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In the process of ordering a 2018 C63S Coupe. I love the look of the selenite grey magno paint. It's an option on the 2018's. Does anybody have experience with the finish? Is it fairly easy to take care of? Does it show fingerprints and smudges easily? For light scratches and dings is touch up possible? If I get it I would think of wrapping the car in clear matte to maintain the look and protect it, but just wanted to know if it's a hassle to live with on a daily basis.
I've been running my Magno grey for 6 months now and love it. The car gets so much more attention because of the colour and makes it feel all the more special. It changes tone depending on lighting and actually reflects some of the colours around it.
Get ready for people to ask about the paint all the time!
Is it fairly easy to take care of?
Yes, VERY easy. Once you get it wrapped or ceramic coated (I got the front PPF'd and Gyeon Q2 coated all the car) all you need to do is wash and dry. No polish, no wax, no clay or machine polishing. You may need to top up the water repelling properties of your coating once every 3-4 months and recoat 6-months to a year, but that's it. Cleaning my car used to take hours. Now its 20min, which leaves more time for the wheels...
Does it show fingerprints and smudges easily?
The Selenite Grey I have doesnt show any greasy marks. I have a Triumph bike in Matte Black which shows up every fingerprint. This paint doesn't. It also hides dust buildup as you dont notice if its not shiny. If my wheels stayed clean I would be cleaning my car a LOT less than my old black M3.
For light scratches and dings is touch up possible?
Controversial one this. You wont be able to polish scratches out! But there are ways I've found to get around it.
Because its not shiny you wont see light swirls and very light scratches (in the clear coat) as much as a gloss. So no swirls, holographs or stains. They will still be there, you just wont see them.
Scratches that break the clear can be topped up with ceramic sealer to mask them. I had one (the type I used to polish out), topped up my Gyeon Q2 Matt on the scratch with 2 coats and now cant find it.
Stone chips are another matter. I'm an amateur painter and found I could match up a metallic grey using acrylics for a stone chip I picked up on the door that looks 80% invisible. The paints protected and you cant see it from more that 3ft away. I'm planning on buying some Selenite grey paint without the gloss and try it on a hidden patch to see the results. I'm sure it will work fine for small stone chips.
BIG scratches or chips will need a respray, but in truth I would if it was gloss anyway so no change there. It will just cost more I suspect.
I'm sure we will see more matte repair products on the market in the next few years as these finishes become available on less rare cars.
Wrapping
If you can afford it, go for it. It will put your mind at ease.
However do so on the understanding its a temporary cover which comes with its own points to be aware of. DONT use a pressure washer, keep an eye on where film panels meet like on the font bumper sections, ensure you get a good install so you dont get peel-back or bubbles. It still wont stop big rocks or vandalism.
Matte isn't for everyone and there are some days I miss a clean polished black gloss car, but overall I'm VERY pleased I went Matte.
Last edited by Bluetonic; Jun 15, 2017 at 09:08 AM.
I've been running my Magno grey for 6 months now and love it. The car gets so much more attention because of the colour and makes it feel all the more special. It changes tone depending on lighting and actually reflects some of the colours around it.
Get ready for people to ask about the paint all the time!
Is it fairly easy to take care of?
Yes, VERY easy. Once you get it wrapped or ceramic coated (I got the front PPF'd and Gyeon Q2 coated all the car) all you need to do is wash and dry. No polish, no wax, no clay or machine polishing. You may need to top up the water repelling properties of your coating once every 3-4 months and recoat 6-months to a year, but that's it. Cleaning my car used to take hours. Now its 20min, which leaves more time for the wheels...
Does it show fingerprints and smudges easily?
The Selenite Grey I have doesnt show any greasy marks. I have a Triumph bike in Matte Black which shows up every fingerprint. This paint doesn't. It also hides dust buildup as you dont notice if its not shiny. If my wheels stayed clean I would be cleaning my car a LOT less than my old black M3.
For light scratches and dings is touch up possible?
Controversial one this. You wont be able to polish scratches out! But there are ways I've found to get around it.
Because its not shiny you wont see light swirls and very light scratches (in the clear coat) as much as a gloss. So no swirls, holographs or stains. They will still be there, you just wont see them.
Scratches that break the clear can be topped up with ceramic sealer to mask them. I had one (the type I used to polish out), topped up my Gyeon Q2 Matt on the scratch with 2 coats and now cant find it.
Stone chips are another matter. I'm an amateur painter and found I could match up a metallic grey using acrylics for a stone chip I picked up on the door that looks 80% invisible. The paints protected and you cant see it from more that 3ft away. I'm planning on buying some Selenite grey paint without the gloss and try it on a hidden patch to see the results. I'm sure it will work fine for small stone chips.
