A journey through time is reflected in the recently published book "bb Rainer Buchmann“. It was written by Gerold Lingnau, the former editorial director of the technology and automotive section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. As "the" car tuner of Germany, Buchmann and his Frankfurt-based automobile company "bb" made headlines in the automotive industry in the 1980s. Merck played a role with its pigments for automotive coatings.
Buchmann created legendary models such as the "rainbow" Porsche and the super sportscar bb Mercedes CW 311. He proved to be a pioneer, who for instance developed the first computer-controlled cockpit information system.
The book devotes an entire chapter entitled "A shining partnership: Merck and bb" to the cooperation between Buchmann and Merck. In 1978, Buchmann sought contact to Merck. He did so for good reason since Merck had already been known for many years as a pigments specialist. Pigments are those particles that lend the desired shade to an automotive coating, which are actually colorless. In the 1960s, pigments were developed that rendered a metallic shine to the coating, A decade later, the pearl-luster pigment Iriodin® from Merck was a further innovation.
Entirely in white
The Merck experts and Buchmann thus agreed to give the bb Mercedes CW 311 a white Iriodin® coating and to use the car with its futuristic design as an advertising medium for the pigment. Lingnau wrote the following: "Research and development experts from Merck were responsible for this special feature, that of pearl-luster pigments."
The goal was to attract the attention of the automotive industry to the new generation of pigments. Ten Volkswagen Golf cars soon featured the Iriodin® coating, later on Japanese manufacturers also took a liking to Iriodin®.
Iriodin® pigments eventually established themselves. Today, products from this family are still part of the Merck range, which has been steadily expanded. In the 1990s, the Xirallic® pigment family emerged. The latest addition to the effect pigment range is Meoxal®, which captivates with its excellent color saturation and exceptional brilliance.
To mark its comeback, bb is presenting in the classic car capital of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the new bb Moonracer, a Porsche Turbo Targa with an unusual color scheme based on Xirallic® pigments.
