Leo Martínez
Mazda's iconic red paint is known as Soul Red Crystal, a vibrant and energetic colour with 20% greater colour saturation and 50% more depth than its predecessor. To achieve this lustrous finish, the cars are painted by hand in a three-step process that combines high-quality techniques and attention to detail. The paint contains extremely thin and uniformly sized aluminium flakes, with light-absorbing flakes that deepen the shade and bright ones that reflect light. This unique finish is the result of Mazda's advanced painting process called Takuminuri, which translates to artisan colouring. The process involves a three-layer structure with a clear, translucent, and reflective coat, resulting in a rich, high-quality paint that resembles the work of a master craftsman. Mazda's red paint has become a symbol of the brand, showcasing its commitment to both aesthetic excellence and environmental sustainability.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the paint | Soul Red Crystal |
| Other names | Soul Red, Artisan Red Premium |
| Process | Takuminuri |
| Process meaning | Artisan colouring |
| Number of layers | Three |
| First used | 2012 |
| Colour inspiration | Gemstones, freshly machined metal, red wines, lacquerware |
| Paint finish | Glossy, deep, lustrous |
| Paint technology | Aqua-tech |
| Paint type | Metallic |
| Paint chips | More noticeable than lighter colours |
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What You'll Learn
Mazda's Soul Red Crystal
The creation of Soul Red Crystal was a challenging process that required Mazda to reinvent the way cars are painted. The colour designer and master painter worked together to ensure the designer's colour choices were perfectly translated onto the cars. The paint is created using a three-layer wet paint system and Mazda's environmentally friendly Aqua-tech paint system. The base coat contains two types of aluminium flakes—light-absorbing flakes and bright flakes that reflect light. The translucent colour coat above contains high-chroma red pigments, allowing light to shine through them onto the aluminium flakes in the base layer, illuminating the surface with an intense red that gives the impression it radiates from within.
The process used to create Soul Red Crystal is called Takuminuri, which translates to "artisan colouring". This process enables Mazda to mass-produce very difficult paint finishes that previously could only be done by hand. Takuminuri involves using smaller metallic particles and a translucent colour layer before the clear coat, rather than the larger flakes and few layers used in standard metallic finishes. This technique is similar to the "kandy coat" colours of custom cars in the 1960s, where a layer of metal flake or pearl was sprayed over by a transparent colour.
Soul Red Crystal is available on all current Mazda models, including the 2023 Mazda3, CX-30, CX-5, CX-50, and Miata. While some owners have complained about the paint suffering from chips and dings, others have found that the paint holds up well in extreme environments.
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The Takuminuri process
Mazda's painting technology, Takuminuri, translates to "artisan colouring" and refers to four of Mazda's most dramatic colours: Soul Red Crystal, Machine Gray, Rhodium White Premium, and Artisan Red Premium. The name combines two Japanese terms: "Takumi", meaning "master craftsman", and "Nuri", meaning "paintwork".
The development of the Takuminuri process involved teaching painting robots to duplicate the techniques of Mazda's best craftsmen. This robotic painting process is emphasised in the distribution of coating thickness, allowing for the universal application of colour across Mazda's line of vehicles.
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Mazda's Artisan Red Premium
Artisan Red Premium, like Soul Red Crystal, is made up of three layers: a clear layer, a translucent paint layer, and a reflective/absorptive layer. The translucent paint layer uses a high-chroma pigment, which is perceived as the reddest of reds and is also used for the Soul Red Crystal. This layering technique results in a profound depth and richness, creating a high-contrast appearance that is both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally conscious.
The paint's metallic flakes in the first layer are extremely fine, measuring only 12 to 15 microns thick, which is barely visible to the human eye. This layer contains both metallic and light-absorbing particles, creating depth beneath the final candy top coat. The paint's inspiration comes from gemstones, freshly machined metal, red wines, and local lacquerware, resulting in shades that beautifully highlight the shape of the cars.
Artisan Red Premium is the fourth Takuminuri colour, a unique painting technology developed by Mazda that translates to "artisan colouring." It involves using smaller metallic flakes and a translucent colour layer before the clear coat, resulting in a smooth and deep finish. This process is similar to the "kandy coat" colours of custom cars in the 1960s and allows Mazda to mass-produce intricate paint finishes that were previously only achievable by hand.