BIG scratches or chips will need a respray, but in truth I would if it was gloss anyway so no change there. It will just cost more I suspect.
I'm sure we will see more matte repair products on the market in the next few years as these finishes become available on less rare cars.
Wrapping
If you can afford it, go for it. It will put your mind at ease.
However do so on the understanding its a temporary cover which comes with its own points to be aware of. DONT use a pressure washer, keep an eye on where film panels meet like on the font bumper sections, ensure you get a good install so you dont get peel-back or bubbles. It still wont stop big rocks or vandalism.
Matte isn't for everyone and there are some days I miss a clean polished black gloss car, but overall I'm VERY pleased I went Matte.
Is it fairly easy to take care of?
Yes, VERY easy. Once you get it wrapped or ceramic coated (I got the front PPF'd and Gyeon Q2 coated all the car) all you need to do is wash and dry. No polish, no wax, no clay or machine polishing. You may need to top up the water repelling properties of your coating once every 3-4 months and recoat 6-months to a year, but that's it. Cleaning my car used to take hours. Now its 20min, which leaves more time for the wheels...
What about if it is not protected in these ways?
Wrapping
If you can afford it, go for it. It will put your mind at ease.
However do so on the understanding its a temporary cover which comes with its own points to be aware of. DONT use a pressure washer, keep an eye on where film panels meet like on the font bumper sections, ensure you get a good install so you dont get peel-back or bubbles. It still wont stop big rocks or vandalism.
Why wouldn't you just go selenite and then xpel stealth wrap the car and save yourself a couple of grand?
From memory it was just as easy to clean not protected, but the paint did hold water and therefore mud and dirt much easier.
I see your logic and if you want to save money why not.
Would be interesting to see a gloss car thats been stealth wrapped next to a car with the original matte paint to see the difference.
I've not seen a wrap yet look or have the same texture as the Magno paint as its more satin than Matte and as you can see from my pictures actually gloss at angles. Although not in those early pictures, I have Xpel on the front sections of mine now and its a close match but I do notice the difference.
I totally accept the benefits of PPF for a daily driver / commuting car and it would be a must if you live in an area prone to stone chips / road rash.
I dont want to bash PPF as it does a great job at protecting paint... However like everything (gloss, matte, dark, metallic paint) there are always trade-offs. With PPF as I've learned, you need to take car around joints. I've already got a lip on a panel where it looks like water is getting under and I need to get it re-done. Because I dont have a workshop locally its a big inconvenience for me (a 2 hour drive and I may have to leave it overnight which means a additional car or public transport). Based on my experience so far its actually making me question if I leave it on long term. I hardly do many miles and so far the matte is holding up very well as stated above.
The way I see it is your paying for the finish of the matte, the way the paint pops, how it behaves in different light conditions, gives different effects and colours at different angles etc.
Mercedes new paints do this really well and I've been lucky to be parked next to an older Black wrapped C63, my mates Frozen blue M3 and a matte grey Audi S6 on different occasions and I'm happy to say I think the Magno looked the best of the 4 and my mate agreed (although not sure the owner of the Audi would given the cost)
I was worrying about the same thing when I got my Edition 1 Coupe but as long as you do not etch or scratch the paint, the maintenance is super easy. The front half of the car is wrapped in matte film to prevent rock chips.
Thanks very much for the detailed info Bluetonic. Your car looks great. I love the magno.
If you don't mind me asking, what was the cost of the selenite magno option? The 2018 DOG doesn't have the price yet and me dealer doesn't know exactly what it will cost.
I collected my C6s Coupe in Magno gray about a month ago. The paint looks beautiful and definetly makes the car stand out more. The only problem I have is that is that it is so hard to mantain and gets damaged very easily. My car has already had a small incident. I have taken care of this car like if it was my baby, and one day I noticed a thin scratch in the drivers side. It is about 4 inches long and is kind of noticeable. I take the car to a place which has experience with matte cars because other businesses have no experience with paint like this and don't know that you can't use wax. When I ordered the car I expected that it would get a lot of stone chips, but I had no problem. The dirt in the car is very noticeable because of the color. Some light rain is enough to make the car look filthy. Although this paint has its cons I think it is definetly worth it.
I collected my C6s Coupe in Magno gray about a month ago. The paint looks beautiful and definetly makes the car stand out more. The only problem I have is that is that it is so hard to mantain and gets damaged very easily. My car has already had a small incident. I have taken care of this car like if it was my baby, and one day I noticed a thin scratch in the drivers side. It is about 4 inches long and is kind of noticeable. I take the car to a place which has experience with matte cars because other businesses have no experience with paint like this and don't know that you can't use wax. When I ordered the car I expected that it would get a lot of stone chips, but I had no problem. The dirt in the car is very noticeable because of the color. Some light rain is enough to make the car look filthy. Although this paint has its cons I think it is definetly worth it.
