Two shops quote a blackout package. One quote is a third of the other. They are not quoting the same work, and the difference is almost never explained.
Everything that is bright on a modern vehicle
Window surrounds and the pillar trim between them. Grille surround and grille slats. Front and rear badging. Model and trim lettering. Mirror caps. Roof rails and crossbars. Door handles. Lower valance and skid plate accents. Exhaust tips. Fog light bezels. Wheel centre caps.
A quote covering four of those and a quote covering all fourteen will look very different, and both may honestly be described as a blackout package.
Three ways to do it
Vinyl. Reversible, faster, less expensive. The right choice on leased vehicles or where the owner might want the brightwork back. Quality depends heavily on whether pieces are removed before wrapping or wrapped in place.
Paint. Permanent, and the best result on complex or textured pieces where vinyl struggles to lay flat. Requires removal, preparation and proper curing.
Replacement. Some pieces are cheaper and better to swap for an aftermarket or factory blacked-out equivalent than to refinish. Grilles and badges frequently fall into this category.
Removed versus wrapped in place
This is the single biggest quality differentiator and the easiest thing to hide in a quote.
Trim wrapped in place has visible film edges at every boundary and will lift at those edges eventually, faster in Houston heat. Trim removed, wrapped and reinstalled has no visible edge because the film terminates behind the piece.
It is significantly more labour. It is also the difference between work that looks correct at three years and work that looks correct at three months.
Gloss, satin or matte
Gloss reads closest to factory and hides imperfection best. Satin is the most popular and the most forgiving in strong sunlight. Matte is the most striking and the least forgiving, both of application flaws and of cleaning.
Whichever is chosen has to be consistent across every piece. Mixed sheens across trim is the most common mistake in this category and it is immediately visible once you notice it.
Ask any quote two questions. Which specific pieces are included, and are they being removed or wrapped in place. Those two answers explain almost every price difference between blackout quotes.