Mazda has a long history with the colour red, dating back to the 1960 R360 Coupe, the first passenger car sold in Japan. Red holds a special significance in Japanese culture, symbolising strength and passion and featuring prominently on the country's national flag. Mazda's dedication to creating the perfect red led to the development of Soul Red Crystal, a challenging process that required reinventing the way cars are painted. The result is a paint with exceptional depth and reflectiveness, capturing the interplay of light and form.
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Mazda's paint technology
Mazda has a long history with the colour red. The Japanese manufacturer has been determined to create "the world's deepest and most beautiful red", which led to the development of Soul Red Crystal, available on all current models. The creation of Soul Red Crystal was a challenging process, requiring Mazda to reinvent the way cars are painted. The paint's depth and reflective quality are designed to capture the interplay of light and form.
Takuminuri enables Mazda to mass-produce paint finishes that previously could only be done by hand. The process is designed to enrich the Kodo designs with unique colours, giving Mazda cars a unique form of elegance. The name Takuminuri combines two Japanese terms: "takumi", meaning "master craftsman", and "nuri", meaning "paintwork".
Mazda's paint shop technologies are also focused on reducing their environmental footprint. They have transitioned from traditional solvent coatings to the Aqua-tech water-based painting technology, which emits fewer volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during manufacturing. This innovation earned Mazda the Japanese Prime Minister's Award for innovation in manufacturing and production in 2015.
In addition to Soul Red Crystal, other dramatic Takuminuri colours include Machine Gray, Rhodium White Premium, and Artisan Red Premium. These colours showcase Mazda's commitment to creating emotionally moving designs that highlight the beauty of their cars.
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The history of Mazda's red paint
Mazda has a long history with the colour red, dating back to the 1960 R360 Coupe, the first Mazda passenger car sold in Japan. In Japanese culture, red represents strength and passion and is used to illustrate the sun on the Japanese national flag. Mazda has always viewed cars as art and believes that paint colour is a key element of form. This belief led to the creation of the world's most beautiful red, the Soul Red Crystal, which is available on all current models.
The development of Soul Red Crystal was a challenging process that required Mazda to reinvent the way cars are painted. The colour designer and master painter worked together to ensure the designer's vision was perfectly translated onto the cars. The result was a lustrous finish that was initially achieved through hand painting. However, Mazda soon developed the exclusive Takuminuri technique, which allowed them to mass-produce this intricate finish. Takuminuri, which translates to "artisan colouring", involves using smaller metallic particles and a translucent colour layer before the clear coat. This process creates a unique reflective quality and depth of colour, giving Mazda cars a distinctive elegance.
The Takuminuri process was first used to develop the original Soul Red Metallic and Machine Gray paint colours in 2012. By combining the methods used to create these eye-catching colours, Mazda achieved the enchanting Soul Red Crystal. This colour highlights the interplay of light and form, creating a unique and emotionally moving appearance.
Over the years, Mazda has continuously refined the Takuminuri process, striving to fulfil its ambition to create "the world's deepest and most beautiful red". This has resulted in Soul Red Crystal's three-layer finish, which includes a base coat containing light-absorbing and reflective aluminium flakes, and a translucent colour coat with high-chroma red pigments. The light shining through the translucent coat onto the aluminium flakes creates an intense red that appears to radiate from within.
Mazda's red paint, known as Soul Red, has become a symbol of the brand and its current generation of cars. The deep, smooth colour is so associated with Mazda that the painting process has its own name, Takuminuri. This process, inspired by traditional Japanese lacquer work, has enabled Mazda to create unique and elegant colours that stand out from standard metallic finishes.
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Frequently asked questions
Mazda's signature red colour is called Soul Red Crystal. It was first used in 2012 and has become the symbol of Mazda's current generation.
Soul Red Crystal is the result of a three-step process that combines high-quality techniques and enhanced attention to detail. The paint features extremely thin and uniformly sized aluminium flakes. The consistency of the paint is enhanced, contributing to a uniform coat.
Soul Red Crystal was inspired by the red found in a mature wine made with the finest craftsmanship. The colour is designed to accentuate the beauty and strength of the car's form.
Soul Red Crystal is unique due to its translucent quality, which was previously unseen. The paint combines high-brightness aluminium flakes with light-absorbing flakes, resulting in a vivid red that is deep and lustrous.
