Metallic vs. Non-Metallic Paint

[MRR]

Beside the aesthetic differences between the two is their any difference in durability or makeup that would make metallic paints better? Do they last longer or resist oxidation more readily than non-metallic paints? If not why do car manufacturers charge so much extra for it?

[johnnynumfiv]

Originally Posted by MRR

Beside the aesthetic differences between the two is their any difference in durability or makeup that would make metallic paints better? Do they last longer or resist oxidation more readily than non-metallic paints? If not why do car manufacturers charge so much extra for it?

No there isn't. They all use the same tint, balancer/binder, reducer. The metallic part is just aluminum tint. A solid color is easier to paint than a metallic one. The cost of the paint is usually more when its a metallic also.

[NicFromLA]

It this point there's very little cost difference between metallic and non-metallic, and since the paint work is all done by machines its easy to give the car a consistent paint job. In the old days however metallic paints used to fade after a few years. In addition, since the paint formulas weren't as exact as today, so if a metallic car was damaged it was hard to match the paint. A good way to look at it is today almost half the MB 300SL on the road are silver, but at the time silver was a very rare colour on those cars because buyers knew if they damaged the car it would be hard to repaint it.

[drakkie]

The cost is never in the materials or the equipment and labor used. Nowadays the margins on cars are so insanely narrow that most large volume manufacturers lose a little money on every "standard" car they sell. To make up for this and still make profit the prices of the options are usually very high. My teachers explained that margins of 5-6-700% profit are very common. Say the OEM pays 200€ for the better paint, they can easily charge 1500€ to the customer. It's a small sales trick. People will first look at the base price, then they'll start negotiating and find out it might be more expensive because of the options. They will rarely buy it that way because it gives a inferior feeling when going through the options list. About 1-2% of cars sold comes completely standard, with no options I have been told.