Matte and Color PPF Cost: What You're Paying For
How much matte and color paint protection film costs, why it costs more than clear film, and how it compares with a vinyl wrap. From our Wildwood shop near The Villages.
By Chais Chavis, owner of Polished to Perfection
Matte PPF costs a little more than clear film for the same coverage, and color PPF costs more again. The film itself costs more, and there's nowhere to hide on the install: every edge, seam, and corner shows on a satin or colored finish. Our full-body matte package, Full Stealth, starts at $7,899 for cars and $9,999 for SUVs, trucks, and vans. Color film is quoted per car. Here's what goes into those numbers, so a quote makes sense when you get one.
What matte and color PPF cost at our shop
- Full Stealth (every painted surface in matte film): starts at $7,899 for cars and $9,999 for SUVs, trucks, and vans. About 5 days in the shop, rated up to 10 years.
- Whole Car Armor (every painted surface in clear film), for comparison: starts at $6,899 for cars and $8,999 for SUVs, trucks, and vans.
- Matte on select panels (a hood, a roof, mirrors): quoted per car.
- Color PPF (a full color change, or a contrasting hood, roof, or accents): quoted per car, because it depends on the color, the car, and how far into the door jambs you want the color to go.
Every quote is for your exact year, make, and model, so you know your price before you drop off.
Why matte costs more than clear
The film costs more. Matte film has a textured satin top layer on the same thick, self-healing film, and it costs more per foot.
Matte shows everything. On gloss paint, clear film blends in. On a satin finish, a short edge, a stretch mark, or a seam in the wrong place catches the light from across a parking lot. So we take off lights, emblems, handles, and trim wherever the car allows and wrap the film around the edges. That disassembly is a big part of the labor.
It has to be the whole panel. Partial matte coverage looks patchy, because the line between satin film and gloss paint is obvious. Matte is either the full car or full panels, never a strip.
Why color PPF costs more again
Every visible surface has to change. With clear or matte film, a gap at the edge of a panel just shows your paint. With a color change, it shows the old color. So more of the car comes apart, and we decide with you before we start how far the film goes into the door jambs and other hard-to-reach areas.
Color film costs more than clear. And like matte, a seam on a solid color is easy to see, so the layout has to be planned panel by panel.
Partial jobs are popular, and they cost less. A contrasting black hood or roof, blacked-out mirrors, or accents give you the look for a fraction of a full color change.
What changes the price on your car
- Size and shape. An SUV or truck has more paint than a sedan, and deep bumper vents, wings, and body lines take more time.
- How much of the car we cover. Full car, full panels, or accents.
- How much the car allows us to take apart. More disassembly means cleaner wrapped edges and more labor.
- The paint underneath. Film locks in whatever is under it, so swirls or scratches get polished out first. On a new car, that's usually minimal.
Matte and color PPF vs a vinyl wrap
A vinyl wrap usually costs less, and it changes the color too. But vinyl is a thin color layer. It doesn't stop rock chips, and scratches don't heal. Paint protection film is thick, self-healing protection film first, so you get the new look and real protection for the paint underneath. That's why we install film, not vinyl.
Either way, the original paint is still there when the film comes off. With film, that paint has been protected the whole time.
Is it worth it?
If you want a look almost nobody else has and you were going to protect the whole car anyway, matte or color film gets you both in one job. If you want a deep, glossy shine and an easy car wash routine, clear film with a ceramic coating on top is the better fit. We cover that honestly in is matte PPF worth it.
Get a real number
Send us your year, make, model, and color, and tell us whether you want the full car, a few panels, or accents. Photos of the look you're after help a lot. You can see more on our matte PPF and color PPF pages, or compare all four packages in PPF packages explained. For what goes into clear film pricing, see PPF cost: what goes into the price.
We're in Wildwood, across from Brownwood Paddock Square, Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM.