A Small Guide On Vinyl Colours/Finishes

When it comes to vinyl wraps, its more than just a colour. Its an overall finish. There are many variations, types, styles and brands of vinyl on the market. So here’s a break down of the major components to consider when inquiring about a vinyl wrap.

Colour

This is the most basic yet essential part of defining a a vinyl wrap finish, self-explanatory and often the starting point for when your starting your automotive restyling journey. What colour are you looking for, and more specifically the shade of colour. Some manufactures such as 3M have a more simply naming scheme using adjectives such dark, light and other traditional colour names to describe shade while other manufactures such as Platinum Wrapping Film (PWF) have very unique names to their colour such as ‘Midnight Purple’ which alludes to a specific shade/finish of dark purple. Every brand names their vinyl finishes differently and often times there are no two finishes which are an exact match. Colour is defined by Hue, Saturation, And Lightness'/Darkness of a colour.

Examples: Carbon Fibre Film From 3M

Vinyl Type

The next being the type of wrap which describes other properties of the wrap often pertaining to the way the vinyl responds to light and in the world of paint is often referred to as the finish; e.g Matte, Satin, Gloss, Iridescent, Chrome, etc. Sometimes vinyl wraps can be categorized as multiple types which we will explain to you later on.

For starters, the way a brand refers to a specific finish/type of a vinyl wrap varies. For instance 3M labels/categorizes a majority of their wraps into a select few groups: Matte, Gloss, Satin, Textured, And Colour Flip. While other brands such as Platinum Wrapping Film (PWF) describe the overall finish of the wrap with the name but sometimes do include a adjective such as ‘Matt’ or Anodized to indicate a non-lustrous finish.

The most common types of wraps you’ll encounter are the following:

Gloss: A reflective finish, that looks like standard paint job and has shine as opposed to sheen that catches eyes with the the shine and colour of the wrap

Matte: A muted, flat, sleek look that is more subtle and classy to bring more of a stealth look that catches the eye with its clean finish. This helps accentuate the curves and contour of a vehicle to bring focus to the shape and body style.

Satin: Encompasses properties of both a gloss & matte finish by giving sheen rather than shine but still having some reflectivity, this gives the impression of a smooth silky finish to the vehicle which often is associated with high-end vehicles.

Metallic: As the name implies, this finish adds a metal like finish with small replica metal flakes that resemble to metallic paint texture to intensify the gloss or sheen of the finish.

Pearl: Similar to a metallic finish, particles composed of mica are added to the paint (in a traditional pearl paint job) and these particles reflect & refract light to create a glow similar to a clear crystal. Within vinyl, this effect is created through synthetic compounds to produce a similar effect.

Iridescent/Color Change: As the name implies, this type of wrap changes colour depending on the angle viewed & lighting situation at hand.

Textured: Different textures such as carbon fibre which is great to add small accents to your vehicle without breaking the bank.

Examples: Gloss Deep Blue by 3M films, Matt Midnight Purple By PWF, Matte Metallic Frosty Blue By KPMF

Brand

The brand/manufacturer of the vinyl used does matter. Different manufacturers follow different rules and regulations when it comes to warranty, there are different cost associated with different brands, categorization, manufacturing process used, the difficulty of installation varies across brands and lifespan of material(s).

Examples: Gloss Deep Blue by 3M films, Matt Midnight Purple By PWF, Matte Metallic Frosty Blue By KPMF

So let’s put it all together with an example

Customer: Hey Showtime, I’m looking to change the colour of my car.

I wish thinking of going Matte Black Metallic from 3M

For more information on our page titled vinyl restyling where you can learn more about the different ways we use vinyl to styling cars, information on the brands, caring for your wrap and much more.