We had a customer come into our shop the other day to pick up his signs, and as he was waiting for us to gather up his order, he asked some of our printers about other things we were currently working on. At the time, we were wrapping a Maserati in the back in matte black because the owner of the car wanted a color change wrap. The customer laughed and said, "what a cool application! I'd never thought of that before." We didn't really know what he meant. 

"What do you mean?" we said.

"That you can change the color of your car with vinyl." he said.

I was so surprised! Perhaps it's because I hear about color change wraps (also known as paint wraps, full car wraps, and car skins) all the live long day, or because we've written a handful of blog articles about it (like this one, this one, and this one), but I just assumed that everyone knows that you can use vinyl to change the color of your car. But, you know what happens when you assume. You're often wrong!

Matte black, like the one we did on this Maserati, is one of the most popular color choices.

So, for those of you who don't know, you can use wrapping vinyl to change the color of your car! In fact, it's often a better idea than painting your car. Let me tell you why:

1. Fully covering your car, truck, and van (or planes, boats, and motorcycles—whatever you use to get around) actually protects the factory paint job on your vehicle! Using vinyl, you can choose to make your car whatever color you want without worrying about whether or not you'll be able to resell it later. It protects the paint from minor wear from exposure, dirt, and sun fading.

2. Although it is ultimately removable, a well maintained vehicle wrap can last you for years. Most can last between 5 and 8 years.

3. There are a variety of textures and styles you can get in vinyl that are either much more difficult to achieve or not available in paint. For example, in addition to traditional gloss wraps, your car can look like it's wrapped in leather, matte or satin, or chrome finishes. You can even make your car look like a disco ball, with the right chrome technique. And who wouldn't want that?!

4. It appears to be seamless. Professional wrap installers know how to hide and tuck seams and panels into the the body of your vehicle so that most people won't even realize that your car didn't originally come that way.

5. It doesn't take too long to do. Part of getting a full coverage wrap is having the wrap installers take apart some of your vehicle's hardware so they can fully cover the whole surface of your car with none of the original paint showing. This usually means taking off lights, wheel wells, and cosmetic elements like fins and spoilers. The amount of time it takes to wrap your vehicle depends on how big it is and how many of these detailed areas they have to take apart. For the most part, it can take anywhere from three to five days. 

6. They're easy to maintain. Basically keep the vehicle clean (or dirt will eventually get under the vinyl and start to weaken the adhesive keeping it on the car) by taking it through touchless car washes once in a while. Also, don't hit other vehicles with your vehicle, but that's pretty obvious.

7. It looks super fly. (Possibly the #1 reason you should get one?)

So, now you know! Feel free to share this post to further the cause of color change wrap education.