Why Spray Coating Changes Your Silicone Color (And How to Control It)
Color matching a silicone part to a plastic housing is tricky enough. Add a spray coating step, and it gets even harder.
We recently worked on a silicone sleeve for a speaker accessory. The customer sent us a silicone sample, and we matched the color. Then their plastic housing was re-produced—with a slight color shift. They shipped us the new housing, we sent it to our pigment supplier, and re-sampled. The match was close. Very close. (Chicarubber)
Then we applied the anti-dust spray coating and printed the characters. Two production steps later, the color had shifted again.
Why Spray Coating Affects Color
The anti-dust oil isn’t perfectly transparent. It adds a thin layer on top of the silicone, and that layer changes how light reflects off the surface. A thicker coating = more color shift. A thinner coating = less.
We adjusted by thinning the anti-dust oil and improving its transparency. The color difference shrank. After two rounds of tuning, the customer was satisfied and pushed for production.
What We Learned
If your silicone part needs spray coating—whether for anti-dust, texture, or protection—don’t match color based on the raw silicone alone. The coating is part of the final appearance.
Here’s what to do instead:
- Account for the coating during initial color matching. Adjust the oil’s thickness and transparency from the start, not after.
- Spray thinner, not thicker. Lower pressure and lighter coats reduce color shift. A thin, even layer looks better and distorts color less.
- Test the full process before approval. Silicone + coating + printing = final color. Approve the finished assembly, not the bare part.
The Takeaway
Color matching isn’t finished until every production step is accounted for. If spray coating is in your process, it needs to be in your color sample too.(Chicarubber)
We’ve learned to build this into the first sample—so you’re not chasing color shifts after the mold is cut and the order is due.
Contact us for silicone parts with spray coating, printing, and tight color requirements. We’ll get it right from the start.
Why Spray Coating Changes Your Silicone Color (And How to Control It)
If you need to customize silicone products, please contact us at chicarubber
