A Matte Black Wrap

Black has long been chic, whether it goes back to Henry Ford or Coco Chanel.

One of the types of black that’s becoming particular popular in automotive circles is matte black. Yet for a variety of reasons—not the least of which is how the color will look some years down the road, having endured everything from bug splatters to home car washes—this is not a color that OEMs want to apply to vehicles.

A clever alternative is being offered by Iconography, a SoCal design studio, that is offering matte-black wraps, and we don’t mean pashminas. Rather, it is a vinyl wrap that covers the car. It takes about a week for them to complete a wrap. Apparently, if it is removed in less than five years, the underlying paint is still in good shape (or the shape it began with).

Since July 2009, they’ve wrapped 16 cars—a Ferrari F430, Bentley Arnage, and Ford Transit Connect among them.