Article: This [Slate Auto] Long Beach studio is designing America’s cheapest EV truck

[AZFox]

The body panels are removable, right?

Would that make painting easier?

 

[sodamo]

The body panels are removable, right?

Would that make painting easier?

Depends how you define easier. Assuming actual prep and painting remain same, now you remove panels, have a place to work, replace panels.

 

[cadblu]

Not sure if everyone is aware, but if you change the color of your vehicle, either by paint or wrap, most states require that you report it to the DMV and have the registration and/or Vehicle Title updated. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[E90400K]

Depends how you define easier. Assuming actual prep and painting remain same, now you remove panels, have a place to work, replace panels.

And needing a place to remove the panels is different than DIY wraping?

I think Maaco would come up with a "Slate Special" price. It's a lot easier to remove 6 or 7 body panels (designed to be removed - BTW) and hang them on a paining jig in the paint booth. Since a lot of new cars use plastic fenders and bumper covers, painting plastic is not new science. Because all Slates are manufactured the exact same way, the panel prep, jig, paint formulation and procedure can be standardized across Maaco's franchise network, providing additional cost savings and a lower price to the consumer.

I'd much rather pay Maaco $2,000 once for a decent paint job, than rewrapping my Slate every 3 years at $800 - $1,000 a pop.

This is no different a concept than Slate's building its service dealership network from existing Repair Pal locations. Basically, Slate would be using Maaco's franchise network in place of the billion-dollar paint facility it did not want to build into its capital cost structure.

 

[bartflossom]

I'm curious about plasti-dip. One of my favorite youtube channels is https://www.youtube.com/@dipyourcar

Those color shifting paints are amazing. Price and adhesion and removability on a plastic car are the questions that will have to be answered once we have slates in our hands.

for the attention seeker..

 

[AZFox]

Not sure if everyone is aware, but if you change the color of your vehicle, either by paint or wrap, most states require that you report it to the DMV and have the registration and/or Vehicle Title updated. Just something to keep in mind.

Wow, it hadn't dawned on me that the Slate might dominate in the Getaway Vehicle niche of the market.

 

[sodamo]

And needing a place to remove the panels is different than DIY wraping?

I think Maaco would come up with a "Slate Special" price. It's a lot easier to remove 6 or 7 body panels (designed to be removed - BTW) and hang them on a paining jig in the paint booth. Since a lot of new cars use plastic fenders and bumper covers, painting plastic is not new science. Because all Slates are manufactured the exact same way, the panel prep, jig, paint formulation and procedure can be standardized across Maaco's franchise network, providing additional cost savings and a lower price to the consumer.

I'd much rather pay Maaco $2,000 once for a decent paint job, than rewrapping my Slate every 3 years at $800 - $1,000 a pop.

This is no different a concept than Slate's building its service dealership network from existing Repair Pal locations. Basically, Slate would be using Maaco's franchise network in place of the billion-dollar paint facility it did not want to build into its capital cost structure.

Please note I was not originator of the removable panels. Also don’t recall Slate saying panels must be removed to wrap. You have a reference?
While I agree with most of your logic, I’m pretty sure most of the paint comments here lean toward either DIY or maybe a one off shop, not a standard, corporate program with warranty.

 

[AZFox]

It's a lot easier to remove 6 or 7 body panels (designed to be removed - BTW) and hang them on a paining jig in the paint booth.

This is what I was thinking.

My (limited) understanding about painting vehicles is that most of the labor time is prep work.

I'd much rather pay Maaco $2,000 once for a decent paint job, than rewrapping my Slate every 3 years at $800 - $1,000 a pop.

The wrapping idea has a lot of appeal. Unfortunately I don't like the idea of requiring a future re-wrap, and what might happen if it's left on too long.

That's compounded by living in The Valley Of The Sun where the useful lifespan of wrap would be shorter than elsewhere.

 

[cadblu]

Wow, it hadn't dawned on me that the Slate might dominate in the Getaway Vehicle niche of the market.

Yes! But the 8 seconds to reach 60 mph is not exactly going to outrun police vehicles with the interceptor package … lol

 

[E90400K]

Please note I was not originator of the removable panels. Also don’t recall Slate saying panels must be removed to wrap. You have a reference?
While I agree with most of your logic, I’m pretty sure most of the paint comments here lean toward either DIY or maybe a one off shop, not a standard, corporate program with warranty.

Slate has said somewhere that the panels are easily removable (i.e. easily replaceable for damage repair) and designed with minimal contours for the purposes of easy wrapping, with the screw head locations serving as index points for the pre-cut wrap kit sheet. IIRC the statements were made in the Munro video.

If the body panel shapes are easy to wrap they will also be easy to paint.

 

[AZFox]

I expect the pre-cut wraps to be installable with the body panels in place, not removed.

 

[cadblu]

Wow, it hadn't dawned on me that the Slate might dominate in the Getaway Vehicle niche of the market.

It might, however, be a proper getaway vehicle in the Amish country, with police on horseback 🙂

 

[Susan]

First I ve heard of an option to paint. I’m guessing their assuming a buyer my elect to have it painted. Not a Slate Auto direct option.

The Slate website still says "Wrapped, not Painted" on the personalization page. I suppose you could paint it once you took delivery. But I wonder if the writer just got that wrong. Slate has never talked about painting the truck, even as an aftermarket option.

 

[The Weatherman]

The Slate website still says "Wrapped, not Painted" on the personalization page. I suppose you could paint it once you took delivery. But I wonder if the writer just got that wrong. Slate has never talked about painting the truck, even as an aftermarket option.

Yeah, I seem to fat finger a lot more than used to. I left out the word NOT in my original post. It should have read….. I’ve NOT heard of…….

 

[Imhotep]

It might, however, be a proper getaway vehicle in the Amish country, with police on horseback 🙂

Considering the location of the plant and the simplicity of the Slate, I’ve been wondering if some Amish might be be involved in the manufacturing. I’ve seen electric fireplaces marketed as Amish built.