Metallic Paints Explained with a Microscope! Mica vs. Aluminum Pigments and Beyond.
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- čas přidán 25. 12. 2023
- Metallic Pigments like Mica and Aluminum are what give metallic paint their shine. They are also clearly visible in a microscope! This video is a survey of a wide range of common paints. A microscope image is worth 1000 words, and we've got a whole lot of beautiful images to share :-)
A rough draft of this video was shown to several paint companies to make sure that there were no egregious errors in my understanding. I'm sure that I'm still missing some of the nuance, but we're on the right track!
Massive Thanks to:
Jason of Monument Hobbies
Anne of Reaper MSP fame
Bob and Peter at Two Thin Coats (Trans Atlantis Games)
Greg at Turbodork
Adam and Thomas at The Army Painter
Alex Vallejo at Vallejo
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*Disclosure- Many of the bottles of paint in this video (from ~5 different companies) were provided to me as sample stock at one point or another. I may have some lingering bias, but the microscope does not.
A whole video on color shift paints would be fascinating.
Agreed! That'll come when I'm good and sure that I understand them :-)
@@GoobertownHobbiessweet
You'll have to explain it to us VERY slowly ! @@GoobertownHobbies
@@GoobertownHobbiesGolden Acrylics makes translucent colour shift paints, green iridescent, blue iridescent and more. They work best over dark basecoats. They are not designed for miniature painting per se, but it would be really cool to see what they look like under the microscope.
Edited for spelling.
I've suspected that they use flakes with a dichroic coating. (The flakes could be mica, but they're just a vehicle for the coating. So, they could use something else, if it's more convenient for manufacturing.) The flakes would need align as the paint dried, which would be easier with bigger flakes. The one bottle of color shift paint I have doesn't color-shift until it's dry, and it has a glittery appearance when wet. So, that supports the idea that it's using dichroic flakes.
I guess you could also have a small concentration of pigment in one color and a large concentration of dye (or colored mica) in another color. Front-lit, you'd see the pigment more, and back-lit you'd see the dye more. That also tracks with the paint I have, since the color shift is really only perceptible when back-lit.
As a geologist who both teaches mineralogy and who paints Warhammer minis, I absolutely love this
Oh hello there! I was worried that somebody who remembered that chapter of the textbook better than me was gonna come in here and tell me it was all wrong hehehehe :-)
Another geologist - mineralogy specialist here. Seconding this. Fantastic video!
There's so many of us!
@@christopherschlegel6412 you too!!?? :-)
@@GoobertownHobbies I always appreciate your science videos! I refer to your video on the chemistry of two-part epoxy when teaching my students how to use epoxy for making microscope slides of rocks
I don't know if it's your prestige in the mini-painting community or Vallejo's approachability, but I love how casual it was for you to just give "Mr. Vallejo" a ring!
The folks I talked to at the other 5 companies were all big-wigs too! It's a nice little hobby community we have goin here :-)
I love these science based videos! They really help me wrap my brain around certain paint preferences I have.
thanks for watchin! I'm still digesting, but yeah, seeing our paints like this is definitely useful. :-)
Legitimatley wonderful video from top to bottom. You know how much I love metal paints and this was wonderful information.
Hey Vince! Oh I know you love you some metals! I was planning to ping you later today, I have exactly 18 slides that you might be interested in seeing...
Goobertown + Science = Pure Gold! 🥇💯🎉
I'm a traditional non-minature painter, and have been finding your hobby science videos really informative and interesting.
pigment/binder Videos like these and the brush microscopy are fantastic even if it isn't exactly the same as my acyrilics and oils.
I love your approach in these videos. No hearsay or head canon. lots of data and lots of nuance. Exactly the type of content that moves our understanding and the hobby forward in the right direction.
Thanks! I'm tryin, I'm tryin! :-)
As a fellow trained scientist, I love how you have been able to apply your expertise to topics like this. I feel like you would make an absolutely amazing professor of just about any topic you set your mind to. Thanks for all of your hard work on these videos, and for always keeping things positive. It really helps.
