7 Important Things to Know Before You Color Changing a Car

Are you a car-lover in North Carolina, wondering how to change the color of your vehicle?

You may have thought about trying to paint it yourself or putting up with a color you’re not in love with. Have you considered wrapping your car in a color changing full vinyl wrap?

You may dismiss the idea because you want your new color to last for years. Did you know that color changing car wraps can look good for up to seven years if well-maintained? Some wraps are even designed so that they cannot be removed for up to three years after installation.

According to www.atlanticcustomwraps.com, if you want to refresh the look of your car with a unique finish, a custom vinyl wrap will likely cost less than a quality paint job, and it’s reversible. If your car doesn’t have a stunning finish that turns heads like the other guy does.

We’re going to give you some pointers to bear in mind before you take the plunge and make that vehicle stand out in traffic. Read on!

1. Color Choice

The first thing you need to consider when deviating from your factory coat is the shade that you’re after. Beige, purple, and gold are the worst car colors for holding value, so think again if you’re gravitating to any of these shades.

If you are wanting a striking color that might be difficult to achieve with paint, you should consider other options if the cost is an issue.

A professional paint finish takes a lot longer if it’s a more complex finish you’re after, so ask yourself if the car is worth this kind of investment. Color changing car paint is considerably more costly and involved that a basic re-paint of your existing color.

If you’re not choosing a simple color shade, you’re going to have to pay for a real professional if you want good quality results.

2. Is It Legal?

Check that your color changing car is legal in your state without first notifying the DMV. Some states might require you to register the change if they track car color.

If your finish includes decals, there may also be some local laws governing these. It’s worth looking into before you spend the money having a custom design installed.

3. Do-It-Yourself?

Can you change the color of your car all on your own? Yes, but you’ll probably hate the results.

Auto painting is a skilled profession, so it’s naïve to think you can produce comparable results in your garage. Just because you can buy the gear needed for the job online, it doesn’t mean that you should.

The reality is that you’ll probably waste a lot of money producing damaging results that will be even more expensive to have rectified later.

4. Car Resale Value

The cost to change your car color might not be the only number to consider. What about if you want to sell your vehicle down-the-line?

Popular car colors like black, white, and silver tend to have average depreciation of 33% after three years. What’s surprising is that yellow cars lose only 27% of their value with orange and green vehicles down 31%.

5. Vinyl Wrap

A color-changing car wrap can give you the fresh color that you crave without resulting in damage to the interior that a bad paint job could risk.

While an amateur spray finish might give barely acceptable results, a vinyl wrap gives your car a predictable professional look. A multi-layered paint job would take an enormous amount of time and artistry with unpredictable quality at the end of all that work. The same elaborate finish achieved with a vinyl wrap will be less expensive than a pro-paint job.

Whether you opt for color change wraps or a factory OEM custom replication, you’ll need the vinyl wrap to be installed by a professional. That’s because manufacturers like 3M don’t sell directly to consumers. After all, it requires a skilled installer.

You can even opt for a clear paint protection film that adds a fresh paint finish to your existing paint.

The wrap can conform to some pre-existing surface flaws as long as the paint is in pretty decent condition. That said, you should probably get the scratches, dents, and chips removed before the vinyl car wrap installation.

6. What’s the Cost

If you’re wondering how much it costs to change the color of your car, you should know that it depends on several factors.

A high-quality auto paint job costs about $5,000 on average, so it’s an expensive path to take. Time, labor, and materials will vary the cost.

Accenting certain parts of the car with vinyl might only set you back a few hundred, but a full car wrap might be a few thousand. Many other factors can affect the cost, so call a quality vinyl car wrap installer for a quote.

7. Changing Your Mind

Perhaps you can’t shake the feeling that you might one day regret opting for a sparkling electric blue finish? With a full-color vinyl car wrap, you have the option to roll back to your factory paint for years to come, which is peace of mind if you’re not completely sure about your color choice.

If you need to sell your car and buy a family vehicle, what if nobody wants to buy your glittering gold dream machine?

The small price you’ll pay to remove the vinyl car wrap and return to the white factory paint might well be a big relief. With a spray paint job, you won’t have the convenient option of falling back to the OEM car paint.

Color Changing Car Wrap

We’ve shown that there are quite a few options for changing the color of your car. Don’t let your color changing car be permanently disfigured by an irreversible amateur paint job. Show your personality with a long-lasting custom wrap that leaves your factory paint intact.

If you’re a vehicle enthusiast, a car wrap expert can help you love your car color. There are a large variety of colors and paint schemes to choose from.