Blue Metallic Paint

Ultramarine poor in silica is obtained by fusing a mixture of soft clay, sodium sulfate, charcoal, sodium carbonate, and sulfur. The product is at first white, but soon turns green “green ultramarine” when it is mixed with sulfur and heated. The sulfur burns, and a fine blue pigment is obtained. Ultramarine rich in silica is generally obtained by heating a mixture of pure clay, very fine white sand, sulfur, and charcoal in a muffle furnace. A blue product is obtained at once, but a red tinge often results. The different ultramarines—green, blue, red, and violet—are finely ground and washed with water.Ultramarine was only used for frescoes when it was applied secco because frescoes’ absorption rate made its use cost prohibitive. The pigment was mixed with a binding medium like egg to form a tempera and applied over dry plaster, such as in Giotto di Bondone’s frescos in the Cappella degli Scrovegni or the Arena Chapel in Padua.

Ultramarine is a blue made from natural lapis lazuli, or its synthetic equivalent which is sometimes called “French Ultramarine”. More generally “ultramarine blue” can refer to a vivid blue.Ultramarine is a deep blue color pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. Its lengthy grinding and washing process makes the natural pigment quite valuable—roughly ten times more expensive than the stone it comes from and as expensive as gold.

Large quantities are used in the manufacture of paper, and especially for producing a kind of pale blue writing paper which was popular in Britain. During World War I, the RAF painted the outer roundels with a color made from ultramarine blue. This became BS 108(381C) aircraft blue. It was replaced in the 1960s by a new color made on phthalocyanine blue, called BS110(381C) roundel blue.Pietro Perugino economized on this painting of the Virgin Mary (about 1500) by using azurite for the underpainting of the robe, then adding a layer of ultramarine on top

At the beginning of the 13th century, a method to produce ultramarine from lapis lazuli was introduced and later described by Cennino Cennini in the 15th century. This process consisted of grinding the lapis lazuli mineral, mixing the ground material with melted wax, resins, and oils, wrapping the resulting mass in a cloth, and then kneading it in a dilute lye solution, a potassium carbonate solution prepared by combining wood ash with water. The blue lazurite particles collect at the bottom of the pot, while the colorless crystalline material and other impurities remain at the top. This process was performed at least three times, with each successive extraction generating a lower quality material. The final extraction, consisting largely of colorless material as well as a few blue particles, brings forth ultramarine ash which is prized as a glaze for its pale blue transparency. This extensive process was specific to ultramarine because the mineral it comes from has a combination of both blue and colorless pigments. If an artist were to simply grind and wash lapis lazuli, the resulting powder would be a greyish-blue color that lacks purity and depth of color since lapis lazuli contains a high proportion of colorless material. The first noted use of lapis lazuli as a pigment can be seen in 6th and 7th-century AD paintings in Zoroastrian and Buddhist cave temples in Afghanistan, near the most famous source of the mineral. Lapis lazuli has been identified in Chinese paintings from the 10th and 11th centuries, in Indian mural paintings from the 11th, 12th, and 17th centuries, and on Anglo-Saxon and Norman illuminated manuscripts from c.1100. The pigment consists primarily of a zeolite-based mineral containing small amounts of polysulfides. It occurs in nature as a proximate component of lapis lazuli containing a blue cubic mineral called lazurite. In the Colour Index International, the pigment of ultramarine is identified as P. Blue 29 77007.Although the lapis lazuli stone itself is relatively inexpensive, the lengthy process of pulverizing, sifting, and washing to produce ultramarine makes the natural pigment quite valuable and roughly ten times more expensive than the stone it comes from. The high cost of the imported raw material and the long laborious process of extraction combined has been said to make high-quality ultramarine as expensive as gold.The term “ultramarine green” indicates a dark green while barium chromate is sometimes referred to as “ultramarine yellow”. Ultramarine pigment has also been termed “Gmelin’s Blue,” “Guimet’s Blue,” “New blue,” “Oriental Blue,” and “Permanent Blue”.