Hey thanks! It's fun when our skillsets come in handy :-)
I loved the disclaimer at the end to clarify what this study was and what it was not. You can get the scientist out of academia - but you can`t get scientific thinking out of the scientist @@GoobertownHobbies. One thing I`m curious about: did you notice a difference in metal flake clustering whether paint pots where rested/shaken/vibrated before sample taking?
oh yeah, gotta have a disclaimer! ;-) I did my best to shake the paints well, and I only made one slide from each bottle, so I don't have any good data for you on this!@@shaelas
And this is another topic idea - the effect shaking has on paint (pigment dispersion?) under the microscope - by hand, vortex mixer, nail art shaker thing and possibly even the DIY rig for a jigsaw . . .
If only paint manufacturers marketed their products like this. It's so nice to see these up close.
I think this'll be a standard part of how I "review" paints in the future, hopefully it catches on! :-)
it's a double-edged sword. for some consumers it's interesting to know, but i think it would become too easy for marketers to reinforce ideas like "aluminium metallics are *better* than mica metallics" (which is difficult to argue against, because it _can_ be true that aluminium metallics are better than mica, depending on the effect you're trying to achieve; but it isn't anywhere close to the whole picture. statements like "aluminium metallics are better in certain applications and also the pigment and binder are important to consider, too; mica metallics can be better in other applications" are not really conducive to marketing and would struggle to be heard over the more simplistic messages, even if they happen to be more true/accurate)
As well as the color-shift, I'd love to see a look at chrome paints, especially the difference between enamels and acrylics.
noted, thanks!! :-)
@@GoobertownHobbies i hope you give alclad chrome a try. Apparently they achieve their chrome effect from a microscopic interlocking lattice mesh which is very delicate (easily disrupted by certain types of clear). I'd love to see how buffing metallics look under the microscope too :)
Also interested to know how the molotow chrome works
Love to see how Molotow liquid chrome and Tamiya metallic paints work.
This was pretty cool to see! Good to know that the aluminum vs. mica doesn't automatically mean that you'll end up with a better metallic.
probably more opaque... but not necessarily better! :-)
"I went down to my creepy basement", brilliant.
that book was hiding in the last creepy box I opened!
@@GoobertownHobbiesI hope you brought the kobold librarians a hot chocolate each. They work hard to keep your basement creepy, and the pay is terrible.
The Bill Nye of our hobby.
Seriously, this is a fantastic look our some of our everyday tools and materials and a BIG reason I love your channel. The color shift video would be cool to see. One of the things that would be interesting to understand is the combo of base coat to pigment in a metallic suspension. Possibly to color match as closely those to layers. For those with clear suspension bases an interesting test would be base coat effect on the metallic look.
Thanks! and good ideas :-)
I loved Optical Mineralogy in college! Try illuminating the opaque materials from the top (at an angle less than 90) rather than the bottom, and you should be able to see the native color of the material.
good call! I haven't pushed the limits on this microscope yet. It has 3 lenses- some of them DO work with top illumination, but I'm not sure if this highest-zoom one does or not! :-)
I took optical mineralogy as well. Would love to see what these look like through a petrographic microscope
ALL of the images surprised me because I knew nothing about how metallic paints were made and coloured. FANTASTIC video ❤ thank you
It was all pretty surprising to me too- but in a good way! This was neat, I'm glad you liked it :-)
You’re such a nerd! I love it! As an engineer, I love these videos. Thanks!
hehehe, I love 'em too! thanks for watchin :-)
Hi Brent! I am a historical modeller but I get a lot out of your videos. This one is especially helpful. Now that I know what's in these metallics and how they work I can make much better decisions on simulating unpainted aircraft. Much appreciated!
