EDITORIAL INDEX
The rare colour index
Colour becomes rare for specific reasons: a scarce raw material, a difficult synthesis, a proprietary process, a regulatory restriction, or a production volume too small for ordinary distribution. This index groups genuinely scarce colour by family and states, in each case, whether the material can be obtained commercially.
COLOUR-SHIFT SYSTEMS
- YINMN BLUE
- ULTRA-BLACK COATINGS
- CANDY RED SYSTEMS
- GOLD & BRONZE EFFECTS
Rare blues
FOUR MECHANISMS, FOUR PRICES
YInMn Blue
Indium content and small production volumes set the price. Stable, NIR-reflective, industrially relevant.
SOURCING ENQUIRY
Natural ultramarine
Historically the most expensive pigment in Europe. Scarcity is in the purification, not just the stone.
SOURCING ENQUIRY
Azurite
A mineral blue that behaves differently in every binder. Conservation work still specifies it deliberately.
SOURCING ENQUIRY
Structural blue
Colour from interference rather than pigment. Proprietary as an OEM finish; the physics is general.
TECHNICAL REFERENCE
Extreme blacks & rare reds
REFLECTANCE AT ONE END, TOXICITY AT THE OTHER
Ultra-black coatings
The lowest-reflectance technologies are grown on a part, not sprayed. Very effective sprayable blacks do exist.
SOURCING ENQUIRY
Candy red systems
Depth comes from transparent layers over a reflective base — and from spraying every pass identically.
SOURCING ENQUIRY
Historical reds
Several are mercury or lead compounds. Discussed for identification; modern equivalents supplied instead.
PROFESSIONAL ENQUIRY
Gold & bronze effects
Metal-flake and coated-mica golds. Appearance depends far more on orientation than on the pigment alone.
SOURCING ENQUIRY
Colour that moves
ANGLE, TEMPERATURE AND LIGHT AS VARIABLES
Interference & iridescent
Thin-film platelets whose reinforced wavelength changes with viewing angle.
SOURCING ENQUIRY
Colour-shift systems
Multi-layer platelets producing a deliberate travel between two named hues.
SOURCING ENQUIRY
Thermochromic
Temperature-activated change. Switch point and cycle life must be specified, not assumed.
SOURCING ENQUIRY
Phosphorescent
Afterglow pigments where particle size trades brightness against surface finish.
SOURCING ENQUIRY
Working with a colour that is hard to obtain?
Send the reference, the substrate and the quantity. We will say what is obtainable and what should be substituted.