Sandy Munro maybe accidentally drops some big Aptera news 

Nice to have Sandy on board as an investor. Hopefully Aptera can find the $ they need.

Chris said that the area of the Aptera's body that needs to be wrapped is 33% of the whole body. That means that the sides, the fenders, and the trim around the back hatch and doors are all that would need to be wrapped. The gray/black aluminum belly pan can be anodized. Since the nose and under-headlight area is a different color, it could be color infused, and most all of the internal plastic and CF parts would also be infused. I think that Sandy is trying to spin the conversation to look like the Aptera will have no paint and no wrapping. Which would definitely be innovative, economical, and green. But I think that the reality will be a blend of color infusion and wraps in the end. But I would be very happy to be wrong if CPC has figured out a way to manufacture production parts and body panels with a high quality look rivaling paint, just using infused color.

I spent a couple of decades in Materials Science- specifically plastics and polymers and getting different formulations to match color-wise is pretty difficult. I would look at the situation and see if you could first spray the molds with a UV-Stable polymer in the preferred color and then adding the structural polymer and make sure they are compatible and will fuse. That would give you the UV stable exterior color 'baked' onto the structural polymer.

Worked in plastic for 30 years. Color matching parts from different resins can be a problem because certain pigments and additives are not the same. The easiest solution is to make any change in resin be a different color. Whites using stabilizers tend to shift red and can be controlled with very small amounts of green. Grey and black shift more with the underlying color that made it - for example black may shift blue, red, green or yellow. Carbon fiber I haven't dealt with as much, but I like its natural appearance.

You hit the nail on the head with colour in the fibreglass parts. The carbon parts are structural, therefore don't require colour. The gelcoat pigmentation is a lot easier on glass fibre products. To be fair, most of the vehicle will be black or solar panels anyway.

I wouldn't mind if the colors of panels don't match exactly. I wonder how much our obsession with perfect finishes costs us. Initial cost, insurance, environmental, etc. It's nice to see that aptera may be molding in the color. They could simply production by having a standard color for all parts and if a customer really wanted another color, use a wrap.

This is a very interesting development and prospect! We all will be waiting to hear more about this directly from Aptera. Thank you Steve!

Thanks to AOC for bringing this video to us with his expert comentary. Some potentially exciting news about the Aptera exterior finish. Good summary about the advantages of efficiency. I am still from MO on infused color. Hope I am wrong for the benefit of all Aptera reservation holders that dislike the thought of a wrap.

I did not get my hopes up when I heard that, because sometimes Sandy makes mistakes or it could be a previous idea that was scrapped because it did not work out. 🤔

Making less pollution if having alternative to spraying paint is a great idea. I didn’t realize the cost of painting. Aptera crew seems to think of almost everything. Might actually get to buy one.

If this is true, it is fantastic news! Now you don't need to worry about scratches in the paint, or paint peeling with age! I see this completely as a win. Who cares if the fiber pattern and color come through a little, I think it will just look cool that way. Of course, I ordered black, so I don't think it will be an issue anyways.

Im hoping he was right... but it feels like he somehow misspoke.

This is huge…no paint or wrap. I’m in.

Cory looks uncomfortable, like he’s thinking “you weren’t supposed to say that”.

I think the only color in the mold is the background black, the rest I believe will be the wrap color .

As others have said here, it is clear there won’t be paint, but that’s all I am sure of, despite Sandy’s antics. Wrap will remain an option for other colors than Luna. Will a naked Aptera looks like Luna? I am not convinced but I would be fine with a naked Aptera anyway, provided outside panels have some UV protection. Could be some wax or other UV resistant finish. Otherwise material will fade overtime.

Thanks Steve. I watch a shorter version and did not see this.

I hope this is true, I would love to have the carbon fiber raw look on the whole thing actually.

official response from Aptera yesterday : To answer your question, Aptera Vehicles will be wrapped where needed. there is no wrap on top or bottom of the vehicle, just the sides, and it is expected to last a very long time. The process of adding color to the panels is possible but there are a few points we must understand: The finish comes at the expense of the UV protection, and a further point is the ability, at scale, to have the color in the panel is not quite there given our time frame. It is a future goal but not going to happen for initial production. Overall, the most efficient and effective way is to wrap those parts that need UV protection while maintaining a consistent look and quality finish. We chose to finish Aptera with an extremely durable wrap because it is more environmentally friendly and eliminates approximately 98% of the need for a traditional painting process while offering UV protection. We also hope people will find it easier to repair damages or switch out colors of their choosing. We expect the film wrap to last 5 to 10 years in aggressive UV environments. We are testing with the vendors now to set expectations and warranty. Sandy may have accidentally spilled the beans!!! well,,, the cats outa the bag now!!! 😝

