All i can remember is back in the day motors never looked like what people are doing now in regards to gloss. And i would constantly go to the stores (and drool) over new minibikes, So i got pretty accustom to looking at them. AND i have bought, in the last couple years, some new-in-the-box, never run, Tecumseh HS40/HS50 engines. They definitely do not have that gloss look. It's not flat, but it's not super gloss either. Kind of a matte finish maybe a semi-gloss. So that's the finish i duplicate with powder coat. That super shiny black just did not ever happen from a Tecumseh factory, that i have seen, or that i remember. Not that doing a super gloss finish is bad, but i certainly have never seen anything like that on a factory motor.