Pearl pigments

Pearlescent pigments are different from metallic flakes in paints, which are called “metallic”
Before pearlescent pigments, the only way to get a beautiful sheen was to use very fine, thin metal flakes so that the light that hit them would be reflected by multiple mirror points, creating a metallic sheen. The metal flakes have an opaque gloss effect, which is obtained from the tiles located on the surface of the coating.
Like metal flakes, pearlescent pigments are made of very thin flakes (plates) of transparent mica coated with transparent metal oxides. Pearlescent pigments form their color through the interaction of light refraction. When a transparent or semi-transparent coating is used, the light penetrates through the pearl pigments and interacts with the adjacent tiles creating additional rays, whose sources are reflections, something that is not possible with metal flakes.
Pearlescent pigments form the color by interference between light rays reflecting at mirror angles from the top and bottom surfaces of the metal oxide layer. By changing the coating, colors such as gold, red, blue and green are obtained (see below). Pigments lose color intensity when viewing angles shift to non-specular angles. In addition, the second color is transmitted through the pigment tile, which is complementary to the reflected one.