Envious of Sleek Matte Paint Finishes? Gawk No More

[OmarKareem]

Special matte paint finishes are a favorite among carmakers, especially the higher-end ones like Lamborghini, who’ve done multiplecarswithmattepaint, BMW did the Frozen Gray M3 special edition, and even Smart, who did a special edition called the fortwo edition greystyle. Those matte finishes, however, are expensive, and generally off-limits to those who can’t afford to get an entirely new paint job or the inflated special editions

Now, however, 3M released a clever new film that allows anyone to give their car a matte finish or accents (like “ghosted” stripes or designs, for example.) It’s called VentureShield Matte Film, and even a full car wrap ends up being much less than a new paint job. 3M noncommittally says after professional installation (which you do want,) something like a stripe or spoiler job would cost you around $200, and a single panel (roof, hood, trunk, etc) would run $400-$600. A full front wrap (hood, fenders, bumper,) would run up to $1500 or so. I imagine a full body wrap would be quite expensive after all, depending on the size of your car. The prices will vary, of course, depending on the installer, so make sure to call around before you commit to anything

Right now, there’s just one film for this application, meaning if you have a blue car, now you’ll have a matte blue car or accents. Hopefully in the near future they’ll offer a tinted film that lets you apply a lighter or darker shade to the matte (blue car, dark blue matte stripes