The term ultramarine can also refer to other pigments. Variants of the pigment such as “ultramarine red,” “ultramarine green,” and “ultramarine violet” all resemble ultramarine with respect to their chemistry and crystal structure. Electric ultramarine is the tone of ultramarine that is halfway between blue and violet on the RGB (HSV) color wheel, the expression of the HSV color space of the RGB color model. Ultramarine was the finest and most expensive blue used by Renaissance painters. It was often used for the robes of the Virgin Mary and symbolized holiness and humility. It remained an extremely expensive pigment until a synthetic ultramarine was invented in 1826.Johannes Vermeer made extensive use of ultramarine in his paintings. The turban of the Girl with a Pearl Earring is painted with a mixture of ultramarine and lead white, with a thin glaze of pure ultramarine over it. In Lady Standing at a Virginal, the young woman’s dress is painted with a mixture of ultramarine and green earth, and ultramarine was used to add shadows in the flesh tones. Scientific analysis by the National Gallery in London of Lady Standing at a Virginal showed that the ultramarine in the blue seat cushion in the foreground had degraded and become paler with time; it would have been a deeper blue when originally painted.

In 1814, Tassaert observed the spontaneous formation of a blue compound, very similar to ultramarine, if not identical with it, in a lime kiln at St. Gobain. In 1824, this caused the Societé pour l’Encouragement d’Industrie to offer a prize for the artificial production of the precious color. Processes were devised by Jean Baptiste Guimet (1826) and by Christian Gmelin (1828), then professor of chemistry in Tübingen. While Guimet kept his process a secret, Gmelin published his, and became the originator of the “artificial ultramarine” industry.During the Renaissance, ultramarine was the finest and most expensive blue that could be used by painters. Color infrared photogenic studies of ultramarine in 13th and 14th-century Sienese panel paintings have revealed that historically, ultramarine has been diluted with white lead pigment in an effort to use the color more sparingly given its high price. The 15th century artist Cennino Cennini wrote in his painters’ handbook: “Ultramarine blue is a glorious, lovely and absolutely perfect pigment beyond all the pigments. It would not be possible to say anything about or do anything to it which would not make it more so.” Natural ultramarine is a difficult pigment to grind by hand, and for all except the highest quality of mineral, sheer grinding and washing produces only a pale grayish blue powder.

A plague known as “ultramarine sickness” has occasionally been observed among ultramarine oil paintings as a grayish or yellowish gray discoloration of the paint surface. This can occur with artificial ultramarine that is used industrially. The cause of this has been debated among experts, however, potential causes include atmospheric sulfur dioxide and moisture, acidity of an oil- or oleo-resinous paint medium, or slow drying of the oil during which time water may have been absorbed, creating swelling, opacity of the medium, and therefore whitening of the paint film.

European artists used the pigment sparingly, reserving their highest quality blues for the robes of Mary and the Christ child, possibly in an effort to show piety, spending as a means of expressing devotion. As a result of the high price, artists sometimes economized by using a cheaper blue, azurite, for under painting. Most likely imported to Europe through Venice, the pigment was seldom seen in German art or art from countries north of Italy. Due to a shortage of azurite in the late 16th and 17th century, the price for the already-expensive ultramarine increased dramatically.Synthetic ultramarine is a more vivid blue than natural ultramarine, since the particles in synthetic ultramarine are smaller and more uniform than the particles in natural ultramarine and therefore diffuse light more evenly. Its color is unaffected by light nor by contact with oil or lime as used in painting. Hydrochloric acid immediately bleaches it with liberation of hydrogen sulfide. Even a small addition of zinc oxide to the reddish varieties especially causes a considerable diminution in the intensity of the color. Modern, synthetic ultramarine blue is a non-toxic, soft pigment that does not need much mulling to disperse into a paint formulation.

The name ultramarine comes from the Latin ultramarinus. The word means “beyond the sea”, as the pigment was imported by Italian traders during the 14th and 15th centuries from mines in Afghanistan. Much of the expansion of ultramarine can be attributed to Venice which historically was the port of entry for lapis lazuli in Europe.Both natural and artificial ultramarine are stable to ammonia and caustic alkalis in ordinary conditions. Artificial ultramarine has been found to fade when in contact with lime when it is used to color concrete or plaster. These observations have led experts to speculate if the natural pigment’s fading may be the result of contact with the lime plaster of fresco paintings.

Venice was central to both the manufacturing and distribution of ultramarine during the early modern period. The pigment was imported by Italian traders during the 14th and 15th centuries from mines in Afghanistan. Other European countries employed the pigment less extensively than in Italy; the pigment was not used even by wealthy painters in Spain at that time.

