Color shift wrap on Maui

How the color changes

Solid vinyl has one pigment and reflects one color. Color shift vinyl has a layered pigment that bends light, so the color you see depends on the angle between you, the panel and the light source. Stand at the nose and a purple car is purple. Walk to the quarter panel and it is blue. Park it under sodium lights and it goes somewhere else.

The effect is strongest on cars with a lot of curved surface, because every curve presents a new angle; a Mustang fender or a Porsche hip shows it better than a flat van side.

It is a specialty inside the vehicle wrap program at Offshore, with the same prep and the same installers, but with one extra discipline: film direction. More on that below.

Films we install

Three brands cover every color shift finish we install: 3M and Avery Dennison for gloss flips, and KPMF for iridescent finishes those two do not make.

• 3M 1080 Gloss Flip series. 3.5 mil cast vinyl with the Comply air-release adhesive, 3-year outdoor warranty.
• Avery Dennison SW900 ColorFlow series. 3.2 mil cast vinyl, 3-year outdoor warranty, clean removal for up to 3 years.
• KPMF Iridescent series. Cast vinyl from the Welsh manufacturer, including K75565 Matt Purple Black and K75566 Matt Purple Blue, for a satin-matte shift rather than a gloss one.

Cheetah Wrap, which we use for gloss, satin and matte solids, does not make a flip film, so it is not on this list. If a color shift you have seen online is a wrap-shop house brand, send us the photo and we will match it to one of these three.

Why direction matters

Every color shift film has a grain, in the sense that the flip reads one way when the roll is laid one direction and the opposite way when it is reversed. On a solid color nobody could tell. On a flip film, a door laid against the grain reads as a different color than the fender beside it, and no amount of heat fixes that.

Before the first panel goes on, we map the roll direction for the entire car so that the driver’s side and passenger’s side shift the same way when you stand at the same angle. It is why a color shift wrap takes longer to lay out than a solid one and why the film itself has less margin for recuts.

Coverage

A full car color shift wrap covers every painted exterior panel. Door jambs are an add-on; most owners skip them because the jambs are never seen at a flip angle. Partial color shift is usually a hood and roof set, or a roof only on a solid-color car, and it is a cheaper way to get the effect on a daily driver. Trucks and SUVs carry the higher starting price because bed sides and tailgates add a lot of film.

We also recommend a chrome delete with any flip color. Factory chrome window trim next to a purple-to-blue body is the one thing that makes a color shift wrap look like a wrap.

Care and lifespan

Hand wash only, pH-neutral soap, no brush washes. Skip abrasive polish on the gloss flips and skip anything with wax or gloss enhancer on the KPMF matt finishes. Garaging helps keep the pigment layer out of constant sun. A vinyl-safe ceramic coating on top is worth it on a car that lives outside.

Every color shift wrap carries a 3-year warranty. If you want the shift effect in a film that also stops rock chips, read vinyl wrap vs colored PPF before you decide; color-shift PPF exists and costs more. For the plain wrap, send your model and the look you want and we will come back with samples and a number.