Heck yeah! Knowledge is power :-)
I always assumed that aluminium based metallic paints generally was the worse, I just assumed that the metal pigments was heavier then mica, therefore they ran around all over the place, pooled up etc, but guess the binder plays a much bigger role on this, microscopic scale we use it. The more you know!
Great video!
I looked it up, mica and aluminum have similar density ~3. I think the surface chemistry of mica makes it easier to suspend in paint medium than aluminum though. You definitely need to mix many of the aluminum-based metallic paints more frequently, and that can be a bit annoying. and yup, the more you know! :-)
There are a lot of decades old misconceptions and superstitions that fly around in the hobby as common wisdom. Another example is gloss/matte varnish. Many people believe it's prudent to gloss varnish your mini first and then matte varnish it, they believe that when you start to see glossy reflections on your miniatiure it means that last coat of matte varnish is going down and it's time to revarnish. Thing is that what most of them see is not gloss undercoat, but sebum and oils from your skin gathering on miniature. We can go on and on with myths in mini painting hobby and how even revered celebrities are spreading them.
Goobs is the Bill Nye of mini painting and I love this type of content
Definitely an enlightening video. I've know for years that aluminum-based metallics provided better coverage, but I always assumed that it was only the cheaper brands that used mica.
right? I think that was the common perception in our hobby... but it's only partially true! :-)
@@GoobertownHobbiesas you mentioned, each have their specific applications where they outshine (pun intended) the other.
We've been told by pro painters that mica was cheap & aluminium was far superior. This shows that that is truly not the case. Thanks again.
I think aluminum IS a bit more expensive... but clearly that's not the critical factor. A lot of information in our hobby is just "chicken soup" level wisdom, it's always nice to be able to look at it in a new way! :-)@@Robgumby
I love this level of nerdiness, my dude. Props for the mineralogy textbook. Don't kill me.
Hobby Science content takes me back to the glee I felt back in elementary school when a teacher rolled in the CRT and the Eyewitness theme played followed by Martin Sheen narration
10/10 content 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
hehehehe, ahhh, the TV cart :-) My favorite was David Attenborough talking about coconut crabs.
Such a fun hobby experiment! I really enjoy the science behind things even if I don't always understand it. Its fascinating.
My 4 year old Isaac watched this with me and he says "hi!" Thanks for doing educational stuff like this, he's just at the age where I can share an interest in science with him.
Hi, Isaac! :-) I'm glad you're able to share this stuff as a family :-)
Thank you Brent! This analysis gave very good input on metallic paints! Based on reviews of various youtubers and my own (limited) experience combined with your slides, I'd say that the following criteria at least are important for a "good" metallic paint:
- Small particle size
- Small particle size distribution
There must be a binder related issue why Vallejo Liquid Gold only works with the alcohol base, because that one seems to be the gold standard (sorry for the pun) for gold. It would be cool, if they managed that same gold colour with the metal color series binders.
I love these type of videos from you Brent, using your background in chemistry and science to give some extra knowledge to us in the hobby. That doesn't mean that I dislike the reat of your videos. I just like these a little more.
Hehehe, thanks! I agree, I love spreading the science / tech info whenever I find something worth sharing, I'm glad you enjoy them!! :-)
I’m so glad you bought that microscope. Was really surprised how the slides looked different and similar at the same time. Fascinating
Some things aren't very neat under this microscope... but it turns out that metallic paints are VERY neat! :-)
Interested if there are structural differences in 3D prints that show up under a microscope
These hobby science videos are honestly the most interesting videos around. Thank you Brent!
That's awesome to hear, thank you! I'll keep tryin to find neat stuff to share :-)
This is why i subscribed and turned on notifications. Brett, you're brilliant at your approach and delivery. Thank you for all you do for the hobbies. (And cuz cats made me sub too 🐈)
awww, thanks!!! I'm glad this stuff is useful to ya :-)
I have no use for this information. But it is probably one of the most enjoyable hobby videos I've watched in ages. I didn't realise how much I wanted to see this video until I had.