Particle size distribution has been found to vary among samples of ultramarine from various workshops. Numerous grinding techniques used by painters have resulted in different pigment/medium ratios and particle size distributions. The grinding and purification process results in pigment with particles of various geometries. Different grades of pigment may have been used for different areas in a painting, a characteristic that is sometimes used in art authentication.The beginning of the development of artificial ultramarine blue is known from Goethe. In about 1787, he observed the blue deposits on the walls of lime kilns near Palermo in Sicily. He was aware of the use of these glassy deposits as a substitute for lapis lazuli in decorative applications. He did not mention if it was suitable to grind for a pigment.

Metallicmarker für außergewöhnliche Effekte. Feine Spitze für Strichstärke ca. 2.0 mm. Schreibfarbe blue metallic. Neue Pigmenttechnologie ermöglicht einen sauberen und homogenen Farbauftrag. Die mit Farbpigmenten ummantelten Aluminiumflakes ergeben auch bei unterschiedlichem Lichteinfall einen hochmetallischen Effekt mit außergewöhnlich hohem Glanzgrad. Für viele Untergründe geeignet. Beste Ergebnisse auf dunklen und nichtsaugenden Untergründen. Schnelltrocknende Tinte, die durch ein Ventil perfekt gesteuert wird.Ich wollte raus in die Welt – um dort meine Kreativität aufblühen zu lassen. Aber der Druck im Job wurde groß. Ich nahm mir eine Auszeit und fuhr nach Portugal. Keinen Laptop, kein „Müssen“ mehr. Und dann kam die Kreativität von ganz allein zurück.

Solid and metallic finishes are the two most popular options for modern day cars, but which finish is the best for your next vehicle? In this article, I’ll compare the pros and cons of solid and metallic car paint so you can decide which is the most suitable for your next car.

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With solid paints, color matching in the event that a panel needs respraying is a much easier process. However, with metallic paints, the process is more complicated and it can be much harder to get an exact color match with the rest of the panels.

Metallic paint is often charged as an optional extra on brand new cars which typically costs upwards of $500 in the USA and £500 in the UK for most makes and models. Metallic paint is more expensive to produce and more laborious to apply compared to solid paint, hence the higher cost.If the color is still in production and is used by a popular brand then it shouldn’t be too much of a problem to get the right color. However, if the color has been discontinued then the paint will need to be mixed up to try and achieve the closest possible match to the original color.

Metallic paint finishes are more expensive than solid paint finishes. On most brand new cars you’ll get the choice between a few standard solid colors which do not add to the overall price of the vehicle, or some optional colors which cost extra.

However, these scratches will still be noticeable no matter whether the car has a solid or metallic finish. If you want your car to look as glossy as possible then you should check out my complete guide to washing your car without causing scratches. Make sure you also avoid roadside and automatic car washes as these are almost guaranteed to inflict clear coat damage.These clear coat scratches are often referred to as swirl marks and are highly visible in direct sunlight and often look like spider webs. However, they also make the car look lighter and duller in all conditions so avoiding them is important if you want to make your car look as shiny as possible.

Metallic paint looks shimmery under direct light, whereas solid paint has a flat appearance. Metallic paint helps to provide more depth of color and looks more interesting in the sun compared to solid paint. However, solid paint can sometimes look glossier if kept in good condition. In dull conditions it can be harder to tell solid and metallic finishes apart.Solid paint finishes are very popular and inexpensive. On most cars, at least a couple of solid paint color options which be included in the standard price. However, for more exotic solid colors, you may be expected to pay a little bit more when purchasing a car brand new. Solid finishes come in a huge variety of colors, offer exceptional gloss and make color matching easy in the event that a panel needs respraying.These clear coat imperfections are slightly masked on cars with a metallic finish because the aluminium powder essentially creates a distraction to make them look less visible compared to solid paint.Metallic car paint is made by infusing aluminium powder into the solid color to give it more depth and a shimmery appearance to compared to solid paint. Metallic paints hide imperfections more easily however they more expensive and more difficult to color match compared to than solid paint.

I first became interested in car detailing around 4 years ago and learnt all the main techniques on my very first car. I spend a lot of time detailing my current car, and trying to keep my family’s cars looking presentable too!Metallic paint is made by mixing aluminium powder in with solid paint to give it a shimmery appearance under direct light and to increase the depth of color. Metallic finishes are better at hiding paint imperfections however they are more difficult to color match in the event that a panel needs respraying.

If a car is washed improperly, for example by using sponges and brushes instead of microfiber wash mitts, then damage will be inflicted in the top layer of paint known as the clear coat which sits on top of the color coat.There is some argument that solid paint finishes hide dust and dirt more than metallic finishes. This is because the dust and dirt hides the glittered effect of the metallic finish making it more noticeable. However, the color of the car makes a far greater difference with regards to how clean the car looks between washes.

