[WWI] 1/32nd Pfalz D.III quicky review

[Stephen Auslender]

re: Pfalz Silver paint of WW1.
"The random orientation of the particles and the roughness of the quick-dry spray job diffused the reflected light and caused it to look like the ambient light around it."
Now, a question of semantics, please.
Exactly what does "...caused it to look like the ambient light around it." mean in plain, practical English?
Does it mean if the bright blue sky was clear of clouds did the silver paint appear to  have a light blue tint to it?
On cloudy gray days with the sun and blue sky hidden under an overcast, did the silver appear to be gray in color?
The reason I ask is because I would like to know in a language I can understand. I do not normally use the term "ambient light" so I would like to know what that means to a clod like myself who is sitting here, ice cold beer in hand (yes, I live in the USA), trying to visualize exactly what is meant by the jargon.
I am not trying to be disrespectful, it is just I am not a scientist. I have been an engineer and teacher all my life, and the first thing I learned is that I had better have everything translated into a common language before we all go off in different directions with our own mis-interpretations of the words used.
Thank you,
Stephen
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Robert Karr 
  To: World War I Modeling Mailing List 
  Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 5:45 PM
  Subject: Re: [WWI] 1/32nd Pfalz D.III quicky review


  << 
  A question on the color of silver. How did the silver paint weather the elements? Did it perhaps dull over time to look more like a gray? Anybody know? I'm not talking about today's automotive pigments, which are rather robust. I'm thinking in terms of silver paint produced 90 years ago.>>

   Windsock  v21 n4 July August '05 had an analysis of actual Pfalz silvergray. Doing his usual battery of chemical and microscope tests, Alan Tolle reamed this sample out. Despite what we've read for years, the only pigment present was pure aluminum chunks, irregular is shape at the microscopic level. These chunks were in dope, not varnish or paint. The coating was sprayed on, drying quickly before the pigment particles had time to settle down snug and flattish. The random orientation of the particles and the roughness of the quick-dry spray job diffused the reflected light and caused it to look like the ambient light around it.
  RK
  www.karrart.com

  p.s. for the real pigment junkies, the sizes of the alu bits varied between 2 to 40 microns, with the average size being less than 20 microns
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