Metallic Black Tulip

TeckWrap Metallic Black Tulip is a metallic purple film, catalogued as SMT22. TeckWrap lists 17 other purple shades, so it is worth seeing them side by side before you settle on one.

This is color change wrap vinyl from TeckWrap's catalog. It resurfaces the car in a new color and can be removed later without touching the factory paint underneath, which is why wraps hold resale value in a way a respray does not. Vinyl changes how the car looks; it is not impact protection, so if you also want the paint shielded from rock chips, the same kind of color exists as color paint protection film at a higher price.

The metallic finish

Metal flake is suspended in the film, so the color sparkles under direct sun and settles into a deeper, flatter shade indoors and under overcast. It photographs unusually well and hides light road film better than a flat color does, which is worth something on a Pacific Northwest commute.

Living with purple in the Pacific Northwest

Purple almost always carries flake or a pearl shift, so it changes character between sun and cloud more than a flat color does. Photographs rarely capture what it does in person. Mid-tone colors are the easiest to live with here: they hide both road film and water spotting better than either black or white.

Care: hand wash with a wrap-safe soap and a soft mitt, and dry the car rather than letting it air dry.