One of the most important aspects of a vehicle's presentation is its paint job. It gives you a sense of its condition. For this presentation to be as good as possible, you need to know the vehicle's paint job.
There are several types of automotive paint, but three are most commonly used: solid paint, metallic paint, and pearlescent paint. Below, we'll discuss each type in more detail.
Solid paint
Solid paint is the most commonly used paint finish by automakers; it's what could be called the factory standard. It's applied with pre-selected pigment paints and can be polyester or polyurethane-based. The main difference between these two materials is that polyester-based paint requires a varnish to maintain its appearance.
Among the other types of painting, solid painting is considered by car manufacturers to be a simpler, easier and, above all, cheaper process.
Metallic paint
This type of paint has a glossier finish and is therefore more expensive. The main characteristic of metallic paint is that it receives a so-called "effect charge," which involves adding an additional formula of acrylic lacquer and aluminum flakes to the pigment, which intensifies the paint's reflection.
The great advantage of metallic paint is that it makes the vehicle shine, giving it a cleaner appearance. Because of these characteristics, metallic paint is more expensive and requires greater care in maintenance and eventual repainting.
Pearlescent paint
This type of automotive paint provides the best finish, so much so that it creates the impression that the car has different colors depending on the intensity of the light it reflects. It's no surprise that this is the most expensive of the three.
Pearlescent paint is the result of the paint composition containing pearl powder and mica powder, which are responsible for creating the color change effect depending on the environment and light.
Other types of automotive paint
In addition to the basic types of automotive paint, two other approaches to painting cars have been gaining popularity in recent years: candy paint and flake paint.
Candy paint consists of a semi-transparent paint base called “candy” to which a shiny silver paint base is added.
In flake painting, a polyester-based paint is used, but its metallic composition is more grainy, which makes the shine more intense, similar to the effect of glitter.
Car paint care
An important factor in choosing the type of automotive paint is its care and maintenance. Metallic and pearlescent paints offer a brighter, more attractive finish, but it should be noted that, in addition to being more expensive, they require greater maintenance.
This is because, in the case of a possible repaint, it requires more time and dedication to achieve the same original color tone. Therefore, before purchasing a factory model, pay attention to these details so you can enjoy your purchase without any hassle.
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