Unlike Fire-Frost paints however, Firemist finishes contained no aluminium (or any other metal) and thus were not “metallic” paints, as they were erroneously described by copywriters in some period brochures.Ĭadillac offered customers five Firemist finishes for 1964: Saddle, Blue, Aquamarine, Green and Red. Like the aluminized polyester flakes, these were both refractive and reflective. 1964 Cadillac Eldorado in Firemist Aquamarineįiremist paints used titanium dioxide flashed translucent borosilicate glass flakes. Manufacturing the electro-deposition plated aluminized polyester flakes was quite expensive, and for 1964, GM switched from Fire-Frost to Firemist. Simultaneously the Cadillac division debuted not one, but five Fire-Frost Colors for ’63 Eldorados (optional on other models): Silver, Red, Green, Gold and Aquamarine. 1963 Cadillac Eldorado in Frost Red Fire-Frost Acting like tiny half-silvered mirrors, the flakes could both reflect and refract light, lending a soft iridescent glow and wider reflective chroma range than was possible with traditional opaque aluminium flakes. Instead of simple reflective aluminium flakes, the new Fire-Frost finish used transparent polyester flakes covered in a thin translucent layer of aluminium. 1963 Chervolet Corvette Sting Ray in Sebring Silver Fire-FrostĬhevrolet’s new Sting Ray, in addition to its dramatic space-age design and independent rear suspension, was available in Sebring Silver Fire-Frost at an $81 upcharge, the same price one would pay for the optional leather-trimmed seating. His fantasy would become reality just over a year later when GM’s 1963 models began appearing in showrooms. He wanted something more subtle than metallic, and with a more pearl-like spectral iridescence. Some people wanted more however and that included Bill Mitchell, GMs Styling Section Vice-President. Mitchell had been fascinated by the concept of an iridescent finish at least since 1961, when he oversaw development of the Corvette-based Mako Shark concept car. ![]() The result was metallic paints with nearly the same visual appeal as todays, lacking only the extra sheen and depth of a clear top coat. This provided increased reflectivity compared to earlier efforts. The then-new thermoplastic acrylic lacquers made an ideal showcase for metallic finishes as their low application viscosity allowed time for a majority of the aluminum flakes to align themselves relatively parallel to the surface before the paint began drying. Metallic automotive paint finishes, around since the 1920s, became extremely popular in the U.S. 1966 Cadillac Eldorado in Cobalt Firemist
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