Metallic paint, also called polychromatic

Polychromatic

The term polychromatic means having several colours.It is used to describe light that exhibits more than one color. In a technical respect, this can also mean that it contains radiation of more than one wavelength. The study of polychromatics is particularly useful in the production of diffraction...

 or "metal flake" paint, is used on the majority of new automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

s sold. Metallic paint can reveal the contours of bodywork

Coachwork

Coachwork is the body of a horse-drawn coach or carriage, a motor vehicle , a railroad car or railway carriage. Usually reserved for bodies built on a separate chassis, rather than being of unitary or monocoque construction...

 more than non-metallic, or "solid" paint, Close-up, the small metal flakes included in the paint create a sparkling effect.

Description

Metallics nearly always consist of a base coat with a clear lacquer

Lacquer

In a general sense, lacquer is a somewhat imprecise term for a clear or coloured varnish that dries by solvent evaporation and often a curing process as well that produces a hard, durable finish, in any sheen level from ultra matte to high gloss and that can be further polished as required...

 or urethane top coat for protection and extra gloss. Historically, it was difficult to achieve an invisible repair if the paint was damaged because it is critical at which angle the flakes in the paint lie. Modern techniques have more or less eliminated this problem.

Variations

Two rarer variations are pearlescent paint, which appears as subtly different colours depending on the angle and intensity of the light, and "flip" colours where the colour changes more radically (e.g. from purple to orange) depending on the viewing angle. Flip colours have been used by Nissan on some special bits, and are frequently associated with TVR

TVR

thumb|right|240px|TVR No.2, the oldest surviving TVR, located at [[Lakeland Motor Museum, Newby Bridge, Cumbria]]TVR was an independent British manufacturer of sports cars. Until 2006 it was based in the English seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, but has since split up into several smaller...

 cars.

A final variation, hardly ever used on automobiles but common on bikes and motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

s, is "flamboyant" or "candy apple" paint. This consists of a metallic silver base coat covered with a translucent coloured lacquer, or more commonly urethane. Flamboyant paint gives an unusual effect of depth, but is almost impossible to touch up after damage without leaving an obvious mark.

Expense

Manufacturers almost always charge a premium for the "option" of metallic paint on a new vehicle, although metallics usually account for all but one or two of the colours from the palette available (only red, black, and white are available as solid colours from many makers). The price premium is around GBP £500 or USD $1000 for a large car. Most buyers choose to pay it, in some cases merely to maintain resale value. Given that having a car subsequently resprayed in a metallic colour is no more expensive than for a solid colour, many consider the price premium for metallic paint as a way to boost the base price of a new paint.