Great work
Hehehe, that's awesome to hear! Hope you're having a good one :-)
Brilliant!! It's quite clear that the quality of the paint is reflected in the size of the metalic component. Like Pro Acryl is generally persived as high end, they use Mica but the fragments are tiny. While poor paints have large chunks. Cool all round. Two thin coats look surpringly good....
Two thin coats has a pretty good reputation for their metallics. I haven't been using them a ton, but I might use them more in the future! I did notice a few of the TTC paints had some larger aggregations of aluminum particles, and I'm still mulling that over.
Hey, thanks for making videos! I started my hobby journey about two years ago, and your channel has been so helpful. I have been steadily improving thanks to your help. I even managed to impress my D&D friends and convinced them to have a paint day, and now they're hooked on slapchop lol. Just wanted to thank you for all your work, I really appreciate it.
That's awesome!! Thanks for doing your part to spread this awesome hobby- I hope you're having a great day :-)
I’ve always liked your scientific reviews it’s nice to have something deeper than a “blah, blah, blah…kinda like…” explanation.
But also, painting in boats…catching fish with a space marine…
You make good content sir.
Funny and informative.
Too cold on the lake right now, gotta stay inside with my science! ;-) Thanks for watchin, I'm glad that you like this stuff!!!
This is so cool. I love that you thought of putting these paints under the microscope and just investigate. You mentioned color-shift paints and yes, we all want that video.
Oh yeah, the color shift pigments are BEAUTIFUL under the microscope. Once I'm confident that I can accurately explain how they work I'll start workin on that vid too! :-)
The pigment size/homogeneity of sizes has a huge range. No wonder some metallics feel better than others.
Yup! I'm not sure if the feel is entirely dependent on grain size, but it probably does have an impact.
Oh come on! Science and art sharing equal space in an amazing video? Why has Brent not been nominated for a Nobel yet?! Keep these coming man! Genius format! How about a video on texture paints?
texture paints are just glue and sand... but crackle paints might be kinda cool! :-)
That sounds fantastic! Keep ‘em coming and thank you for putting this videos together! I appreciate all your hard work!
now this is something you dont see often
for who else could share such knowledge
Anyone with a microscope can acquire this knowledge! I'm glad I thought to do it though, this was fun ;-)
Awesome video! Your work is a gift to the hobby community. I learned a lot about paints when I got my degree in fine art. But the hobby space seemed like it was barely aware of painting fundamentals. Things have changed a lot in the last decade. Now I’m excited to share this video with fellow fine art painters!!
Hey thanks, Sean! :-) we're tryin!
Our hobby circulates alot of misinformation and unfounded assumptions. I love to see these videos on the opposite end of the spectrum. Keep up the great work exploring the frontier of hobby science!
I'm tryin, I'm tryin! I'm glad these are useful, thanks for watchin!!! :-)
hurray science! Thanks for this dive into metallic paints!
thanks for watchin! :-)
Brent, i Love this type of video! When you embrace your inner Nerd, we all get to live vicariously through you! Cant help but feel, some type of way! Thanks for being one of a kind, in the hobby we all love!
hehehe, isn't it fun!? :-)
@@GoobertownHobbies ya man, i love your content. you mix up youtube, like nobody else can! hope to meet you one day, and shake the hand of the one, and only GOOBER!
I have been champing at the bit for this episode since you mentioned this investigation on Paint Bravely the Podcast.
Thanks for uploading!
me too! I was surprised at good the images turned out for some of these :-)
This video males me understand why i like some metallics for basecoats and others not at all, while my preferences for highlighting smoothish blends are pretty much flipped in reverse! Its all due to the aluminum vs mica! What used to be a mystery to me, now makes perfect sense!😎
Thanks for this great video👍
Nice! I'm glad this is snapping into place for you! Knowledge is power :-)
Awesomesauce! My mom is a BioChemist, and my Fine Arts college thesis is about the chemical elements… so I always enjoy your videos Brent! 💙🎨🎨🎨
that's awesome! You never know when that stuff might come in handy :-)
@@GoobertownHobbies Almost always handy! 😊🎨🎨🎨
I appreciate your callout about limiting quant analysis. Easy to assume that because this data exists we can build on it, but it's a trap of the worst kind. Thanks for making an excellent video on a perspective I didn't know I wanted!
