Pearlescent Mica Pigment — Interference and Metallic Effect Colour

Primary uses

• Pearlescent and interference effect
• Metallic appearance without metal powder
• Depth and sparkle generation

Applications

• Resin art, decorative casting and epoxy surfaces
• Metallic-effect floor coatings
• Decorative precast and cast surfaces
• Coating and gel coat effect systems

Advantages

• Produces pearl, shimmer and interference effects that solid pigments cannot create
• Works in clear resin castings and coatings where the effect is seen in depth
• Available across effect ranges that let producers differentiate a finished product visually

Limitations to consider

• Effect depends on platelet orientation, so the same pigment looks different depending on how it is applied
• Requires gentle dispersion; aggressive mixing breaks platelets and destroys the effect
• Effect appearance is system-dependent and can only be judged on a cured sample from your own process
• Decorative and architectural work is judged by eye. Colour, gloss, texture and translucency shift with batch, substrate, dosage and finishing method, so approve a physical sample panel made by your own process before a production run and keep it as the reference for later deliveries.
• Mix ratio, pot life, working time, demould time, full-cure schedule, hardness, tear strength, elongation, shrinkage, viscosity and temperature resistance are properties of one specific supplier system. They are never quoted here from memory or by analogy with a similar product; they are read from the supplier data sheet for the exact material offered and confirmed at quotation.

How to choose the right grade

• Start from the matrix — cementitious, resin or coating — because alkali stability and dispersion behaviour are decided by it
• Agree the colour standard and how it will be verified between deliveries, since colour is the whole point of the purchase
• State the exposure the finished surface will see, including UV, weather and de-icing salt in Canadian service
• Trial the pigment in the exact pour geometry and film thickness used in production
• Confirm the mixing method so the platelets are dispersed without being damaged
• Mould-making and casting behaviour depends on the pattern, the shop temperature and humidity, the mixing method and the operator. A production-representative trial on your own pattern and in your own shop conditions is the only honest way to qualify a material before a run is committed.
• Exact specification is confirmed against supplier documentation at quotation.

Typical grades

• Effect ranges and particle size ranges as the supplier classifies them
• Products the supplier distinguishes by substrate and coating chemistry
• Buyers search this category by grade name, and those names describe what the workshop needs rather than what is asserted here. Which grade a specific offer corresponds to, and what the supplier declares for it, is read from the technical documentation issued for the exact material quoted.
• Materials in this category interact: rubbers, releases, sealers, resins, pigments and fillers can inhibit cure, stain a surface or shorten mould life when they are combined outside the combinations the supplier has tested. State every material already in the process at enquiry so compatibility is checked against supplier documentation rather than discovered on the shop floor.
• Reactive materials age in the container, and moisture-sensitive systems age faster once opened. Order against real consumption rather than against a discount, and confirm the shelf life the supplier states for the exact product and pack.