Metallic paint

A finish paint colors that contain both pigment and small metallic flakes which reflect light. The opposite is solid paint. The flakes are often of different sizes. When the surface is viewed from different angles, the color shade seems to vary, since the flakes are all oriented at different angles in the paint and consequently reflect the light differently. Japanese motorcycles used a different size of flakes than was common in the USA. As a result, repainted tanks in the USA did not have the same "look".