"Cousin Ricky" <ric### [at] yahoocom> wrote:
> I have found it surprisingly difficult to get color or reflectivity data for
> the various metals.  There are plenty of descriptions of the quantum physics
> behind metallic colors, but almost no graphs or tables of the spectral
> reflectivity curves that result.  The little data i can find often conflict

Different metals have distinct colours and alloying alters these colours,
but reflectivity is dependent on surface finish, not composition. A
near-perfect mirror could be made of steel, aluminium, titanium or
anything; if it's polished sufficiently finely it's impossible to tell the
difference just by eye. There is no such thing as a 'characteristic'
reflectivity. Colour is the parameter to search for.

The best thing to do is to play with the texture until it looks right! :-)

Bill

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