Pigments for Automotive Coatings

Pigments for Automotive Coatings

Automotive coatings are among the most unforgiving application environments for effect pigments. Whether you're developing a production OEM basecoat, a refinish system, or a bespoke custom finish, the pigment has to survive baking cycles up to 180 °C, pass QUV weathering beyond 1,000 hours, and maintain ΔE < 1.0 batch after batch — all while hitting the designer's visual target precisely. That combination of durability and repeatability is what drives every product decision in this category.

How Effect Pigments Work in Automotive Systems

Most automotive effects depend on platelet-shaped pigments aligning parallel to the substrate inside a basecoat/clearcoat architecture. That alignment is what produces the flip-flop, sparkle, or color-travel visible at different viewing angles. High-shear recirculation, excessive thinning, and overloading all disrupt it — so dispersion practice matters as much as pigment selection. A dry film of 15–25 μm in the basecoat gives platelets enough space to orient and develop the intended effect. Dark base colors amplify interference and color-travel responses significantly.

Product Series

Our automotive pigment portfolio spans from entry-level pearl to optically variable luxury finishes.

KT-100 Silver White (natural mica, 10–60 μm) is our production workhorse for solid pearl white. The KT-200 Interference Series — available in Gold, Red, Violet, Blue, and Green — adds controlled color depth to tinted pearl basecoats. For premium OEM and luxury applications, the KT-7000 Synstar synthetic mica series delivers superior brightness and color purity over natural mica, while the KT-8000 DreamStar borosilicate series pushes further into diamond-like sparkle and transparency — typically reserved for high-end and flagship vehicle finishes.

Color-shift finishes are covered by KT-9000 Magic Chameleon, available from 5–25 μm up to 100–250 μm particle size for tunable duochrome through multicolor travel effects, and by Chromashift, which delivers the most intense optically variable shift in our portfolio. The XiallicSparks series provides 11 shades of crystal-like, non-pearlescent effect — formulated as direct performance equivalents to Merck Xirallic® grades and used extensively in premium automotive clear systems.

Formulators working under TiO₂ restrictions can draw from our dedicated Silver White, Gold, and Metal Luster TiO₂-free lines, including KT-7000 Synstar Metal Luster on a synthetic mica substrate.

Application Reference

Why Kolortek

We maintain an Iriodin Alternative Cross-Reference program that maps our grades directly against major industry benchmarks, shortening supplier-qualification time. Dual substrate platforms — natural mica and synthetic mica (fluorphlogopite) — let customers choose based on performance requirements, cost targets, or ethical sourcing preferences. All product lines are manufactured under strict heavy metal controls, and our ISO 9001:2015 quality system governs both production and sales. Synthetic mica grades carry REACH registration for fluorphlogopite; compliance confirmation for other grades is available on request per product.

Beyond the product range, our application team provides formulation guidance, custom color development, and OEM/ODM manufacturing support. Direct access to R&D means technical questions get answered by the people who developed the materials — not a general sales desk. We ship to formulators and coatings manufacturers in over 100 countries.