The scope and scale of any project in this channel is simply eye-opening o_o !!
hehehe, I'm tryin! :-)
I love the scientific videos every now and then. Helps me feel a little more grown up not watching game videos all the time.
hehehehe, happy to help! :-)
I love when you get technical!
It never stops to amaze me how much science we put into our hobby and hobby products we use or create.
Oh yeah, there's much to learn! :-)
Knocked another one out of the park! This video was already great, and then you dropped one of my dusty boys in there. ❤
so dusty, yet so shiny! :-)
The science behind the hobby is just fascinating! Keep making these kinds of videos, Brent! Well done!
Oh. Yes. 🤩 I really love your scientific hobby videos!
I knew you'd like it! thanks for stopin by :-)
@GoobertownHobbies Thank you for the consistently great content 👍 I think you should collect all your scientific hobby findings in a book!
Fantastic video Brent! What a cool way to show the difference in binders combined with either aluminum or Micah. I would've never known what was there under the microscope so thanks for the video.😃
Gosh this is SO DANG NEAT. I'd love to see more stuff like this from you. The composition of paints is fascinating. Also, kitty guest star!
Bret I love it when you take your unique background and experience to the hobby with videos like these!
Keep it up, always a pleasure to see what you produce
hey thanks for watchin!! I'll keep makin 'em :-)
Hey Brent been a long time watcher since the airbrushing acrylic inks some 4 years ago. I just wanted say I really appreciate your scientific perspective on the mini painting/war gaming hobby. Love these more scientific videos hope to see more and thanks for the great content through the years and being a supportive and welcoming person to newcomers and vets alike!
Brent really getting his money's worth out of that microscope. And I am here for it.
hehehehe, this thing is FUN! :-)
Utterly, utterly love your hobby science videos, this was very interesting :D
hehehe, thanks for watchin!! :-)
Thank you Brent, this is the video I have been waiting for for very long time!
pretty neat, eh? :-)
This answered a lot of hunches I had as for which paints were made with what material so thanks!
glad to hear it!
Well done Brent 👍🏼 Shows how true of a scientist you are at heart 🙂
This content is very very informative !
hey thanks! yep this is the kinda stuff that I love hehehe :-)
The science behindbour hobby videos that you do are some of my favorites!
hey thanks- me too! :-)
Goobertown, I really appreciate your perspective on hobbying. You have some interesting education & apply it as a pure hobbyist rather than as a wargamer. You have a genuine curiosity & share the results of your findings, with no clear bias to undo. Thanks for what you do, & thanks for the dowel recommendation.. they’re working great!
aww thanks, that means a lot! I'm gonna keep making stuff like this whenever I figure out something neat to share :-)
What a fun video! In particular the throwback to the first chapter of every microscopy class! (Its one of the things I've found charming in textbooks, they repeatedly hit that core basics) Wherein you hit the sweet spot of How Microscope Works for someone who knows or remembers nothing and speedy enough that its not a drag. Elegantly done.
And the way you describe the magnification is such a lovely and thoughtful way of managing mystery screen sizes!
And, dang that IS an inexpensive microscope - good find!
Microscopy is fun! The manual for the microscope says that lens gives a ~2000x zoom if you're on a 28 inch screen and if you're using a 3x optical zoom.... It's easier just to stick a ruler under the scope and see what the width is :-)
Love these chemistry videos! One idea I would love to see that seems relevant is the science of dyes, and about getting dyes to hold (mordants/fixatives)
I love these videos. Getting a window into "why" and "how" our hobby products actually function is so cool!
