When a candy paint job fades where does the color go? Nice red candy turns an orangish shade over time, a tangerine orange will turn to a shade of gold etc. Where does the dye go? Anybody know?

It doesn't "go" anywhere, it degrades. It is like rusting metal, it doesn't "leave", it changes.

For that matter, it happens with all paints, all pigments if you will. Plastic, even organic such as wood, it degrades and changes.

Bob, you are lucky. The first candy type job I did was a full custom mix with red as the candy color. It faded to pink rather than orange. I got a lot of ribbing from guys about my "oh sooo cuuute" motorcycle.

Paint does indeed degrade changing to a lighter color on the surface, same with plastics. But what I'm talking about is the fade of the candy color that is protected by the clear. The dye used in making the candy color actually dissapears gradually. If you mark something with a permanent marker then clear over it the same thing happens. The mark will usually dissapear within 60 days-with no paint degrade. I've often wondered what is the cause of this and have asked many "experts", some realize the same thing happens others don't but nobody has an answer. A complete mystery, haha :cool:

When I was a color matcher we tryed a new tint called carbazol violet.It was great for tinting off whites cause it would keep the color clean without having to add red, yellow and black.After sitting the violet would completely disappear,leaving my boss wandering if I was color-blind!!Nick-named it disappearing violet.
Mike

HaHa, see! you know what I'm talking about smile.gif

Saw a Chev Beretta painted white with Neon Pink splash graphics. Faded to a dull white in about 3 months.

some of the painting ive done with with "flat art" (portraits and such) some of the paints indicate on the tube or bottle if it is "light fast" and to what degree. some of the inks are very bright at first and fade very quikly. so this type of are work needs to be copyed very quickly to prints to retain the proper color shades. the light sort of a bleacs the pigments. candy colors are very light on pigments and my guess is they fade very fast like the inks. Dave

Bob, Whether the candy color is a pigment or a dye I don't know, but what's happening is due to poor light fastness of the colorant. All dyes and most brightly colored pigments are organic. These organic molecules will undergo molecular rearrangement upon prolonged exposure to UV light. When this happens, the color will shift in some other direction, or simply fade. Some organics are more light stable than others. Usually there are UV absorbers and light stabilizers added to these formulations to protect the colorants. If the colors are fading, it can be due to pigment or dye selction in the formulation, or the UV stabilizers are failing. Colorant light stability is a function of the inherent stability of the pigment/dye, and the UV stabilizer system (and concentration). I would expect either the colorants used are not light stable, and/or there was not enough UV stabilzer in the paint or clear coat.

Mike, carbazole violet has pretty good light stability compared to other organic pigments. It is used extensively in outdoor applications such as jet skis and such. But it still has to be protected from UV light by the use of UV stabilizers.

Kevin

Kevin , this stuff was disappearing in the bucket. I would match the color and when they went to run it on the coating machine a couple weeks later it was GONE!! This was nitrocelulose? lacquer. Mike

Mike, Not all pigments are OK for use in all polymer matrices. Are you sure it was nitrocellulose? (sometimes referred to as gun cotton, explosive). There is certainly the possibility of a reaction between the polymer substrate and the pigment that could have caused the pigment's color to disappear. My only experience with carbazole violet is in plastics such as polyolefins, styrenics, nylons, polyesters, and polycarbonates.