As you have probably already seen around town, flashes of gold and silver seem to be adorning almost every Bentley and Lamborghini out there, and it's not always a lick of paint on those sleek exteriors — it's foil. Not quite the kind you wrap your tuna sandwiches in, but it's the same principle.
A polymer-stabilised, calendared soft PVC film (foil, to you and me), coated with a durable and re-positionable acrylic high-performance adhesive, protected by bleached kraft paper, is replacing good old paint.
Why are people doing this? Well, for a start it's hip and for most that seems to be reason enough. It's easier to apply compared to traditional painting and it actually helps protect the original colour of your car, which remains intact underneath.
German specialist Foilacar has been leading the way with the latest technologies since 2007. Located in Al Quoz Industrial Area 1, they do it all, from car protection to window tinting.
Protection foil is a unique film that coats the car's paint against the usual chipping, scratching and weathering. It's invisible and doesn't need any maintenance and it can be taken off without leaving a sticky mess, just the untouched original paint.
Colour changing is a process that will give your car a fresh new look while protecting the original paint below. Partial wrapping can also be done; it allows specific parts of your car to be tarted-up with designs of your choice. Soon enough, your ride will be a real head-turner.
Perfect foil
The adhesion is so strong it can last up to four years. Chances are by then you would get bored of the colour — why not go ahead and change it again? So, the bodywork's ready, now on to the windows.
Foilacar boasts figures of 99.98 per cent UV protection and 89 per cent infrared reduction with its DUGuard tinting film. It double-protects you and your car and offers an anti-burst effect in case of an accident. You don't get these sort of assurances from the auto accessory shops in Satwa, that's for sure.
Another company ready to deck you out with the latest craze is Gulf Foil. Managing director Sheryar Siraj said, "It's very popular and we are always busy doing cars for customers. We have worked on Aston Martins, Ferraris and Range Rovers."
The strangest request he's had from a customer was to wrap a silver coloured BMW in, er, silver coloured foil. Sort of defeats the purpose but hey, the customer is always right…
Prices vary and while larger cars will cost more, complexity plays a big part too, explained Siraj. "Our starting price is Dh9,000 and can go up to as much as Dh35,000 depending on what the customer wants. We can have a car ready in four days."
If your car is registered in Dubai, Gulf Foil will do the necessary paperwork and get permission from the Dubai Police, which you'll need before going about revamping your ride.
