To my mind, yoyo finishes are like automobile finishes. Most solid color finishes are classy and beautiful, like this:
Whereas most splashes and washes and wild graphic finishes are tacky and ugly, like this:
Which of the two you prefer probably says a lot more about you than you realize. 
I disagree with the second example, which is absurdly extreme. I think a better one isâŠ
half-swap
Splashes
More here!
Yeah, all of those are fuuuuuuglyâŠ
And that first one would only represent half-swap if the two right/left halves of the car were different colors, which would look absurd.
With a light blue string Iâd love it!!!
Nickel is what you pull out of your black tux jacket pocket at a wedding reception so you can do sweet tricks for grandmothers. It looks classy!
I was thinking about this some more and the analogy breaks down.
One thing I love about auto finishes is that THEY LOOK SPARKLY METALLIC, which is kinda awesome. Anodized aluminum really doesnât; itâs just a flat ⊠bleh ⊠color. I was thinking of this because @yoyospirit bounced his awesome topic, and I mean just 
LOOK AT THESE BEAUTIES
If a âsolid color yo-yoâ looked like that, @zslane, Iâd be all over it like freakinâ white on rice.
But it donât. (Maybe it should though?)
I can see what youâre saying. Solid colours really could look a whole lot better. Even today they still look really average. We need more variety in solid colours that are more interesting.
This, to me, is an example of a more unique solid colour.
While I agree that solid finishes arenât perfect, splashes and washes and swirls are not the answer! And the main problem with highly reflective finishes is the issues they create for grind tricks. Other than that, I think they look spectacular.
Yeah anodized aluminum is the least interesting looking metal finish there is. All dull and flat and ⊠freakinâ boring. I woud like to see a whole lot more of this:
If you donât think that looks amazing and way better than a boring old solid matte anodization⊠I regret to inform you that some part of the light inside you has died. RIP that light.
Thatâs also why I think nickel plated looks good, as well as copper plated! Donât make me show pics of my half-swapped nickel/copper Deep State again! BECAUSE I WILL
And this from @mullicabob. I HAVE NO WORDS FOR HOW INCREDIBLE THESE LOOK. Do you have any idea how much Iâd pay for a yo-yo with this kind of true metallic auto-like finish? 
Boring flat anodized alu can suck it, as far as Iâm concerned.
Wow.
Absolutely. When compared to the above pics of metallic finishes that, yâknow, look metallic? I mean itâs no contest.
Haha I have yet to figure out how he achieved this
It looks like clear coat with additives to me?
Anyway his whole topic is EPIC, I just spent 3 hours cleaning that topic up by hand ⊠and it was worth it!
I highly recommend checking it out:
But what about fades⊠I like fades.
That one was for @zslane 
But seriously! Two tone fade!
Also hereâs another take on half-swappingâŠ
Yoyos arenât cars. Splashy cars look dumb, and splashy yoyos look beautiful.