The only ancient culture to have a word for blue was the Egyptians, and they were also the only culture that had a way to produce a blue dye. Blue rarely appears in nature – there are few blue animals, fruits or vegetables – and the early painter’s palette was restricted to “earth colours”: reds, browns, yellows, blacks. Blue only appeared when the Egyptians started mining and unearthed lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone first found in Afghanistan about 6,000 years ago. Lapis was scarce and thus greatly prized, and was used to adorn the tombs of pharaohs and the eyes of Cleopatra.

Today, we see blue everywhere we look, and in every shade we can think of. It is in uniforms, from the navy to nurses, and in our houses, where it may be associated with clear skies, healing and refreshing waters. Blue may not have been around for as long as earthy red, yellow and black, but its popularity shows no signs of waning. Obtaining the colour from lapis was prohibitively expensive so, about 2,500BC, the Egyptians donned their lab coats, lit their Bunsen burners and headed for the ancient equivalent of the school science lab to invent the world’s first artificial pigment. By heating lime, sand and copper into calcium copper silicate, they discovered the royal-turquoise pigment Egyptian blue, which spread around the Mediterranean world and was widely used until about AD800. Other ancient civilisations followed suit. In China, copper was blended with heavy elements such as mercury to create shades of blue. So new and exciting were the colours created that they were attributed healing qualities and mixed into poisonous “medicinal” concoctions. According to Heinz Berke, a chemist who has studied the history of blue pigment at the University of Zurich, “It is said that 40% of the Chinese emperors suffered from heavy-element poisoning.”The Mesoamericans, too, created a vivid and durable azure blue. They used it in paintings, pottery and even, some scientists have suggested, to adorn the bodies of those destined for human sacrifice. Scientists know that Mayan blue’s two main ingredients are indigo and palygorskite, a type of clay, but the third ingredient – and the method used to create the long-lasting paint – are still hotly debated.

The colour blue is a relatively modern invention. Prehistoric artists were strangers to it. You won’t find cerulean or azure in cave paintings. The ancient Greeks had no word for blue as we know it today – Homer described the sea as “wine-dark” in the Odyssey – and neither can it be found in the Icelandic sagas, the Koran, ancient Chinese stories or myriad other texts.

The colour blue has long been associated with the rich and divine, from the ancient Egyptians who discovered it to the Virgin Mary – though it is a little more accessible todayRegardless of paint option on the Focus Zetec S model, median prices for the used cars were broadly similar with the exception of the most expensive Candy Red option – carrying a premium of around double what the option cost over the base paint!We’ve checked on three relatively common cars in the classifieds – the Nissan Juke, the Ford Focus and the Citroën DS3 – to see how the various paint options affect the values of two year old cars.* Please contact the dealer for a personalised quote, including terms and conditions. Quote is subject to dealer requirements, including status and availability. Illustrations are based on personal contract hire, 9 month upfront fee, 48 month term, 8000 miles annually, inc VAT, excluding fees. Vehicle returned at term end.Solid paints are relatively easy to apply, either using single application water-based paint with a lacquer layer over it or a “two-pack” paint and hardener system. Metallic paints commonly require multiple applications and then several layers of clear lacquer and by simple dint of having to repaint the panel/part, repairs are much more expensive. In general, the best performing second-hand colour options are neither the more expensive shades nor the blander silvers, but the ones the car companies themselves choose to use in their advertising… Small scratches are much more easily taken care of with solid colours too. They r
equire nothing more than a colour matched paint or touch-up pen, whereas metallic paints are much harder to blend properly in this fashion and will need the attention of a body shop.

When the worst happens, a significant chunk of the repair cost is finishing the body in the appropriate paint. However, it’s not the paint itself that costs the money but the difficulty of application – the labour costs soon rack up.One of the joys of buying a new car is speccing it up how you wish, but we always hear cautionary tales about doing so. We’re told that particularly bold paint colour choices may make cars difficult to sell on, while special finishes can attract high repair costs – while others say that metallics are more durable than solid colours.

The Juke’s only basic paint option is solid white, with all additional paint options costing £495. For the Acenta model, median prices for white were around the same as the metallic red option, though silver cars had a median price of £250 more than either.

