Rhodium White Premium – New Special Body Colour Developed by Mazda
Rhodium White Premium – New Special Body Colour Developed by Mazda
A new colour for Large Product Group delivered by Mazda’s unique TAKUMINURI painting technology
HIROSHIMA, Japan - Mazda Motor Corporation today announced the introduction of the new Rhodium White Premium, a special paint colour born from Mazda’s unique TAKUMINURI*1 painting technology. This new colour will be introduced with the launch of the all-new Mazda CX-60*2, the first of Mazda’s Large Product group models.
Mazda believes colour is a crucial part of what gives shape to a vehicle, and thus have focused efforts on developing colours that accentuate a dynamic and delicate expression via the Kodo - Soul of Motion design theme. Rhodium White Premium is a pure white inspired by Japanese aesthetics finding beauty in simplicity and the absence of superfluous elements. Furthermore, the paint’s fine grain accentuates the shadows on the surface of the vehicle complimenting the metallic texture of Rhodium White Premium.
Rhodium White Premium
With the development of Rhodium White Premium, Mazda was able to take TAKUMINURI to new heights, successfully mass producing an expressive colour using only three layers: a clear layer, a reflective layer and a colour layer. The colour layer provides a newly developed white pigment that delivers a silky smooth, fine-grain white. As standard practice with white coloured paints, the undercoat tends to show through, and the clear coat is generally thicker than for other colours. However, Rhodium White Premium uses a newly developed pigment which enabled the reduction of the thickness of the colour layer by up to 30%*3. This also contributes to more efficient use of resources and a reduction of CO2 emissions during the production process.
For the reflective layer, paint containing ultra-thin, high luminance aluminium flakes is applied meticulously to achieve a uniform thickness, which then dramatically shrinks in volume during the drying process. Resulting in an extremely thin reflective layer of approximately 0.5 microns or about 7% of the thickness of a typical reflective layer.
Moreover, a hand-painted like finish was achieved with the aluminium flakes smoothly aligned at regular intervals in the reflective layer*4. The entire surface gleams when exposed to light and displays a realistic metallic texture. Individual aluminium flakes are distributed evenly and parallel to the undulations of the body surface, producing a glossy and shaded appearance when hit by light despite the bright white colour of Rhodium White Premium.
Rhodium White Premium Paint Layer Structure
Mazda believes colour to be a key component of any vehicle and will continue to pursue new colour expressions and painting technologies to enhance the attractiveness of our products, aiming to become a brand that shares a special bond with its customers.
*1 Mazda’s painting technology that reproduces a precise, high-quality paint finish as if done by the hands of a skilled craftsman on an automobile mass production line. The new colour is the third of such colours following Soul Red Crystal and Machine Grey Premium.
*2 Available in Europe this summer and early fall in Japan and in 2023 for NZ
*3 Compared to Snowflake White Pearl Mica
*4 The same technique used in Machine Grey Premium