

Candy apple red" paint has been used on many objects other than cars or trucks. This causes real candy apple red paint to look far more intense and attractive than conventional paints that happen to use the name "candy apple red" without actually being real candy apple red paint. Candy Apple Red appears so intense, because light passes through the paint, reflects off of the metallic base color, and passes through the paint a second time before we see the color. Once the candy apple red color reaches the proper appearance of depth and color intensity, multiple coats of clear paint are applied to protect the paint job and add to the feeling of depth of the paint. Many coats are required to achieve the proper appearance-of-depth and richness-of-color. This candy apple red paint is transparent. The candy apple red paint is applied on top of the reflective metallic paint. The key with this first metallic color layer is to reflect as much light as possible.

This is usually highly reflective silver paint, but the color effect can be modified by using metallic gold or other tinted metallic paint. Then a highly reflective metallic paint is applied first. After the body is properly prepared, primer is applied as usual. The "candy apple red" is not just the name of a color, it is also implies a specific paint process for cars and other objects: The phrase candy apple red, describes a very specific paint process first used on custom cars and hot rods sometime in the early 1950s (date not specified, per audio interview with Joe Bailon, candy apple red, inventor, In the candy apple red paint process, the body of the car or other object to be pained must be finished as perfectly as possible to avoid easily visible problems in the finished paint. Candy apple red is a popular color for car companies to manufacture automobiles in because "candy apple red" colored automobiles sell quickly.
