No paint, it is rugged black textured fabric, some sort of industrial nubuck. They are not the fanciest looking out there, they require at least 500 hrs of break in time but are dynamite sticks! They are highly accurate 30Hz type of monitors that tells you so much about recording and upstream components that you may be in for a hell of a time understanding how what was a good CDP or Amp before is now full of faults. But if you can find the right partnering components, sky is the limit. I love mine to death for both music and HT.
