Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd.

Takashi Shirokura

Hiroshi Itoh

Eiki Takeshima

Yuji Tanaka

Noriyuki Suzuki

Kaoru Gonoi

Koji Kuroyanagi

Disclosed are a pigment, a production process therefor, a production process therefor and for improving its weather resistance, and a metallic paint made therefrom. The pigment includes a transparent or semi-transparent scaly substrate, a TiO.sub.2 layer coated on an entire surface of the substrate, light absorbing portions formed on a surface of the TiO.sub.2 layer in a scattering manner and including low order oxides of titanium, and glossy portions formed on a surface of the TiO.sub.2 layer in a scattering manner and having a metallic glossy effect. The pigment produces a metallic glossy effect resulting from the glossy portions, strong interference colors resulting from the TiO.sub.2 layer and substance colors resulting from the light absorbing portions, and it exhibits a great covering power. Such an excellent pigment can be obtained by the production process in which sputtering is carried out onto a conventional pearl mica pigment, and its weather resistance can be improved by the production process in which chromium (III) hydroxide is repeatedly coated on a conventional pearl mica pigment before and after the sputtering. When the metallic paint is made from the pigment, it naturally has the metallic glossy effect, the strong interference colors, the substance colors and the great covering power all of which result from the pigment and is suitable for an automobile top coat paint.

Pigment and process for producing the same

Growing community of inventors

Ichikawa, Japan

Takashi Shirokura