I think the ‘colored’ portion of Aptera referred to are the parts of BINC are going to be the same very dark grey on the underside and underneath all of the solar cell covered areas. As you cycle the ‘colors’ at the configurator at Aptera, you see about 25% under solar, 33% of surface on lower side of the vehicle are the same very dark grey, regardless of specified vehicle color. The the remaining 45% is likely the part of Aptera that will be wrapped white, silver, black, or a requested custom color. But a large part of the vehicle will stay the very dark grey that BINC has as built in pigment/color of all exterior parts.

And a heads up, if all the other slots to fill the 2,000 are taken by the minimum $10,000, the total raised will be $22.83 million. So they don’t need to sell all 2,000 to reach the 20 million goal 😊

It would appear that gelcoat surface where I live would likely need some type of covering to keep out water, our conditions here would be very hard on gel coat from what I read, but don't have real world experience.

I still think he’s referring to the interior panels like in the trunk area which aren’t painted. But if it’s true, the next question is how would we maintain whatever this color material is?

I think it’s very exciting that they’re trying to move away from the wrap. I just see too many problems with the wrap especially when it’s a solar car and you want it in the sun exposed all the time. The people that are in the business of installing that on cars tell you you have roughly 2 years to three years max before having to replace it so it’s very exciting.To see this.

I was thinking he talked about upcoming funding :(

Steve, my. impression when I watched this video yesterday wasn't the the cars would be silver and black from the mold, but the the black parts would be made black in the molding process, never thought that meant they would make the body panels different colors. However, not a bad idea. I've already looked into standard wraps vs colored PPF and I'd choose the latter, simply because for where I live we have lots of UV (9500') with snow, freezing temps, and dirt and paved roads that are coated with mag chloride in the winter to thaw them and in the summer to keep the dust down. They also spread small gravel/large sand in winter and it is pretty much everywhere even into the summer. Broken windshields and paint chips are a part of living here. There is such a small part of the car to wrap, and it is simple enough I think PPF will work for sure on the body, and maybe on the wheel fairings. It also shouldn't be too expensive.

It’s feasible. My mom’s Smart car has colored plastic panels with no paint.

Interesting. So I guess this means no "metallic" colors? Luna will just look light gray without a sheen? Glad I ordered Sol White.

Thanks for the video and your interpretation. At 5:48, what do you mean by forged carbon fiber? Are they planning on using woven carbon fiber cloth, or short stand carbon fiber like that used on the BMW i3 and i8?

They can do any wrap they like. Ours is going in for paint as soon as it comes. Even of they "infuse" the color and make it match, the different materials will fade and age differently.

Color infused carbon sheets are shown in almost all Delta renders. Sandy never said there wouldn't be any wrap. He said there wouldn't be paint. I think you guys are letting your confirmation bias supercede your literary analysis.

I'm not sure what is different here. Yes, they can infuse color into the mold but that color will not have the same properties as paint or a wrap which is why Aptera is applying the wrap. On the exterior.

Is there anything preventing one from taking their Aptera to an Earl Scheib or does the composite body not allow for this?

I'd be curious if there's any noticable effect on the heat dissipation of the belly pan if it's rewrapped or painted. If I change my wrap color it might or might not look good next to the original belly color

He'll ya Aptera Let's GO

Thanks Steve, Interesting review. I listened to it on "Hey Google". What I missed on this media was Cory's very uncomfortable body language. Sandy has great fun revealing "Eggs" but here he is laying one. Little wonder I support this channel.

But how tough is carbon fiber from the sun? If a UV coating is needed you are basically painting the car. The good thing is there isn't a lot of the car getting hit by the sun, its mostly just the solar plates, I don't know - and it sounds like the LE can't be changed either, so perhaps this is 2025/26 thing for 2.0 version of the vehicle.

Look, I would love to give Aptera way more $$$ but two things are holding me back. 1: the USD vs NZD 2: The actual ability of Aptera to even supply a legal vehicle here in NZ that I can use.

its called gelcoat. every boat has it. needs regular waxing.

🙋‍♂️THANKS STEVE …WE ALREADY WATCHED 🤗😎💚💚💚

I didn’t hear it the way you did. The pigment is in the Carbon fiber frame. The body side panels will be wrapped. Nothing Sandy said contradicted that.

