PPF Colors: The Complete 2026 Catalog (All Finishes)

TL;DR: PPF colors fall into seven finish families: gloss, satin, matte, metallic, pearlescent, color-shift and liquid metal. NEOPPF stocks 325+ colored paint protection film shades across all seven. Colored PPF carries its pigment inside a cast layer of thermoplastic polyurethane, so it changes your car's color and protects the factory paint in a single installation, and it peels off years later leaving the original paint intact. A full-car colored PPF installation typically runs $7,000–$10,000 in the United States in 2026, roughly 20–40% more than clear PPF.

On this page

• The seven PPF color families
• Browse the NEOPPF color catalog
• PPF color names vs OEM paint shades
• How colored PPF gets its color
• Color counts and specs by brand
• How to choose a color and finish
• Care differs by finish
• What the warranty actually covers
• What it costs
• FAQ

What are the seven PPF color families?

Every colored paint protection film on the market sorts into one of seven finish families. The finish decides how the color reads in daylight, how it photographs, and — importantly — how you are allowed to wash it.

The polish column matters more than most buyers expect. Matte and satin films cannot be polished. Abrasive correction burns a shine into the flat finish and the damage is permanent — the panel has to be re-filmed. Gloss finishes tolerate light correction. This single difference should influence your choice more than the color itself if you park outdoors or wash frequently.

Browse the NEOPPF color catalog

NEOPPF carries 325+ colored paint protection film shades. The catalog is organised by finish so you can shortlist by how you want the car to read, then narrow by hue:

• Ultra Gloss series — deep mirror shine, the closest match to factory paint
• Matte & Satin series — flat and soft-sheen finishes
• Metallic Gloss series — suspended flake with depth
• Classic Replica series — recreations of iconic factory and heritage colors
• Neo Colors — the current signature range
• All colored PPF — the full catalog in one place
• All paint protection film — colored and clear together

Color is hard to judge on a screen. Screens are backlit and your car is not, so a shade that reads bright on a phone can read considerably darker on a hood in overcast light. A sample kit lets you hold the actual film against your own paint, in your own light, before you commit to a full roll.

Which PPF colors match OEM paint shades?

Most buyers do not search for "gloss grey number four" — they search for the factory color they already have in mind. This cross-reference maps common OEM paint shades to the NEOPPF finish family you would shop in. These are style references, not licensed or factory-authorised colour matches, and no film is affiliated with the manufacturers named.

If you own an OEM colour and want to keep it, you do not need colored PPF at all — clear PPF protects the paint you already have. Colored PPF is for owners who want a different colour and protection.

How does colored PPF get its color?

The colour lives inside the film, not on top of it. That single fact explains every practical difference between colored PPF and a vinyl wrap.

A colored PPF is built as a stack. From the outside in: a self-healing, hydrophobic top coat; a pigmented layer of thermoplastic polyurethane carrying the colour; a clear TPU body that absorbs impact; a pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive; and a release liner removed at installation. XPEL describes its COLOR PPF as a pigmented TPU layer co-extruded above a clear TPU layer and fused during extrusion (Forbes, September 2025). A vinyl wrap, by contrast, is PVC with colour cast or printed and a laminate over the top.

Two consequences follow. First, the pigment cannot be scuffed off, because it is not on the surface — a scratch in the top coat is elastic deformation, not lost colour. Second, self-healing works on the top coat only. TPU's hard segments form reversible hydrogen-bond networks; add heat and the chains reflow to their original geometry, which is why swirl marks vanish in the sun or under warm water. Peer-reviewed work in Nature Communications documents the mechanism. A cut that reaches the pigmented layer will not heal — no film heals that.

The other chemistry that matters is aliphatic versus aromatic TPU. Aliphatic TPU resists UV-driven yellowing; aromatic TPU degrades under UV and can yellow and harden within one to two years, losing both impact resistance and self-healing. This is the real reason quality colored film holds its colour for years and bargain film does not.

How many colors does each brand offer?

Colour count and finish range vary widely across the category. These are published figures from each manufacturer, for orientation only — every brand here makes a competent product and the right choice depends on what finish you want and who can install it near you.

Two notes on reading that table. Thickness is quoted in mil in the US and micron elsewhere — 8 mil is 203 µm, so a film advertised at "180–220 µm" is in the same class as one advertised at 8 mil. And a longer warranty number is not automatically a better warranty; see below.

How do you choose a color and finish?

Three questions settle most decisions. Do you want to keep the factory colour? If yes, you want clear PPF, not colored. How often will you wash it, and where does it sleep? A gloss finish forgives correction; matte and satin do not, so a daily driver that lives on the street and gets washed weekly is happier in gloss. How long are you keeping the car? Colored PPF earns its premium over a vinyl wrap on a multi-year hold, because it protects the paint underneath the whole time.

Read our deeper comparisons: colored PPF vs vinyl wrap, matte vs gloss vs satin, colored PPF vs ceramic coating, and PPF colors explained.

Does care differ by finish?

Yes, and this is the most consequential post-purchase difference between finishes. The base rules are the same for every film: wait at least 7 days before the first wash while the adhesive cures; hand wash with a pH-neutral shampoo; skip automatic car washes with stiff brushes, which are a warranty exclusion at most manufacturers rather than merely bad advice.

Full detail in our matte PPF guide and satin PPF guide.

What does the warranty actually cover?

Everyone in this category advertises a long warranty. Very few explain it, so here is the part that matters.

Covered — manufacturing defects: yellowing, cracking, blistering, delamination. Not covered — rock chips and road-debris impact, scratches to the paint under the film, water spots, collision, hail, vandalism, and damage from automatic car washes. Read that again: the warranty does not cover rock chips. The film is engineered to absorb them, but chipping is not a manufacturing defect, so it is not a warranty claim.

The detail almost nobody mentions: transferability. XPEL's own warranty terms make COLOR PPF non-transferable, while their clear films — Ultimate Plus, STEALTH, Ultimate Fusion — are transferable to a second owner for the remainder of the term. If your reason for choosing colored film is resale value, that asymmetry is worth knowing before you book, and it is worth asking any brand you shortlist the same question. Full specifications for each film are published on the manufacturer's spec index.

What does colored PPF cost in 2026?

Colored film runs roughly 20–40% more than clear. Published figures for that premium genuinely disagree across the industry — we have seen 15–30% and 40–80% quoted — because it depends heavily on finish and brand, with color-shift and liquid metal at the top. Vehicle size moves the number too: a midsize SUV adds roughly 20–30% over a compact saloon, and a large truck 30–40%. Colored film is also stiffer than clear and less forgiving to stretch, which is part of why the labour line is higher. Full breakdown in our colored PPF cost guide, and see how long colored PPF lasts for the value case.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to shortlist? Browse the full NEOPPF colored PPF catalog, order a sample kit, or talk to our team about dealer pricing. Find an installer on our dealer map.

✓ Reviewed by the NEOPPF technical team — 16 years manufacturing TPU paint protection film.

About the NEOPPF team — 16 years in automotive paint protection film.