Glitter paints for bodywork

Do you have a “Custom” paint project and want to know all about car paint flakes ?

In this article, we briefly describe the different solutions that exist today, in the current state of innovation in terms of pigments and bodywork paint, so Stardust is at the forefront. Before creating a project using automotive paint flakes, it is necessary to be aware of the various products, their disadvantages and their advantages. You also have to take into account the background color, the desired color, the power or the discretion of the desired effect, and also the amount of work required to complete the project... Yes, there is a big gap between some glitter and others, in the ease of application (and therefore the hours of work and the quantities of products that your refinisher will ultimately charge you).

You can indeed, by informing yourself well in advance, obtain a superb effect of glitter paint, with a minimum of product and without any complication. For this, an investment of 5 minutes to discover the different options is well worth it.

Types of glitter for car paint

These are the best known, the least expensive, the most conspicuous...Metal Flakes paints. But what you may not know is that they are very special products to apply and greedy in terms of time and products. In the end, the bill is likely to be salty. These car paint flakes are very messy, they will be found everywhere in the paint booth. On the other hand, these thick flakes will create a very rough surface, with thousands of crevices, and all this will have to be leveled, by drowning it in a thick layer of varnish (by thick we mean at least 0 ,2 to 0.5 mm, which is equivalent to at least 10 to 15 layers!).

Here are some automotive paint glitter solutions that are just as impressive in terms of visual effect, but much less difficult to implement. Metal Flakes Cosmic are plastic flakes, but transparent. They offer a powerful reflective effect and great transparency, which allows you to use the background of your choice. Being half as thick as the large Metal flakes, they logically require 2 coats of varnish!

Crystal automotive paint flakes

We are talking here about the finest "glitter" effect there is with Crystal car paint glitter, particles that are very thin in thickness, but also in diameter.

The result, on the other hand, is scintillating but very fine and intended more for lovers of discretion. The Crystal mother-of-pearl measures 60 microns, is almost completely transparent and sends out colored reflections. It is visible only in direct light. It varnishes easily with two coats.

Diamond car paint flakes

Cousines of Crystal mother-of-pearl, Diamond car paint flakes represent a superior class, in price, quality, but also in reflective power, purity (transparency and non-yellowing effect) and size. Diamond paints achieve a glitter effect, with iridescent particles with a diameter of 100 microns or more. This is clearly the option that offers the best compromise between power of "reflection / thickness". By thickness, we mean the ease of varnishing. With Diamant, 2 coats of clearcoat are more than enough, like any car paint.

Car paint Metal flakes

As mentioned above, Metal flakes car paint flakes have been popular for decades for their eye-catching effect and vibrant colors. Coming from the world of games and rides, they were quickly adapted in series on HD motorcycle models in large series. Their main quality, and also their main flaw : they are thick and sit very badly on the surface, creating overlaps and reflections of light in all directions and all directions of observation.

Holographic car paint flakes

One of the latest optical technologies in the world of pigments, are clearly represented by holographic car paint flakes. These particles in the form of flakes or "flakes" have a corrugated layer of metal on their surface and this creates the diffraction of light. Simply put, they send back iridescent rainbows and are the most impressive products around. We note that this color change is done with the angle of view, according to the shapes of the surface of the painted object.

Polyester car paint Flakes

They can be made from a few euros per kilogram, they are polyester car paint flakes, the thickest flakes available. Of course, there are various qualities, in particular with the resistance of the colors to UVs, or even to the quality of the cut, that is to say, in chaotic shape (cutting waste) or exact hexagonal cut. Metal flakes are one of them. There is also the new class of polyester sequins, called COSMIC and HOLO, which are completely transparent and blend with the support or the color of the background paint, to create a powerfully iridescent color.

How to apply bodywork paint flakes ?