Thanks for your input. That helps. I love the color and finish, just still not sure on ease of upkeep.
'17 AMG S63 Convertible, '17 AMG C63S Edition 1 Coupe
The Designo Magno Selenite Gray is a matte finish. Beautiful, brilliant, definitely a color worth getting. But make no mistake: ANY factory matte finish is NOT repairable to chips, scratches, etc. You *can't* refinish a panel. It takes a FULL respray, and the matte finish paints are NOT cheap. PPF is a tradeoff on normal paint; it's really a painful necessity on any factory matte paint, unless you have $8K+ lying around that you're ok throwing at the problem... Search, even on other forums. You'll find this is the case regardless of the brand when you venture into matte finishes...
Anyone out there resprayed a panel on there Selenite grey magno car and the process needed to match the panel with the rest of the car? The new panel on mine is very matt whilst the rest of the car has a slight sheen so there must be I guess a process hopefully to match it to the rest of the car I need to take. Any help would be much appreciated. Best garno
Anyone out there resprayed a panel on there Selenite grey magno car and the process needed to match the panel with the rest of the car? The new panel on mine is very matt whilst the rest of the car has a slight sheen so there must be I guess a process hopefully to match it to the rest of the car I need to take. Any help would be much appreciated. Best garno
Based on my understanding, the Magno paint can't be matched. It's very very difficult to impossible. Essentially requires the whole car to be painted in order to match.
Here's what I can tell you. I had my GTR for a 1.5 years and put 11.5k miles on it. It had Green Hell Magno on it. I had the whole car done in PPF except the rear hatch. I specifically did it this way so I could see if the PPF changed the color as some have said. It was not detectable. I never went back to get the rear hatch done. Drove the car everywhere and took it to self service car washes and would spray the car with the soap and then rinse it. Towel dried it and never had a problem even on the rear hatch with no PPF. I think the whole thing is blown out of proportion. It's marketing hype created by all of the companies that sell the myriad of expensive products for cars. Take all my cars to the self service car wash, dry them and keep wax (except matte) on them. Get compliments all of the time.
Honestly, 11.5k miles in 1.5 years is really no mileage at all. That's well below average. After only that many miles pretty much any paint looks like new from factory with reasonable care and no damage. Heck I drove my Obsidian Black C63 6500 miles in 8 weeks all over Europe, on the Nurburgring and at very high speeds with no paint protection whatsoever and had no rock chips when I finally got it PPF'd here in the USA. Throughout the 8 weeks the front was caked in dead insects for weeks at a time, and no clear coat imperfections from it. It all depends on where the car is driven and what it is exposed to, but a big reason I didn't go for Magno was in fact knowing that I would drive a lot of miles before I could get PPF on it. The poster above had to get a panel repainted, so that's a very different case from just regularly washing the car and taking care of it. Pretty much any reputable body shop I heard from said Magno paint is essentially impossible to match if you have paint damage and the only way to make it match is by painting the whole car. For me skipping Magno really paid off multiple times. I had to have my side skirts replaced, because the adhesive wasn't good enough from the factory and they ended up having to replace the rocker panels, which had to painted and matched to get a good bonding surface. Would have been a much bigger job if the car had been Magno. Just saying, life and **** happens and if you drive the car closer to 60k, 70k, 80k before selling it, sooner or later there is paint damage. Just something to keep in mind.
Last edited by superswiss; Jan 24, 2020 at 05:41 PM.
True and to add to the mileage. I assume most won't be driving their car like you would a typical Camry or so. I also suspect my car would look pretty much the same at 50-70k miles anyways. Now of course, I don't have snow where I live and wouldn't drive on a rainy day and I do keep it garaged. This is most likely standard protocol for most on here as well. My point was there is no dark art to taking care of magno paint. It's pretty basic at the end of the day. Once you get past the hype of which I initially fell for also until I had a magno car.
Magno paint is easier to take care of than gloss paint until it gets damaged. When it gets damaged, that's when the challenges really lie. Mainly because it cannot be buffed or polished.
Magno paint is easier to take care of than gloss paint until it gets damaged. When it gets damaged, that's when the challenges really lie. Mainly because it cannot be buffed or polished.
My point exactly as well. So PPF the car and that "worry" is over. Move on to the next mod and driving/enjoying your car.
I was worrying about the same thing when I got my Edition 1 Coupe but as long as you do not etch or scratch the paint, the maintenance is super easy. The front half of the car is wrapped in matte film to prevent rock chips.
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