Chameleon Car Paint: 7 Points You Need to Know

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What is Chameleon Car Paint?

Chameleon car paint and Car ink are a kind of high-tech special ink and paint with innovative optical effect. The color after printing can produce either 3D change effect viewing from different angles or various effects under different light conditions. The Paint contains no heavy metals, and can also produce attractive color effects in combination with other pigments and dyes.

The U.S. Ford Motor Company is the world’s first manufacturer of chameleon car paint. After its initial successful R&D, it cooperated with a German professional company to create a more advanced technology, that is, the technology of applying another layer of transparent car paint on the car paint with a black background color, enabling the reflected light on the surface of the car smoother and more natural.

What is Chameleon Car Paint?

How much does it cost to have your car painted chameleon?

Generally, to paint a car needs 2-3 L of chameleon car paint, while the specific operation also depends on the actual situation, such as the size of the car area and the operator’s experience. Besides, the chameleon car paint price varies from its quality. Calculated based on the price of high-end chameleon pigments: The chameleon pigment prices range from USD 17,00-2000/kg. Despite being expensive, we add only a tiny amount of pigment, ranging from 1-3%. Consequently, Excluding labor costs, the estimated cost of chameleon pigment per car is around USD 30-50.

How much does it cost to have your car painted chameleon?

What are the differences between chameleon pigment car paint and traditional car paint?

Compared with traditional car paint, the biggest difference of chameleon pigment car paint is a layer of special primer, which paves the way for “discoloration”. The second big difference is that chameleon pigment car paint is a special material called mica powder added to adjusted car metal paint. Why mica powder? Since it usually presents as very thin sheets, its reflection of light is directional. To this end, car bodies sprayed with chameleon pigment car paint can change in color as the viewer’s perspective changes and distance changes.

What are the types of chameleon auto paint and how it works

Generally, the discolored paint is divided into temperature-indicating paint, UV color-changing paint, paint changing with the angle of natural light. Currently, the car body paint has not used temperature-indicating paint. After subdivision, there are 3 types of common chameleon auto paint: optically variable, 3D dazzling, and chameleon.

  1. Optically variable: this paint is an early chameleon auto paint material, and has large differences in brightness and color saturation at different angles under sunlight, but with little difference in hue. Principle of discoloration: the chameleon auto paint is formed by adding special mica powder to the adjusted metal paint. Since the special shape of flaky mica reflects light directionally, chameleon auto paint coating will show different colors viewing from different angles.
  2. 3D dazzling paint is widely used in refitting plants and presents colorful effects under sunlight.
    Principle of discoloration: it contains multi-edge mica sheet and has sunlight irradiation after multiple refraction to produce dispersion effect, enabling to produce dazzling effect under sunlight.
  3. Chameleon auto paint is a kind of optically variable paint, and with deeper development, in addition to optical variation, it can also show different colors under the irradiation of sunlight or not, and the principle of discoloration is similar to that of optically variable paint. This paint can also achieve the visual effect achieved by thin mica sheets.

Chameleon colors for cars

How to spray chameleon car paint on cars?

Graduated spraying:

Apply different colors of paint to the same object using a spray gun to create a smooth graduated color effect. This technology requires the fine manual operation and experience of the sprayer.

Baking paint:

This method is commonly used in the car spraying industry. After spraying the primer, heat with high temperature through oven, make the primer smoother, spray with transparent discoloring paint, and finally bake again. This method can produce very bright and colorful discoloration

Spraying order of chameleon automotive paint

  1. Prepare car body: Before you start painting, make sure the surface of the car body is clean, smooth, and flawless. Clean your car thoroughly to remove surface dirt, grease, and old paint. make sure the surface of the car body is clean, dry, and smooth.
  2. Spraying background color: First spray a layer of primer. You can select black, white or other dark colors as the background color to highlight the effect of chameleon pearl powder. This step is important as the primary color impacts the final color change.
  3. Apply chameleon automotive paint: After the primer is dry, start spraying chameleon automotive paint. This paint contains special pigments and additives, which make it have a dazzling discoloration effect at different angles. Use a professional spray gun and grasp the angle, distance and speed of the spray to achieve uniform and delicate paint results. Multiple sprays may be applied as needed to achieve desired results.
  4. Add a layer of varnish: add a layer of varnish after the chameleon
  5. pearl powder paint is dried. This not only protects the car paint, making it more durable, but also improves gloss and cools the car.
  6. Detail processing: Inspect the car body to ensure that the spraying effect is uniform and free of defects. If necessary, it is feasible to make some detail treatment, such as repair the uneven spraying area and add decorative strip.
  7. Note: Chameleon spraying requires the consistent speed, distance, atomization and thickness!! Inconsistency will cause such phenomena as uneven and blurred color. After spraying chameleon, dry the whole car naturally in summer and by heating for about 30 minutes in winter, and then spray bright oil, the more times and thickness the better, because bright oil thickness can reflect the stereoscopic and hierarchical sense of chameleon automotive paint.
How to spray chameleon car paint on cars?

How long can a car be used after being sprayed with chameleon car paint?

The use of chameleon car paint depends on the quality of the varnish you use, and chameleon paint will last as long as the varnish you use lasts. We recommend using our Supreme Varnish or Golden Diamond Varnish.

How to maintain a car after spraying it with chameleon car paint?

No difference. For the varnish with transparent surface, chameleon car paint is the primer. You can maintain like any other car. For any car, the care is for the painted surface, by washing, polishing, waxing, sealing glaze, etc.

Is this prepared chameleon car paint not scratch-resistant?

No, chameleon car paint, like other single-component car paint, is a primer for varnish on the surface of the car body, and varnish with relatively good spray quality is scratch-resistant.

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Written by ——
Jeff.chen
Jeff.chen

Jeff graduated from Hubei University of Technology with a major in materials science and engineering. He has rich knowledge in materials. After graduation, he worked on color shifting powder pigments. He has rich experience in toner research and development and manufacturing, and is an excellent writer.

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