Candy vs Metallic paint

[BMC Tackle]

What is the difference between these two?

[ismaelg]

In a nutshell, you can think of a candy like some kind of a tinted clear. A candy is a translucent paint applied over an uniform base, usually silver or gold, while a metallic is a paint that has small metallic particles in it that reflect light like small mirrors. Metallics can usually go over primer and a color basecoat is not needed.

Pearls on the other hand are similar to metallics, but instead of having metallic particles, they use mica particles, which are translucent.

In a candy color, the light goes thru the candy coat and bounces on the base, while in a metallic, the light bounces against the color but the metallic particles act like small mirrors diverting light rays in different directions.

The common thing between them is that they usually need a clear top coat because sanding/polishing would distort the finish.

Solid colors are easy to touch up, metallics are a bit harder, pearls and candies are next to impossible.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,

[BMC Tackle]

Ismael,

Thanks for the great explanation. This clears up all of the questions I had with regards to these paints.