Reflective coating compositions containing glass beads, metal flake pigment and binder

Claim 1

A LIQUID REFLECTIVE COATING COMPOSITION OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED AND CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A MIXTURE OF FLUID THIXOTROPIC TRANSPARENT BEAD-BINDER VARNISH SOLUTION CONTAINING SUFFICIENT VOLATILE SOLVENT TO PRODUCE ADEQUATE COATING FLUIDITY AND THE FORMATION OF THE TYPE OF COATING HEREINAFTER SPECIFIED, TRANSPARENT GLASS BEADS HAVING A REFRACTIVE INDEX OF AT LEAST ABOUT 1.8 AND A DIAMETER IN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 25 TO 75 MICRONS, AND FINELY DIVIDED METAL FLAKE REFLECTIVE PIGMENT PARTICLES OF A SIZE SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE SIZE OF THE BEADS, THE WEIGHT PROPORTION OF SAID METAL PIGMENT BEING IN THE RANGE OF ONE PART TO ABOUT 5 TO 50 PARTS OF SAID GLASS BEADS AND THE GLASS BEADS BEING PRESENT IN A BEAD VOLUME CONCENTRATION IN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 40 TO 85%; THE INGREDIENTS AND PROPORTIONS BEING SUCH THAT UPON APPLICATION OF THE COATING COMPOSITION TO A BASE SURFACE THE GLASS BEADS FLOW OUT TO FORM A LENTICULAR VARNISH-BONDED MONOLAYER THEREOF WHEREIN THE METAL FLAKE PIGMENT PARTICLES BECOME POSITIONED SO AS TO OPTICALLY EXPOSE THE VARNISH-COATED FRONT SURFACES OF THE BEADS TO INCIDENT LIGHT RAYS AND SO AS TO PROVIDE THE BACK SURFACES OF THE BEADW WITH CONTIGUOUS CONCENTRIC METALLIC REFLECTORS, FORMING A BEADED REFLECTIVE COATING WHICH WHEN DRIED IS ALREADY INHERENTLY AND BRILLIANTLY REFLEX-REFLECTING.