By and large, it’s true that the premium paid for metallic paint gives a more durable finish day-to-day, but it’s harder to repair properly from more significant damage. However, the resale value is much more readily affected by other options and trends in fashionable colours than whether the paint itself is metallic or solid.It is important to identify the size of the metal or the shade of the pearl to assess the shade and make sure that it is the original colour. Once this is done, check the colour version that best matches.

Thin aluminium particles are matt and less problematic than coarse aluminium particles, which are glossy and reflect more light. Therefore, colours with a high percentage of coarse aluminium pigments will have a greater “flop effect”.This type of paint usually has a wide range of shades and colours, and its characteristic gloss is produced with the reflection of light on the tiny aluminium particles that are mixed with the paint. These particles capture light and reflect it. In metallic colours, blending will allow for the part to better integrate with the other adjacent areas. It will improve colour-matching and minimise the appearance of possible painting defects. Tu privacidad es importante para nosotros. SINNEK utiliza la información que proporcionas para ponerse en contacto contigo en relación con contenido, productos y servicios relevantes para ti. Puedes darte de baja para dejar de recibir este tipo de comunicaciones en cualquier momento. Si deseas obtener más información sobre la protección de tus datos en SINNEK, consulta nuestra Política de Privacidad.

Its most common disadvantage are its cost. Solid colours make vehicles more expensive, as a result of a more expensive and elaborate manufacturing and application process.

The colour variations produced by some metallic colours make it easier to conceal small defects. On the other hand, in solid colours, dents, scratches and other small damages are more visible.They are composed of small aluminium particles, which are responsible for providing the shiny metallic lustre effect. They are usually mixed with absorption pigments (somewhat transparent to improve the gloss and depth effect).Knowing their composition and the most efficient application techniques and advice will help to get perfect finishes, free of defects, even in the more complex metallic colours.In short, as in many other cases, following the manufacturer’s technical data sheets (pressure, fan and material flow regulation) will be essential to ensure good metallic colour reproduction. These particles are mixed with translucent pigments, which means low opacity. They cannot be applied at the bodyshop without first being mixed with a solid or metallic colour. They can also be mixed with other types of particles such as mica for improved reflection effects. The metallic particles of these pigments come in different sizes and shapes:

This great variety of colours increased especially with the arrival to the refinish sector of basecoat finishes , pushing to the background the mostly used single stage finishes.

When painting with special colours, a colour tinter must be applied on the repaired area covering the intermediate coat paint before applying the pearl base.

The correct application of metallic paint can sometimes become a real challenge for professional painters. Some colours like pearl white, metallic grey or pearl blue can generate doubts and problems during the repair process.The type, amount, size and colour of the particles can vary to produce all kinds of effects, gloss and reflections, providing a glossier finish than any solid paint.

One of the main advantages of metallic paint is that it provides a light protection against small damages and against discolouration caused by UV rays.Xirallic pigments are composed of aluminium oxide sheets coated with metal oxides. The formulas containing these types of pigments are called “electric colours”. They provide a crystalline effect with high sparkle and gloss levels.

ColorStream pigments are formed by silicon dioxide sheets coated with metal oxide. These allow the reflection of different colours and shades. They are geometrically even, and are developed by manufacturers to provide the bodywork with exclusive visual effects of changing shades and colours depending on the angle of vision and on the impact of light on the surface.Painting the filler plays a key role in colours with basecoat or three-coat finishes. Problems such as excessive product loading or using a filler colour that is not suitable for the finish colour can cause darkening of the metallic colour in some shades.

Metallic paint also has an aesthetic function. It beautifies the surface by enhancing vehicle contours and lines, providing effects, brightness and luminosity and a selection of colour customisation.The successive coats of the finish paint highlight this gloss and depth effect. Metallic colours are integrated in basecoat or three-coat systems, and require a final clearcoat coat to ensure sealing and protectionof the surface.

Today, metallic paints are one of the most used types of car paint both by manufacturers, with a wide catalogue of metallic and pearl colours, and by users, who seek to provide a differential look to their vehicles.

For the professional painter, reproducing some metallic colours also entails greater complexity and difficulty in matching the colours. Also, more time will be required for the repair.This premium 2-component topcoat system is blended with top-quality raw materials and advanced composition coatings technology. Superior to acrylic, alkyd and lacquer coatings. Eastwood’s single-stage urethane paints hold their gloss longer and won’t yellow.

This image has been taken under the bright Florida sun to provide the most accurate color rendering and metallic effects. Colors may vary by screen. 🙂