A new colour is the biggest visual change a car can get, and in Dubai there are two honest ways to do it: a full respray in a paint booth or a colour-change vinyl wrap. Golden Horse in Al Quoz 3 does both in one body shop, so you are not sold the method the workshop happens to offer — you get the one that suits the car, the budget and how long you plan to keep it. Below: what each method includes, how long it takes, what it costs and the cars we have already done.
Paint or Wrap: an Honest Comparison
| Full respray | Colour-change wrap |
| Result | Permanent new colour on every surface — panels, door jambs, under the bonnet, inside the boot | New colour on all visible panels; jambs stay original unless wrapped separately |
| Time | 10–15 working days | 2–3 days |
| Reversible | No | Yes — the film is removed with heat, original paint stays |
| Finishes | Any colour code, solid, metallic, pearl; matte with matte clear | Gloss, satin, matte, chrome, colour-shift, textured, carbon-look |
| Protection | Fresh clear coat; needs the same care as factory paint | Shields the original paint from sand, UV and minor scratches for 5–7 years |
| Best when | The old paint is faded or damaged, the car is a keeper, or the colour must be exact to a code | The paint is good, you want the change fast and reversible, or you plan to sell within a few years |
| Price | Quoted per car (size, panel count, prep, finish) | Quoted per car (size, film type and brand, partial or full) |
Full Respray in a New Colour
A colour change by paint is a different job from repair painting: nothing is blended, everything is painted. We remove bumpers, lights, handles, trims and badges, sand and prime every panel, paint the door jambs, boot and bonnet undersides so the new colour is seen wherever a door opens, then apply base coat and clear coat in the booth and cut and polish the finish. Any dents or scratches are repaired first — a new colour on bad bodywork only makes the bodywork more visible. Single-panel work from the body-shop list is from 300 AED per panel; a whole-car colour change is quoted after inspection.
Colour-Change Wrap
A wrap gives the same visual change in 2–3 days and can be undone. We use cast vinyl films meant for full-car colour change — gloss, satin and matte solids, metallics, chrome and colour-shift, textured and carbon-look for accents. The body is washed, decontaminated and degreased, handles, lights and badges come off, panels are wrapped with edges tucked and post-heated so the film does not lift in summer. Cared for properly (hand wash, no pressure washer on edges, shade when possible) a quality wrap lasts 5–7 years in Dubai. More on film types and care: car wrapping; for a clear protective layer over the new colour see paint protection film.
Partial Colour Change
Not every change needs the whole car. A black or carbon-look roof, a contrast bonnet, mirror caps, pillars, a chrome delete, a matte stripe or rims painted to match take 1–2 days and transform the look without touching the registration.
Portfolio
The cars in the gallery above are real Golden Horse jobs from Al Quoz: a Mercedes-AMG G 63 wrapped in satin pink, a Porsche Cayenne Coupé in red, a BMW 5 Series in black, a Bentley and an Infiniti in colour-change film, and resprays of a Lamborghini, a Mercedes, a Range Rover and a Ford in the booth. The "Recent work" strip below the gallery shows the latest body-shop and paint jobs as they come off the lift. Send us a photo of your car and the colour you have in mind — we reply with examples of the same finish and a quote.
After the Change: Registration and Care
In the UAE the colour on the vehicle registration must match the car, so after a respray or a full wrap the new colour is updated on the Mulkiya with the RTA; we give you an invoice stating the new colour and the method. For the first weeks: no automatic wash and no pressure on edges for a wrap, no waxing and no polishing for fresh paint until it has fully cured. After that a hand wash and shade are all either finish needs.
Prices and Booking
A whole-car colour change is quoted per car — size, number of panels, condition of the paint, finish and film grade decide it; painting rows with a list price are in our repair prices, excluding 5% VAT. Send photos of the car and the colour you want on WhatsApp for a same-day quote, or bring the car to Al Quoz Industrial Area 3, Mon–Sat 10:00–20:00. Pickup and delivery across Dubai on request.
