Williamsburg Iridescent & Interference Oils

Williamsburg Iridescent Colors are colorfast and permanent. We make these with ground mica so that even the "metallic" colors will not tarnish. There are some limitations inherent in the composition of these colors: in order to refract light and appear metallic or nacreous, the mica particles must not be ground too small. They should be almost like tiny crystalline prisms sparkling with glints of light. Because of this the paint has a semi-translucent quality - not the heavy covering power of aluminum radiator paint.

The interference colors are mica-based colors with certain properties that interfere with the normal prismatic qualities of mica so that certain colors are highlighted. Put simply, they look and act like a transparent pearl, but play with the light and throw off color with the most mysterious effects. We make these in Violet, Blue, Green and Red.

Imagine the colors that shoot out of a fire opal, except each color is isolated. For example, Interference Violet goes on like an almost colorless glaze but the violet "fire" picks up and reflects light, particularly on dark surfaces. These interference colors work best in glazes as they lose their opalescent sheen when mixed too much with other colors.