Lamborghini established itself as a leader of the growing trend towards matte paint finishes for cars in 2006 when it introduced the limited edition Gallardo Privilegio featuring paintwork in 'Nero Noctis' (Black Night) and a mixture of matte-black body parts (above).

PPG Industries automotive refinish business has worked closely with Lamborghini for many years to develop colours that will enhance the design of the unique Italian automobiles. The introduction of PPG’s matte finishes created specifically for Lamborghini is setting the latest automotive fashion style.

Lamborghini was a leader of this trend in 2006 when it introduced the Black Gallardo featuring matte-black body parts. Following this initiative, a growing number of automakers are now using matte finish to highlight particular car body details. PPG is the exclusive supplier to Lamborghini for the matte colours. Lamborghini only recommends the use of PPG products when repairing matte colours.

The progression of matte colours directly results from the close collaboration between Lamborghini and PPG Automotive Refinish. The collaboration led to the development of PPG’s new D8113 clear matte coat, designed to create a sports-car effect and to accentuate these models’ style.

“All of our matte and special colour cars are hand painted,” said Claudio Nannetti, quality manager at Automobili Lamborghini. “We had to find a product that would not only ensure the aesthetic quality sought by our designers, but also meet the high performance standards required. PPG supported us once again, as it has done throughout the years of our collaboration during all the development stages: from product engineering to quality tests and training program for our Customer Support points.

“The Lamborghini/PPG partnership is extremely successful and has led to excellent results. In over 20 years, we developed many painting processes for a range of different materials, from aluminium to composites, and countless finishes, including four-coat and matte finishes. Today, we are ready for new challenges and new research projects.”

This partnership also involves Lamborghini’s global support network. Achieving the special matte effect that enhances the car’s allure requires specific repair cycles and the use of dedicated, reliable, high-performance products. To ensure that Lamborghini’s network was able to make repairs that would maintain and reinforce the brand’s high-quality reputation, a worldwide training program, focusing on matte colours, was initiated for all body shops specializing in the repair of these automobiles. This ensures that the repairs are carried out by specialized workshops after receiving specific training through PPG’s training centres worldwide, confirming once again the exclusive nature of these models and of matte finish.

Developed by PPG technicians and approved by Lamborghini, these training sessions, which focus on the matte finish repair process, expand operators’ skills in the use of specific painting systems and enable them to learn techniques that ensure the best final result. Special attention is paid to repairing Nemesis black matte paint, one of the hardest finishes to achieve, and on matte clearcoat application and drying time. The course has been shared with all PPG training centres worldwide, creating a unique Lamborghini matte colour repair network.

To reinforce its total technical support, PPG also developed a manual, approved by the Lamborghini Aftersales organization, dedicated to the network of body shops specialising in Lamborghini vehicles worldwide and accessible by the entire global repair network. It details specific products to be used in each geographical area, based on regulations and logistics issues.

Pittsburgh-based PPG is a global supplier of paints, coatings, optical products, specialty materials, chemicals, glass and fibre glass. The company has more than 140 manufacturing facilities and equity affiliates and operates in more than 60 countries. Sales in 2008 were $15.8 billion.