Colour change wraps: satin, matte, gloss, chrome and the rest

The finish we fit most. Satin sits between gloss and matte: a soft sheen that reads as expensive, hides light swirls and stone marks in the paint underneath, and washes without drama. Satin black, satin dark grey and satin pearl white are the three we see most. If you can't decide, satin is rarely the wrong answer.

Closest to paint, and the most forgiving to own. Gloss wraps can be polished lightly, clean like paint and generally last the longest. The 3M 2080 gloss range includes colours you'll never find on a manufacturer's chart, which is where most of the fun is.

Matte looks superb and it needs owning properly. It can't be polished, so a scratch stays. Fingerprints and bird droppings show and need dealing with promptly. Automatic car washes are out. If the car lives outside and does daily miles, we'll gently suggest satin. If it's a weekend car in a garage, matte is glorious.

Chrome films are specialist: thinner, less forgiving on curves, more expensive, and they mark if you look at them wrong during install. They're legal in the UK provided the reflectivity doesn't create glare that distracts other drivers, which is a judgement, so we usually recommend chrome for accents rather than full cars. Coloured chrome (blue, rose gold, black chrome) is more wearable than mirror silver.

3M's carbon fibre film has a real weave texture, not a print of one, and is the standard for roofs, bonnets, spoilers and interior trim. Brushed aluminium and brushed titanium do a similar job in a different mood. We'd fit these to panels, not whole cars.

Two-tone is a contrast roof, or roof plus bonnet, or a split at the waistline. The seam placement makes or breaks it and it's something we'd plan on the car with tape before cutting film. Colour-flip films shift hue with the light; they're eye-catching and they photograph brilliantly, and they're the hardest colour to sell a car in. We'll say that out loud.