BERLIN: Dream cars always glow jet black in advertisements — but anyone who wants their car to look that black should pay attention to little differences when ordering their lacquer finish.
That’s because only uni black can normally provide this effect, says lacquer and car care expert Christian Petzoldt.
Luckily uni black usually costs less than a metallic or pearl variant. That’s because every admixture of effect pigments reflects light — regardless of whether it's small mother-of-pearl particles for a pearling effect or pieces of metal for metallics.
“With a bit of distance, the car’s painted surface appears muddy grey,” says Petzold. “The particles are missing a bit of black the moment an effect pigment is there.”
Today, there is hardly any differences in terms of care and durability for uni varnishes. As is usually the case with metallic or pearl varnishes, uni varnishes are also protected with final coat of UV protection, meaning bleaching effects no longer occur.
Still, traces of mechanical damage are visible more quickly on deep black uni varnishes than on metallic varnishes. “Fine scratches are less clearly visible thanks to the fine metallic or mother-of-pearl pigments than with uni varnish,” says Petzoldt.
To help ensure uni black stays deep black for as long as possible, car owners should regularly renew the car’s paintwork preservation so they don’t need to resort to drastic measures in the future. They should also work with mild finishes and soft tools whenever possible so that fewer micro-scratches are left behind and less of the varnish is removed, says Petzoldt.
That’s because if you remove too much from the surface, you risk damaging the durability of the underling varnish coat. “And the entire layering of varnish is no thicker than a finger nail on a modern car,” says Petzoldt.
