Red is a very distinctive symbol for the Chinese people. From ancient times, ancestors worshiped the sun, fire and blood, the Zhou Dynasty praised the virtue of fire, and Confucius in the Western Han Dynasty called red the color of elegance. In the Ming Dynasty, red was associated with the continuation of life, so weddings, births and other happy events were all done in red. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, red symbolized revolution, victory and progress. To this day, in the minds of Chinese people, red is a color full of vitality, symbolizing hope, solemnity, victory and luck. It seems that this color has taken root in the hearts of every Chinese person.
Mazda Red is Unique and the Birth of Soul Red
Chinese people have a unique love for the color red. Who do you think of first when you think of a red car? Apart from Ferrari, the brand that can handle red car paint is Mazda, which is loved by Chinese people. Mazda also has a unique plot for red, including the red-bodied Familia, MX-5, RX-8 and second-generation Mazda8. Mazda has launched red models at every important historical node. MX-5RX-8
The rotary engine concept car RX-Evolv was released at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in 2000. Red is the limited color of the concept car - Vermillion Japonesque (Japanese vermillion paint red), which symbolizes red. Adhering to Japanese product manufacturing concepts. The color of the concept car not only relies on the skills and inspiration of senior technicians, but can also be created using special materials and spending a lot of man-hours. Mass-produced cars, on the other hand, can only use limited materials and must consider the constraints of the mass-production process. Therefore, it is not only necessary to achieve the desired color and gradation effects, but also to ensure the quality of the final product. In order to realize mass production applications, designers screened and matched from countless option combinations around hue, brightness, material particles, and the arrangement of aluminum powder. Finally mastered the painting process of Soul Red Metallic Paint. In 2003, the legendary model Mazda 6 came to China. At that time, whoever could drive a red Mazda 6 would be more beautiful than today's BMW. The wedding car fleet composed of red Mazda 6 was also pursued by many newlyweds at that time. With its evergreen appearance and absolutely representative red paint, Mazda6 has written its glorious history in the Chinese auto market. For those born in the 1980s and 1990s, it is both a generational sentiment and a generational classic. The first-generation Mazda 6
The "Painter" process - the secret of ultimate craftsmanship
For a long time, Mazda's "Soul Red" has been proud of the majority of car fans. The reason is simply that the car paint is bright and vivid under strong light, but thick and thick under low light. The light is intense and the darkness is deep. Mazda officially calls it the "Takuma" process, and the secret to why the car paint can produce such an effect is hidden in three layers of coating with different functions. There are three steps to car painting: primer, which is used to prevent rust; color paint, which brings the color; and clear coat, which is on top. We can understand varnish as a mobile phone film. We all choose high-definition films for mobile phone films, and the same is true for varnish. The focus of Mazda's Soul Red lies in this layer of varnish. They replaced the high-definition film (colorless varnish) with a blue-light film (high-saturation red varnish). It is easy to understand that it is a film on a mobile phone.
Ordinary three-layer pearl paint coating is to overlap and spray the reflective layer on the solid color paint, while Soul Red is exactly the opposite of this. Mazda's R&D team designed a new coating structure: ①The "reflective layer" consists of a metallic red primer and regularly arranged aluminum powder coating
②The "transparent layer" consists of translucent red Composition of primary color coating
③ Spray a layer of transparent coating on the top layer of the "transparent layer" between the steel plate and the transparent layer (varnish) to separate two colored layers - the transmission layer and the reflective layer. The transparent layer is made of transparent primary color paint, and the reflective layer is made of metallic paint containing aluminum powder. Both the transmissive and reflective layers contain red paint.
In this way, after the light is reflected by the first layer of aluminum powder, it will emit bright colors on the second layer of paint; when there is no light reflection, the colors of the first and second layers overlap. , At this time, the perception to our naked eyes is a bright red with metallic luster, and we can even vaguely see metallic fluorescence, showing a deeper color.
Usually, natural light hits the car body. Generally speaking, the upper part of the vehicle is a high-light part and receives relatively strong light. The lower part and sides of the vehicle are low-light parts and receives relatively weak light. The light in the high-gloss part will penetrate the transparent layer, hit the aluminum powder of the reflective layer, and then be reflected. The light intensity of the low-gloss part is weak and will not be reflected easily after hitting the reflective layer, so the metallic luster will not be there. However, the red color shown in the low-light part of the car body is largely due to the superposition of two layers of highly saturated paint, the transmissive layer and the reflective layer. It gives our naked eyes a deeper, darker, and even "blood-red" feeling. . The biggest advantage of this coating is that as the light changes in different environments, the color expression of the car body will also change. This is the origin of the word "soul movement". As for whether it is an exclusive technology, Mazda probably did not apply for a patent. It just said that in order to achieve Soul Red, it exclusively created the three-wet spray process (2002) and high-dispersion coating technology (2009). Personally, I feel that it is not technically difficult to create this kind of light and shadow effect. It is just a question of whether car companies are willing to spend this cost and pass it on to the terminal selling price.
Anyone who knows the second-hand car market knows that in fact, cars with red paint have never been very popular in the second-hand car market. The most popular ones are black and white cars. Red is obviously more wealthy. Why is individuality unpopular?
First of all, ordinary families still buy cars based on practicality and not too much pursuit of fashion and individuality. If the vehicle encounters a collision or friction, it is easier and more convenient to touch up the paint in mainstream colors such as black and white compared to red models. Secondly, the number of consumers of mainstream color vehicles in the overall market is much higher than that of red vehicles. Among them, white vehicles have the largest consumer group and the best sales. Red vehicles are relatively niche in comparison. Compared with other mainstream color vehicles, It is also more difficult to sell second-hand red cars, and red cars are more expensive than mainstream colors. Therefore, if everyone does not want to deliberately pursue personalization, they should choose red cars carefully.
Mazda’s red is an exception. Red is basically the representative color of all Mazda models. For Mazda, red is a classic, and for the Chinese, red is also a belief. Some Mazda car owners will ridicule their Soul Red as "bastard red". Not only does the red car cost an additional 2,000 yuan when purchasing, but some models even cost an additional 3,000 yuan, and once the car paint is scratched, due to the painting process requirements of Soul Red Very high, the price of touch-up paint is expensive, and many repair shops and even 4S shops are unable to restore it to its original appearance. This does seem a bit "badass" (hahaha). It really makes people love and hate it, but today, when the demand for personalization is so strong, who doesn’t admire a company that is willing to spend time researching craftsmanship and has the courage to transfer this to the terminal selling price? Look back at your soulful red. Cars will once again ignite the passion of the Chinese people. A new generation of Atez
If it were you, how would you choose?