A drive through paint design: metallic paint

Cars are perceived visually, and so the type of paint used can help define a vehicle’s character and styling. Often, the colour of paint used can even help to highlight key features of a car’s exterior design.

This series takes a look at different paint types such as pearlescent, metallic and matte, innovations in painting technology such as self-healing paint and trends in paint colours.

This week, metallic paint.

What is it?

Aluminium flakes such as those in the picture above are mixed with the pigment to create metallic paint.

Metallic paints incorporate flakes or slivers of metal, such as aluminium, into the paint. These metal flakes give metallic paint its characteristic uniform shininess compared to solid paint.

How does it work?

Metallic paints typically incorporate aluminium flakes, with a ratio of 1:50 metal flakes per part of paint. These metal flakes act as miniature mirrors in reflecting incoming light. In turn, this reflection of light gives the car a shiny, glitter like appearance that is consistent regardless of the viewer’s perspective and type of light hitting the car. On top of the paint, a clear coat layer is also applied for extra gloss and durability in the form of better sunlight, UV and scratch resistance.

The metal flakes act as tiny mirrors and reflect light on the same principle as a disco ball.

Innovations in metallic paint

A standard application of metallic paint consists of two layers; namely the paint layer where metal flakes are mixed with the paint, and a clear coat on top. 

A key innovation in metallic paint is the use of additional paint layers for increased reflectivity. Mazda’s new ‘Machine Grey Metallic’ and ‘Soul Red Crystal’ paints are key examples of a mainstream brand utilising this innovation. These paints incorporate an additional reflective and translucent layer to increase reflectivity and colour saturation.

The differences between standard metallic and Mazda’s Machine Grey Metallic and Soul Red Crystal paints.

Another innovation in metallic paint design stems from replacing the metal flakes themselves with different materials. In the ultra-luxury segment of the market, Rolls-Royce’s special ‘Ghost Elegance’ has a special metallic paint incorporating 1,000 crushed diamonds.

The special ‘Diamond Stardust’ paint used on the Rolls-Royce Ghost Elegance incorporates 1,000 crushed diamonds.

Applications

Metallic paint is a more widely available option than pearlescent paint. Although originally popular on sports cars, metallic paint is usually available as an option across budget and luxury vehicles. The presence of metal flakes in the paint make it more expensive and difficult to repair than solid (non-metallic) paint.

What's your favourite metallic colour of all time? Tell us what and why in the comments.