Chameleon Interference effects in painting

There is a unique collection of 38 references in the Stardust® range, leader and pioneer in Europe in the field of Chameleon colours.

“Chameleon” paints, formerly known as “Beetle” paints, “Flip Flop” paints, or even “Colorshift” paints are pearlescent colors that offer changing color reflections depending on the angle from which they are observed.

Among the chameleon colours, there are a certain number which consist of transparent pearls*.

These chameleon paints then take on the appearance of a whitish liquid, which is in truth almost transparent when applied with an airbrush / spray gun.

*The transparent mother-of-pearl is made of a modern synthetic material imitating natural mica. It is more transparent, more reflective, and less yellowing.

Try changing the background color

Usually applied on a black background, in order to reflect only the light of the mother-of-pearl that composes them*, transparent type chameleon paints can be applied on other background colors.

*the black color reflects little or no light.

We are not talking about a pearly or metallic background color here, because due to certain optical phenomena, a mother-of-pearl on another mother-of-pearl, or a mother-of-pearl on a metal pigment, see their effects cancel out.

We can therefore apply a transparent chameleon color on an opaque colored background, red, yellow, blue, gray… In truth, any color, white included.

The effects are quite interesting and surprising. These are innovative finishes in the field of bodywork or decoration, which are perfectly suitable for indoors or outdoors, thanks to the high resistance of chameleons to UV.

Multicolored interference mother-of-pearl

Interference is an optical phenomenon. In the field of painting, it designates the return of a single color, different from that of the background.

Example : a GREEN background + a RED interfering layer

Stardustcolors classic interference colors include red, green, blue, gold, and purple ; these effect products can be found either in powder form with Crystal interference pearlescent pearls, or in the form of clearcoats.

Transparent chameleons created richer effects in terms of reflections, with double, triple or quadruple colored reflections.

Depending on their purity and composition, they will modify the background color very slightly or not at all.

In truth, the darker the background color, the more the interfering chameleon reflection will dominate the visible appearance returned to the viewer of the painted piece.

Diamond-like interfering chameleons

Classic chameleons are composed of fairly fine particles, the size of which is in the average of the pigments used in the world of automotive paint. These transparent chameleon effects have been transposed onto the large diamond mother-of-pearl, which is made of glass, and which has much more iridescent and glittery properties.

Interference chameleon sequins from the COSMIC range

Here are flakes from the Metal Flakes family, made of polyester, which reproduce the same multicolored effects as chameleons. These COSMIC flakes are perfectly transparent and have an advantage over the large classic opaque Metal Flakes flakes : they are thinner and much easier to varnish.

There is yet another spangle, still polyester-based, and still 200µm in size, which is the transparent holographic spangle.

All these effects mentioned above belong to the family of “Interference effects”.

How to paint a car ?

The painter will need first to be equipped with a spray gun and a compressor.

To achieve quality work, we will try to rent a paint booth from the body work painter down the street, if he agrees (count around 100 euros for the morning). If you wish to apply car paint without a spray booth, bear in mind to wet the floor, walls and around the area to capture a maximum of dust.

To prevent any paint deposition and vapour emissions from aerosols, keep a minimum flow of air. When using automotive paint, comply with all safety procedures and wear a respiratory mask with a type A filter, gloves and protective clothing.

Apply car paint

Preparation

Sand lightly the car painting with abrasive paper type 800. If the old paint is sound, there is indeed no need to remove the paint from the car, and no priming is necessary. Only plastic or bare-metal parts should receive an adhesion primer. We will then dust the complete body work and degrease it from any potential invisible contaminants such as grease stains, silicones, fingerprints, etc. First protect and mask/cover all the parts that need no painting: windows, rubber joints, wheels … The car is ready to be painted!

Painting

There are usually no compatibility problems with automotive paints, whether they are water or solvent-based, polyurethane or acrylic paints. These are usually single-component paints – ie without hardener – other than the top coat, which is always accompanied by a hardener. Painting is done with a spray gun, respecting each step in the correct order, strictly observing proportions and mixing instructions, proper temperature and drying time. The so-called “1K” automotive paints are applied in thin coats.

The “wet on wet” painting technique will prevent any “adhesion issue”, and paint coatings are followed immediately by clear coats, especially when it comes to solvent-based paints as they dry faster.

Topcoating

The final step is used to protect but also to enhance the overall appearance of the body work. Topcoating is the most difficult step:

A successful clear coating should present a smooth, lacquered and glossy appearance. After having prepared the top coat-hardener mixture, this latter must be applied in the following half hour. An automotive clear coat is usually applied in 2 wet and successive passes. The rule is simple: If the coats are too dry, you will obtain less gloss, whereas if the passes are too thick, there is risk of sagging.

Good luck! Note: In case of drips, you can repair without difficulty the damages by waiting 24h, then sand the default. Then if you do not want to clear coat again the entire piece, you can restore the gloss by finishing with a 2000 or 3000 grit paper and then polish.