Paint It Black
There is no denying it, Italians know what looks good.
Their cars have a flow and a flair and a vibe all their own, and from the 1950s onward it takes only the most basic glance to know that you are looking at something Italian; they are just sexy.
Something many people don’t realize, they cheat. They do something nobody else does; they control your eyes. They use curves and flares and colors and chrome to draw your attention to certain areas, and they use satin black to draw your attention away from others. Addition through subtraction; It’s a strategy employed by many outside the automotive world to enhance your experience by eliminating distractions subconsciously, and it absolutely works. Disney has their own specific color they use for this, called “Go Away Green” which is painted on plain buildings and walls and doors in their theme parks so you only pay attention to what they want you to; your brain simply ignores it because subconsciously it thinks it’s insignificant, and like magic, it disappears.
The downside I have discovered of this strategy and how well it works, is many restoration shops employ this to hide issues and flaws they don’t want you to notice. Rather than fix rusted panels or flaking old underbody finishes, they simply paint everything black so it looks good in photographs and pass the issue on to the next owner. It’s a strategy that obviously works, but with the rise of dry ice blasting, I’m hoping we can start bringing it to an end.
When I got a particular car in the shop last week, I had high hopes. It’s incredibly rare, spectacularly gorgeous, and steeped with Italian heritage. I had figured that it’s pedigree would ensure a lifetime of the highest quality care, but as I got it on the lift and got the wheels off, I saw that was not exactly the case. The fender wells showed layer after layer of thick undercoating, and I don’t think that’s EVER a good sign. It wasn’t.
I respect this car too much to tarnish its history, so it will have to suffice I found things I shouldn’t have, things that were hidden. My frustration here lies with intention, burying flaws underneath layers of thick undercoating and satin black paint to hide them from inquisitive eyes. Until the rise of dry ice blasting, there wasn’t a good, non-destructive way, to clean and remove these types of materials to expose the true condition of the panels and finishes underneath Now, secrets will be revealed.
I’m trying to use dry ice blasting and dry ice cleaning for the most good I can. In this case, it’s finding hidden problems so that they can be expertly repaired. That car will soon be the car it should be, from every angle and on every surface.
The other side of the coin is how dry ice blasting can be used to highlight just how great a vehicle’s condition is. Removing old undercoating from cars in excellent condition can remove all doubt of what lies underneath. I cleaned a 1979 10th Anniversary Pontiac Trans-Am recently, and the sole purpose of removing the dealer installed undercoating was to illustrate the exemplary condition of the car. Nothing was hidden, there were no surprises, every card on the table was face up. The car was spectacular, and the seller wanted everything exposed and out in the open to tell its own amazing story.
I don’t like surprises. My goal is always to give customers a car in the best possible condition, and to exceed expectations. But when I discover hidden problems, what I’m doing then is revealing a car’s potential; showing what needs to be done to make it better. I’m a detailer. I’m an archeologist. Sometimes my digging uncovers gold, sometimes….not. The only way to know what is in Pandora’s Box is to open it.