Color films
Color PPF — change the color, protect the paint
A vinyl wrap changes how a car looks. Color PPF changes how it looks and protects what is underneath — one film, one install, one warranty, and the factory paint comes out unfaded when it is time.
- Specter thickness — 190 µm
- 7.5 mil
- Specter shades, light transmittance
- 60 / 35 %
- Finishes — gloss, matte, carbon, tinted
- 4
- Limited warranty
- 10 yr
- One layer, one warrantyColor change and impact protection in a single film, not a wrap laid over one.
- Self-healing on matteMatte paint cannot be polished. A self-healing matte film closes light marks with heat.
- Factory paint intactShielded from UV the whole time it is covered, and unfaded when the film comes off.
- Certified shops onlyA color change is a full-body job — it is only warrantied when a certified bay does it.
Why color PPF
You were going to protect the paint anyway
Most owners considering a wrap end up buying protection separately. Color PPF collapses two jobs, two bills and two sets of edges into one.
One layer, not two
No wrap over film, no film over wrap. A single application means one set of edges to lift, one warranty to claim on, and half the bay time.
Depth vinyl cannot reach
A real topcoat over a thicker carrier reflects like paint. Park a color-PPF panel next to a vinyl one and the difference is obvious at ten feet.
Self-healing, which matters more on matte
A marked matte panel normally stays marked, because matte cannot be polished. A self-healing matte film closes light marks with heat.
Impact protection is not optional
Color PPF is a protection film first. It takes the stone that would otherwise chip the paint — and the chip is in the film, not the car.
Fully reversible
Factory paint is untouched and UV-shielded the entire time. Return the car to original color with its value intact.
Accent work pays
Roof, mirror caps, spoiler, pillars. High-margin jobs that take an afternoon and sell the full wrap later.
The finishes
Four ways to change the car
Specter
7.5 milSpecter is a tinted clear film: the paint still shows through, but darker and deeper. Grey Specter runs 60% light transmittance for a subtle shade; Black Specter runs 35% for a serious one. Both are 190 µm of real protection, not a cosmetic overlay.
- Deepening a factory color
- Roofs, pillars and mirror caps
- Two-tone builds
Black Gloss
Black Gloss is color PPF: the depth of a fresh black respray with the impact layer of a protection film underneath. The factory paint comes out from under it unfaded, which is exactly why an owner chooses film over a repaint.
- Full color changes
- Roofs and hoods
- Two-tone and accent work
Black Matte
Black Matte is the stealth finish with a protection film's build underneath it. Flat, non-reflective, and self-healing — which matters more on matte than on gloss, because matte cannot be polished if it marks.
- Stealth builds
- Roofs, hoods and mirror caps
- Full color changes
Carbon
Carbon is a woven carbon-fibre texture finished under a gloss topcoat. It gives a mirror cap, a roof or a diffuser the appearance of a genuine carbon part — and, unlike a genuine carbon part, it does not spider-crack when something hits it.
- Roofs
- Mirror caps and spoilers
- Diffusers and splitters
Side by side
The color films, measured
Thickness, finish and warranty are in hand today; the optical and mechanical rows land when the laboratory work on the color chemistry is finished. A blank cell is a date we have not reached, not a number we are hiding.
| Film | ThicknessISO 4593 | Finish | Light transmittanceASTM D1003 | Tensile strengthISO 527-1 | Surface hardnessISO 868 | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SpecterTinted protection film — shade the paint without changing the color. | 7.5 mil · 190 µm | Tinted gloss — Grey (60% VLT) or Black (35% VLT) | Grey 60 % · Black 35 % | — | — | 10 years |
| Black GlossWet-look gloss black color PPF. | — | Gloss black | — | — | — | 10 years |
| Black MatteFlat black color PPF for a stealth finish. | — | Matte black | — | — | — | 10 years |
| CarbonCarbon-weave texture under a clear topcoat. | — | Carbon weave, gloss topcoat | — | — | — | 10 years |
An em-dash means we have not measured that property on that film yet, not that it performs badly. Values shown as “≥” are guaranteed minimums from a released data sheet; values shown as “up to” are the highest recorded across tested lots. Those are different kinds of number and comparing them directly will mislead you. Values are from the technical data sheet for each film. Testing is carried out at the production line to the standards listed — national methods that are adoptions of the ISO standards named on the test-methods page. Where an ASTM method is equivalent it is given there for reference; no value on this site has been re-run to ASTM, and we do not print an ASTM code as though it had been. Where a film has no measured value for a property, the row is left out rather than filled in.
Color changes
Cars that changed color and kept their paint
Gloss, matte and satin finishes on customer cars — the factory paint is still underneath all of them.
Specter
Tinted, not opaque
Specter is the halfway option: the factory color still shows through, two shades deeper. It is the film for an owner who wants the car darker without giving up the paint they chose.
| Grey Specter | 60 % light transmittanceSubtle shade |
|---|---|
| Black Specter | 35 % light transmittanceObvious shade |
| Thickness | 190 µm / 7.5 milASTM D6988 |
| Warranty | 10 years |
Because the tint sits in a protection film rather than in a cosmetic overlay, Specter is doing two jobs at once on a roof or a set of pillars: shading the panel and taking the impacts. On a two-tone build it is usually cheaper than painting the roof and always reversible.
Specter in detailGet a color change quoted
Color PPF is priced by panel and by vehicle. Every certified HAUT shop cuts from the same 2,500-vehicle pattern library, so the quote is based on the real cut rather than an estimate.