Custom Car Paint Ideas and What to Know Before a Colour Change

Where to start with a custom paint idea

A custom look tends to work when it suits the shape of the car. Before choosing colours, look at the lines of the body, such as where the panels meet and where the light catches the curves. A design that follows those lines usually looks planned, while one that ignores them can look stuck on.

Collect a few reference pictures of cars you like, and note what draws you to each one. It may be the colour or where a contrast sits. That gives a painter something concrete to work from, and it helps you see whether an idea will suit your car rather than the car in the picture.

These are ideas to plan with. At Coventry Body Shop in Wyken, Coventry, our listed paint services include a full body respray, single panel paint and a bumper respray, and a change of colour is quoted after inspection. Custom designs such as stripes, graphics and two-tone paint are not listed services.

Two-tone paint

Two-tone paint splits the car into two colours, usually along a body line or with the roof in a contrast shade. A black roof on a light body is a familiar example, and so is a darker lower half. The split is easier to get right along a natural line, such as a crease along the doors; without one, the edge can look uneven from some angles.

Two colours usually mean more masking and more work than a single colour, and the line between them needs to stay straight across every panel it crosses.

Contrast details on your existing colour

You do not have to repaint the whole car to change its look. Keeping the current colour and adding painted details in a second shade usually involves less paintwork than a full colour change. Common choices include:

• Mirror caps, a spoiler or the roof in a contrast colour.
• Stripes over the bonnet, roof and boot.
• A thin pinstripe along a body line.

A shade a little lighter or darker than the body, or the same colour in a different sheen, can give a quieter tone-on-tone look.

Metallic, pearl and special effect paint

Metallic paint has fine flakes that catch the light. Pearl paint adds a soft sheen that can shift slightly with the viewing angle, and colour-shift paints can appear to change colour more strongly as you walk around the car.

These effects need even application. If the coats go on unevenly, the flakes can settle differently and patches can show as lighter or darker in sunlight.

Satin and matte finishes

A satin or matte finish takes the gloss away and gives a flatter look. It needs different care from gloss paint. Matte paint is not usually machine polished like gloss, because polishing can bring back shine in patches, so marks in it can be harder to put right. Use wash products made for matte finishes, and avoid ordinary wax.

How a respray is applied

The panels are usually cleaned and degreased, old damage repaired where needed and the surface sanded so the new paint can grip. Primer usually goes over bare metal and filler. Trim and glass are usually masked off to help prevent overspray.

The colour then goes on in coats, and on a base coat and clear finish, lacquer goes on top for gloss and protection. Paint makers set how long each coat is left before the next and how long the paint takes to harden fully. Once it is ready, small dust marks can often be sanded back and polished out of a gloss finish.

All our paintwork is sprayed in our spray booth by the director, a former Aston Martin technician and painter, who is our only painter. Where new paint has to sit next to the existing colour, we match it with the manufacturer's paint code, specialist colour mixing and a spectrophotometer, and the new colour is blended into the surrounding paint where it needs it.

Keeping a custom finish looking good

When new paint can be waxed depends on the products used, so ask when you collect the car. After that, wash with a pH-neutral shampoo and rinse off bird droppings and tree sap soon after they land, as both can mark lacquer if left, especially in hot weather. On gloss paint, add wax or a sealant now and then.

Dealing with chips early can help stop water getting under the paint. A paint touch-up can fill small chips and marks, and a SMART repair can treat minor scuffs and scratches in one area.

Changing the colour: the paperwork

If the main colour of the car changes, the DVLA has to be told so the V5C log book details stay correct. Tell your insurer too, as it may treat a colour change as a change to the car. A lease agreement may require the car to go back in its original colour, so check the lease terms before any paint changes.

What a respray or colour change costs

For a whole car in one colour, our full body respray is from £1,495 plus VAT (£1,794 including VAT), and the final price is confirmed after inspection. A change of colour is quoted separately. The size of the car, how much of it is painted and the masking can all change the time and the price.

Next steps

A small inspection is free. A deeper inspection is agreed with you first and is from £200 plus VAT (£240 including VAT); if you go ahead with the work, its cost is taken off the bill. To arrange an inspection or talk through a colour change or a respray, call or WhatsApp +44 7903 105777, send photographs with the Send enquiry button, or use our contact form.