I appreciate you!! :-)
Great work, Brent! You have such a great niche in the CZcams community, bringing the science forward in the hobby. I hope you keep up the great work.
Thanks! I'm gonna keep workin at it :-)
The best metallic paints I've ever used are the Vallejo Metal Color line. From this pics they seem to have the finest aluminum particles out of the bunch. This would explain, its amazing coverage, flow and shine, However, it also explains why it splits so quickly. Absolutely geat stuff.
yupyup! some things are starting to make sense :-)
That was interesting to see one component of how different paints are built. Keep up the good work!
it's fascinating stuff! thanks for checking it out :-)
I have a feeling we will be seeing GooberTown paints sometime in the future. It will the most perfect mini paint ever created.
Hahaha, only if I actually find an innovation. There are already lots of really great paints on the market! Thanks for the confidence though hehehehe :-)
@@GoobertownHobbies
I got you.
Nanobot paint. It paints the mini for you 🤣.
Minis and Science. Brent, you do deliver 🎉 Awesome!
Absolutely fascinating video. I’ve never seen a video like this before. 10/10 content.
hey thanks for checking it out! :-)
Superb work Mr Goober.
Amazing insights into the hobby. Keep up the great work.
Thanks Brent! Another educational and FASCINATING video. Top quality as usual.
YAY SCIENCE!!! Thank you for this video, Brent! So interesting and cool.
This was a great video, I really enjoy your work dude. Excited to see more!
hey thanks! :-)
This was so coooool. I hope for many more microscope vids
Hehehehe, i'll keep looking for fun stuff in the micro-realm! :-)
@@GoobertownHobbies Thing I learned? Most things are fun in a microscope. Like the patterns that form in glues as they dry
Interesting as always.Thanks Goobs!
Very interesting video. Thanks! That explains why you should not mix any water into liquid gold...
i hope you give alclad chrome a try. Apparently they achieve their chrome effect from a microscopic interlocking lattice mesh which is very delicate (easily disrupted by certain types of clear). I'd love to see how buffing metallics look under the microscope too :)
Super interesting! I like learning stuff. Thanks Brent for taking the time to do all this!
glad you learned something! Thanks for watchin :-)
I love when you get your geek on, Brent! Happy holidays!
Happy Holidays!!! :-)
What a great vid, thank you. The scientist in you shone through. I love the informative vids you make. I try to learn something new each day and today it was what goes into metallic paints. One thing off todays to do list.
hahaha, that's a good day right there! :-)
this is an amazing analysis and so useful for the mini painting community
Fantastic video dude!
This was very insightful. Thanks
I love these videos, as I know you do your best to be factual, and that allows me to really consider what your results were. Thanks for all you do. Love this channel.
Hey thanks! If you keep watchin 'em I'll keep making them! :-)
very informative, fun to learn these things about our hobby, But the most important thing about this video: cat cameos!
those sneaky little buggers!! :-)
@@GoobertownHobbiesthey just have to supervise to ensure that we are doing things correctly.
Brent, dude! You just keep raising the bar for awesome, interesting videos. This microscope is just the gift that keeps on giving for us all! Great job dude! 🤘🤘
hehehehe, microscopes are fun!!! :-)
You do some of the coolest content out there! Thank you!
oh hey thanks for watchin!!! :-)
I love this channel so much. Goobertown is the new age version of bob ross. With science!
This was a very interesting video. I always enjoy the way you talk about science. I also enjoyed the videos you made about resins and their molecular structure.
The smaller the mica/aluminum powder, the better the paint works through an airbrush.
Also, cat cameos always make me smile. I grew up with cats, but my current hobby space makes my apartment unsafe to own a cat, so i have been without a cat for almost 20 years.
Great work Brent! Very informative.
Wow, this is fascinating! I'll be looking at metallic paints in a different way from now on.
I love this type of content. Keep it up. Hope to see more from you about artists paint pigments.
Amazing video. High quality analysis. Lovely Button ❤😂
Amazing genuine research!