rocker panels done in place of the X-Pel strips that were there and the rocker moldings sprayed.

The big question is on the whole truck…. My initial thought was (after any little blemishes or small dents are repaired) do a 600 or 800 grit wet-sand on the whole truck, and then spray with a good quality matte of satin clear. I won't be doing the spray out myself, I have a pro-painter who will do that, but I will do all the sanding and prep.

Any thoughts on this? The goal is to have a nice matte finish that you just wash and never wax. I've learned to hate wax when you get it on any flat black plastic or the Line-X, the white residue is near impossible to remove. Thus the idea, no wax anywhere!

Also, not looking to spend a ton of money. I have a good idea what the Line-X will cost me since the bed was done once already, and I have a good idea what my painter will charge me to spray out the truck after it's been prepped.

ttopcamaro86 · January 30, 2014

This is just a joke: Line-x the whole truck, that would be a unique "tough-as-nails" wax free finish. But seriously, I think that your idea is awesome, my 07 sierra is black, And I was thinking of similar paint ideas, I hate waxing also.

mike94silverado · January 30, 2014

I've seen it done... looks good and cheaper than a regular paintjob.

Cloudsplitter · January 31, 2014

This is just a joke: Line-x the whole truck, that would be a unique "tough-as-nails" wax free finish. But seriously, I think that your idea is awesome, my 07 sierra is black, And I was thinking of similar paint ideas, I hate waxing also.

Its not so much about hating waxing and more that when wax gets on anything plastic, line X, or flat black, it leaves that white chalky residue that is impossible to get off. Waxing is made easier with an electric buffer, but its the buffer than goes over the edges and makes the problems.

I've seen entire vehicles done with LineX, usually off road exclusive machines. Not really my cup of tea for a daily driver but I agree its super tough and cheaper than paint. You have to remember that Line-X does fade from UV, but there is a UV coating they do which I will have done this time when I get my bed refreshed. I'm also thinking of having the rockers sprayed higher on the body line. From a resale standpoint doing the line-X on the rockers is a bad idea because it can't easily be removed, and on the flip side a matte clear spray on the original paint would be reasonable to wet sand and spray gloss again to return it to stock.