The present invention provides a multilayer coating film-forming method that is capable of forming a multilayer coating film with excellent finished appearance and excellent luster. The aqueous base paint (X) is applied by using a rotary-atomization bell-shaped coater under coating conditions of a shaping air pressure of 0.15 to 0.25 MPa and a paint discharge amount of 100 to 300 cm3/min. The viscosity 60 seconds after the application of the aqueous base paint (X), measured at a temperature of 23° C. and a shear rate of 0.1 sec-1, is 90 to 160 Pa.Math.s, the solids content 60 seconds after the application is 20 to 40 mass %, and the film thickness 60 seconds after the application is 17 to 35 μm. The effect pigment dispersion (Y) contains a flake-aluminum pigment (A) with an average thickness of 1 nm or more and less than 70 nm, a flake-aluminum pigment (B) with an average thickness of 70 nm to 250 nm, a hydroxy-containing acrylic resin (C), a rheology control agent (D), a surface-adjusting agent (E), and water, the effect pigment dispersion (Y) having a solids content of 2 to 9 mass %. The effect coating film after curing has a film thickness of 0.5 to 2.0 μm.

The present invention provides a multilayer coating film-forming method that is capable of forming a multilayer coating film with excellent finished appearance and excellent luster. The aqueous base paint (X) is applied by using a rotary-atomization bell-shaped coater under coating conditions of a shaping air pressure of 0.15 to 0.25 MPa and a paint discharge amount of 100 to 300 cm3/min. The viscosity 60 seconds after the application of the aqueous base paint (X), measured at a temperature of 23° C. and a shear rate of 0.1 sec-1, is 90 to 160 Pa.Math.s, the solids content 60 seconds after the application is 20 to 40 mass %, and the film thickness 60 seconds after the application is 17 to 35 μm. The effect pigment dispersion (Y) contains a flake-aluminum pigment (A) with an average thickness of 1 nm or more and less than 70 nm, a flake-aluminum pigment (B) with an average thickness of 70 nm to 250 nm, a hydroxy-containing acrylic resin (C), a rheology control agent (D), a surface-adjusting agent (E), and water, the effect pigment dispersion (Y) having a solids content of 2 to 9 mass %. The effect coating film after curing has a film thickness of 0.5 to 2.0 μm.

Methods of producing colored and superhydrophobic surfaces, objects, and coatings using a colored paint that imparts a superhydrophobic surface on an object is a suspension of hydrophobic particles in a polymeric binder and a plasticizer in a solvent or mixed solvent, wherein at least a portion of the hydrophobic particles are colored particles. Colored particles can be ultramarine, iron oxide, chromium oxide, or any other colored metal oxide. The hydrophobic particles can be metal oxide particles that are surface functionalized with a fluorinated alkyl silane or an alkyl silane. The binder is a mixture of PDVF and PMMA in a ratio of 3:1 to 10:1. The plasticizer is a mixture of triethyl phosphate and perfluoro(butyltetrahydrofuran) or other perfluorinated hydrocarbon. Surfaces coated using this paint display contact angles in excess of 150° and resist abrasion.

An aircraft skin coating assembly for an aircraft. The coating assembly includes a primer layer deposited on the aircraft skin, an optical stop-etch layer deposited on the primer layer that is reflective at a predetermined wavelength, a coating stack-up deposited on the optical etch-stop layer that provides performance features for the aircraft, and a sealant layer deposited on the stack-up. When a laser coating removal process employing a laser beam is used to remove the coating stack-up for replacement, the stop-etch layer reflects the laser beam to prevent it from penetrating and possibly damaging the aircraft skin.

In a coated article including a laminated coating film configured such that a first base layer 3 containing a lustrous material 11 and a second base layer 4 and a transparent clear layer 5 containing an organic pigment 15 are stacked on each other in this order on a coating target object, the same type of organic ultraviolet absorbing agent 13 having a molecular weight of equal to or greater than 500 is added to the first base layer 3 and the second base layer 4.

In a coated article including a laminated coating film configured such that a first base layer 3 containing a lustrous material 11 and a second base layer 4 and a transparent clear layer 5 containing an organic pigment 15 are stacked on each other in this order on a coating target object, the same type of organic ultraviolet absorbing agent 13 having a molecular weight of equal to or greater than 500 is added to the first base layer 3 and the second base layer 4.

Provided is an antireflective member that has a water- and oil-repellent layer on a multi-layered antireflective layer and is capable of exhibiting excellent surface lubricity, water- and oil-repellent properties, and durability. The surface of the multi-layered antireflective layer on a base material has a root-mean-square surface roughness of 0.8 nm to 2.0 nm. The water- and oil-repellent layer has a thickness of 1 to 30 nm and is a cured product of water- and oil-repellents having as principal components a fluorooxyalkylene group-containing polymer modified organosilicon compound with the numerical average molecular weight of 4,500 to 10,000 of a fluoropolymer part and/or partial hydrolysis condensate thereof.

An optical device includes a substrate, a first surface-relief grating including grooves and ridges formed on or in the substrate, a first overcoat layer in the grooves of the first surface-relief grating, and a first antireflective layer on the first overcoat layer. The ridges of the first surface-relief grating include high-refractive index, photoactive metal oxide nanoparticles and a material of the first overcoat layer in regions between the metal oxide nanoparticles, or the first overcoat layer includes the metal oxide nanoparticles and a material of the first antireflective layer in regions between the metal oxide nanoparticles. Methods of fabricating the optical device are also described.

An optical device includes a substrate, a surface-relief grating including grooves and ridges formed on or in the substrate, and an overcoat layer in the grooves of the surface-relief grating. The ridges of the surface-relief grating or the overcoat layer includes a plurality of clusters of metal oxide (e.g., TiO.sub.2 or NbO.sub.x) nanoparticles. Each cluster of the plurality of clusters of metal oxide nanoparticles includes metal oxide nanoparticles dispersed in an inorganic barrier that isolates the metal oxide nanoparticles from other materials of the optical device. The ridges of the surface-relief grating or the overcoat layer is made of a resin material that includes a resin with inorganic content, and/or TiO.sub.x or NbO.sub.x nanoparticles including inorganic-containing ligands. A high-energy treatment process can remove organics surrounding the metal oxide nanoparticles and form the barrier layers that surround clusters of metal oxide nanoparticles.

This invention provides a method for forming a multilayer coating film that is capable of forming a multilayer coating film that has excellent blackness, high reflectance of an infrared laser, and excellent coating film performance. The method for forming a multilayer coating film includes forming a first colored coating film containing a titanium oxide pigment and in which the diffuse reflectance at a wavelength of 905 nm or diffuse reflectance at a wavelength of 1550 nm, or both, is 40% or more; forming a second colored coating film containing a carbon black pigment (A) and one or more pigments (B), which are a perylene black pigment (B1) or two or more pigments (B2) selected from the group consisting of blue pigments, red pigments, yellow pigments, and green pigments, or both (B1) and (B2); and forming a clear coating film; wherein the multilayer coating film has a lightness L*(45°) of 4 or less and a chroma C*(45°) of 2 or less, and wherein the diffuse reflectance at a wavelength of 905 nm or the diffuse reflectance at a wavelength of 1550 nm, or both, is 10% or more.