Linetec specializes in the application of specialty paints such as metallic and mica coatings.

Paints containing metallic pigment will show some variation in appearance caused by an extensive list of variables, some of which are uncontrollable. When selecting a metallic finish, color variation can be expected. Factors such as, but not limited to, humidity, temperature, film thickness, bake time and temperature on the substrate, application equipment, angle of presentation to spray equipment, air pressure, electrostatics, batch to batch variation, etc., all affect color consistency.

Sample chips will also vary from the actual production run. This is especially true when chips are being supplied by the paint vendor. Critical color matches should be prepared by the paint line on actual parts, duplicating those to be used on the project in question. To keep color consistency to a minimum, the following steps should be taken.       

Different viewing angles will also change the look of color on the material. This is due to the orientation of the metallic flakes within the coating. The flakes give the coating a depth of color that is visually appealing, but they also make color uniformity an impossibility.

The panels may appear very consistent in interior light, but appear non-uniform in exterior light next to other panels, at certain times of the day, or from a certain distance or viewing angle. This makes quality assurance on metallic coatings extremely difficult to judge especially when viewing one panel at a time, as is the case in the factory.