Paintjob: what paint changes, and what it does not
Updated: 2 days ago
A paintjob does not change the way the racquet plays. Paint adds a few grams: they are weighed before and after and put back into the setup, so that balance, swingweight and stiffness return to where they were. That is the first thing to say, because it is the only thing that matters when you decide.
What it changes is the object. A frame whose figures are intact but whose paint has gone has no reason to be replaced — except one: you no longer want to take it out of the bag. That reason is real, and it can be dealt with.
Racquets are replaced too early
A carbon frame loses its paint long before it loses its characteristics. That gap is uncomfortable: the object looks finished while the tool is not. Replacing solves the appearance problem by throwing away the tool. A paintjob solves it while keeping the tool.
The discipline a proper paintjob imposes
Added mass is measured. A coat of paint weighs something. We weigh before and after, and correct the setup if the difference leaves tolerance.
Grip and buttcap come off, they are not masked. Paint that stops at the tape shows at the first regrip.
Grommets are inspected while the frame is bare: a split grommet cuts string long before anyone notices it.
No brand logo is reproduced. A paintjob is paint, not a counterfeit.
Gloss black, no logo, and why
The whole Matcheur range ships in gloss black with no logo. That is not a pose: an unbranded frame makes no promise before it is played. The same principle holds for a custom paintjob — you decide what the racquet says, and it says nothing you did not choose.
When a paintjob makes sense
On a frame you intend to keep: a model you have played for years, a matched pair you do not want to break up, a frame whose repair shows.
In those three cases, custom paint is ordered online. The design is sent as a sketch before the order: we tell you what is feasible, and on which zones, before you confirm.
The racquet is sent to our workshop, in Normandy; shipping details are given to you when you order. Allow two weeks.
It makes none on a frame that does not suit you. Paint does not correct a geometry: there, it is the setup that needs revisiting, or the frame itself — the configurator answers that question in six.
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