Metallic Pigments like Mica and Aluminum are what give metallic paint their shine. They are also clearly visible in a microscope! This video is a survey of a wide range of common paints. A microscope image is worth 1000 words, and we've got a whole lot of beautiful images to share :-)
A rough draft of this video was shown to several paint companies to make sure that there were no egregious errors in my understanding. I'm sure that I'm still missing some of the nuance, but we're on the right track! Massive Thanks to: Jason of Monument Hobbies Anne of Reaper MSP fame Bob and Peter at Two Thin Coats (Trans Atlantis Games) Greg at Turbodork Adam and Thomas at The Army Painter Alex Vallejo at Vallejo
*Disclosure- Many of the bottles of paint in this video (from ~5 different companies) were provided to me as sample stock at one point or another. I may have some lingering bias, but the microscope does not.
