Thomas is a returning client, and this 2024 M3 CS was new to him in BMW Signal Green. The CS is the lightweight, more powerful M3, with carbon buckets and a carbon hood from the factory, and BMW only ever built it in a handful of colours. He wanted a different BMW factory colour and he didn't want to give up the protection underneath it to get one.

We matched Purple Silk Metallic to its BMW paint code and sprayed it in PeelClear, building the material up in layers rather than laying down one thin pass.

The hood's two-tone, and that's the part people ask about. The carbon weave stays visible under clear PeelClear, so rock chips hit the coating instead of the carbon, and purple covers the rest of it. Since it's sprayed rather than cut from film, there's no seam on the hood to catch a fingernail and no edge for dirt to pack into.

The doors and trunk came off so every jamb got the colour too. If you're weighing a colour change against a permanent coating, our comparison page lays out both.

Photos by Allan Famor Jr. Allan's a Bay Area wedding photographer and one of our clients, and he volunteered to help us shoot some vehicles. Whether it's cars or weddings, he's a fantastic photographer. Allan shot and edited these fully. It was all him. See his work at allanfamorphoto.com or on Instagram.