Flip Flop Paint or Chameleon Paint?
Chameleon paint colors are also referred to as “Flip Flop Paint” or “Color Changing Paint”. That’s exactly what they do, flip flop between colors (or change colors with viewing angle).
How are they made?
Chameleon paints are created using a highly specialized pearl pigments. These pigments are made using either a base of mica or borosilicate. Titanium dioxide is added to achieve the colors you see. These pigments in their raw form are powder. They are then added to a carrier to be sprayed on the car.
How to apply chameleon paint
A chameleon paint job is a 3 stage process where, typically, a solid color base coat is sprayed first, then the chameleon layer is sprayed next and then the clear is sprayed last. Try using them over any other colors. Create your own! Dare to be different. Especially with those ‘ghost’ or clear chameleons. Being clear they allow your base color to shine through. Giving you another color to the flop.
- Spray your base coat
- Allow this base to dry for 20-30 minutes.
- Spray your chameleon coat
- Keep gun 6-12″ away from the panel
- Use 50% overlap like you would a base coat.
- Allow the chameleon coat to dry for 30-60 minutes.
- Spray your clear coat.
Isn’t flip-flop paint expensive?
Chameleon paint job costs used to be incredibly expensive. They still can be, depending on if it’s mica or borosilicate based.
Material Cost:
- Gallon of base coat – roughly $150+
- Gallon of chameleon paint – $350+
- 2 Gallons of reducer – $70+
- Gallon kit of clear coat – $190+
So in total you’re looking around $760 or more. Depends upon the base coat color, which type of flip flop paint you like, what type of clear you’re using & how big your vehicle (or motorcycle) is. You’ll spend more than this on just the base coat & pearl for most OEM colors.
Borosilicate vs Mica: Mica is naturally mined from the earth. While borosilicate is man made from silica & boron trioxide. This gives them the added color flop that you see, but also comes at a more expensive price. Our Unicorn pearls are made from a borosilicate base, while the traditional chameleon pearls are made using the mica base.
So the next time someone asks where to get the BEST flip flop paint, you can tell them flipfloppaint.com