With respect to efficiency, Aptera is to Tesla as Tesla is to the rest. I was surprised that Elon didn't fund it or add it to his companies.

Carbon fiber is not a great idea untreated for structural parts, in the aircraft industry it’s not allowed on pat25. The epoxy used is not very Robust, it’s TG is relatively low and in very hot places you may see detrimental effects on structural parts, in addition UV takes its toll. A lot of the time where cfcs are Present in auto they use differing resin system that are more environmentally compatible yet not great for structural applications. hope they have done the environmental work on their resin system of choice if this is an option they are considering. I’d probably wrap mine if they send it like so.

Great job uniting Apterans.

I wonder why cars haven't moved to powder coating. Seems like it would be way safer, cheaper, easier to recapture waste powder, and no VOCs. I'm sure there's a very good reason.

Sandy Munro didn't seem very emphatic about pigments added to the carbon fiber body. But assuming that was to be the case, why should exact matching of the colours matter? It could be some shades of the white, black, and silver colours presently being offered. I can't imagine anybody cancelling his orders because of that.

A 25k Tesla would be required to be manufactured in China. Aptera was designed along with its manufacturing process to be as cost effective as possible and will be manufactured in San Diego this year and Europe later on

Dude!! I can only hope Sandy is right about this!! If he is,,, would put me, and many others over the moon!!

Saw this last night. I wonder how it would look.

if it scratches color is all the way through

We knew this.

I want to be able to see the data of communication between brains in case a chip board needs to be replaced.

I thought this was known already

Mr. Monroe is probably speaking in future terms, and for a while, Aptera will continue to be wrapped?

If there is an exterior featuring carbon fiber or composites the Aptera will be much more expensive than many expect. Panels color being embedded when created has been done before and has been around for many years. However while it remained a staple of show cars the closest we got were the plastic panels that were later painted on Saturns. What did them in in the long run was in Saturn's case is that they are actually more expensive to produce than metal parts however the reason the industry wholly abandoned them is because NHTSA regulations made it impractical to create such panels that absorbed impacts with the needed characteristics. What needs to be understood about this cheaper Tesla is that it will decimate the desirability of vehicles like Aptera because it will significantly undercut them in price. Remember, Chris won't tell us the expected price. He has dodged that question every single time. They did drop a monster hint it will be much more expensive when they replied that other manufacturers have seen twenty, thirty, and more than forty percent costs increases.

no need relace wrap sounds deal maker for some people, i wonder if they would give a car withno wrap even if they dont do this color stuff, if customer doesnt want to deal with getting rid of burnt out plastic wrap and dumping it to the wasteland, because micro plastic , phytoestrogen etc

Ceramic coat the carbon fiber 😮?

Wonderful!

interesting Aptera news.

Tesla will make money on the $25K model because they know how to make money, drive down the cost. Look up Project Highland.

ohhh snap

me thinks Aptera isn't to happy with Sandy right now. 🤣

Aptera failed because of few buyers over the huge credits of company, that is why there still no Aptera in car's showroom until now. Over investment with wrong sales predictions. Giant Toyota backup over Tesla e-cars. My advice is make a few Aptera in garage for adventurer's people. Solar panel & batteries sucks.

Aptera is going no where; even if they produced any vehicles - they now have sold the initial production to two groups the original reservation holders and now the "investors" no doubt the investors will be causing themselves some major headaches by inviting a law suit before the company makes a single production motorcycle - 3 wheel vehicles are motorcycles in the USA.

Sandy: worried about pollution, though proceeds to light 1,000 candles on a birthday cake.

Wraps don't last. Wraps are a bad idea. Every few years having to redo wraps is a terrible idea. If this is true that Aptera is molding the color in that is great. However how do you protect the body from the UV rays that destroy plastics, carbon fiber etc? I think you are on the same wavelength as far as concern for protecting the body. You can see some of this conversation in the BMW I3 community with the carbon fiber body and the damage being done by the sun. Efficiency is king. Too bad the industry is running full speed in the opposite direction with electron guzzling toy filled excuses for vehicles.

This motor cycle is Eliot 2.0 This project is already dead in water

Noir should be standard.

1949 VW documentary: small car big love ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hU0MrAQ9neI.html

Aptera 3 wheeler = Bankruptcy. The market will be too limited to sustain profitable growth. They should have designed a 4 wheel car. Have you ever driven a reverse trike? Drive one before you invest in this dumb idea. With three wheels you can't miss potholes or road debris and that is dangerous.