Solapearls are a new colour innovation for use spraying lexan, one that utilises the latest generation of pearls in conjunction with the Ice Candies which were introduced into the Custom Colour range some years ago. The pearlescent particles used in the paint are the same ones used by leading automotive companies such as Mercedes and BMW in their most recent automotive finishes. The predominant characteristic of these pearls is their ability to radiate a strong reflective colour in the presence of a single point light source; sunlight.
By suspending them in a complementary coloured translucent lacquer a high proportion of the reflective performance is retained whilst giving an overall dual colour effect.

Remember that as we are spraying bodyshells on the inside, so although protecting the finish of the paint with the body we are applying the paint system back to front. So that instead of the particles lying on top of the carrier colour, as they would if we sprayed on the outside, we are forcing them to be immersed within it. If these particles were suspended in an opaque coloured coat most of them would not be seen hence the use of a coloured lacquer. The overall finish produced with the Solapearls therefore is translucent, the same as the Ice Candies, so a backing colour must be applied.

As custom painters of full size cars and bikes have found over the years, using translucent coloured lacquers means application has to be performed with a higher degree of care, but having different base colours means there are countless variations to the final colour produced, and so with the Solapearls, by using differing backing colours endless finishes are attainable.

A ‘neutral’ backing colour for the Solapearls is silver, with white giving a brighter effect, whereas black will tone the base colour right down producing a colour contrasting strongly with that of the pearl. In all cases the colour of the pearl shows strongly in sunlight. Experimentation is the key to these colours but the combinations are endless.
As with the Ice Candies more care has to be used when applying the Solapearls as uneven coverage can cause colour blotching. However, as long as the paint is applied evenly with consecutive coats at 90? to each other four coats should see enough paint on the body to give good depth of colour (more coats will deepen this though), with a final backing coat to finish off.