
Spectra Spray has always had a strong presence in the retail and DIY market and has in recent times branched into contract and specialty aerosol packing. Spectra Spray was established in 1982 by Brian Young and Tommy Mc Mullan. Examples of these are the 1968 Custom Camaro in Magenta, or the 1971 Evil Weevil in Hot Pink. Spectra Spray has over 36 years of experience in the aerosol paint industry. As a result, there are castings that are nearly impossible to find in specific colors. By this point, later colors were being introduced and some were no longer being used at all. It can be demonstrated that the early colors from 1968-69 are significantly different from releases seen in 1970-72. This may be due to different manufacturers or changes in the paint mix. Notes: Dupli-Color Perfect Match Clear Top Coat Automotive Touch Up Paint. The colors would evolve as the toy line continued. Dupli-Color Perfect Match Touch Up Paint BCL0125. There was also a light pink color named Lavender whose name was later changed to Salmon. Antifreeze was described as a "lime green" color in addition to the later color that was also designated Lime Green. The Company offers acrylic, procraft, industrial maintenance. Most of the Spectraflame color names are self-explanatory, but a few are counter-intuitive. Spectra-Tone Paint Corporation manufactures and distributes architectural paint and coatings. An alternate method involves coating the cars with a metal liquid and then applying a pigmented translucent paint.

This may change in the future due to the expense of vacuum metalizing the cars. The new manufacturing process involves a shiny vacuum-metalized finish covered in a semi-transparent, water-based lacquer. While it is not the same candy-apple paint, they continue to use the trademark Spectraflame to identify it. More recently, Mattel began using a new paint process for their special edition cars.

The original Spectraflame was retired and replaced by a metallic enamel. In 1973, due to the study of lead in paint and its effects on humans, the original Spectraflame (candy-apple paint) was banned from manufacturing. The car was a 1950 Chevrolet belonging to Ted Leventhal. In 1955, Mel Pinoli laid what is known as the first Candy Apple paint job. This resulted in a surprisingly realistic metallic effect, similar to the appearance of real cars. The finish was not the standard paint used on normal cars, but rather a transparent lacquer applied over a polished zinc plated casting. Spectraflame is the name used by Mattel for the metallic finishes sported by their original "Hot Wheels" cars in 1968 through 1972 and also on Super Treasure Hunts. Spectra Industrial Enamel combines good gloss and colour retention with resistance to mild chemical and corrosive exposures.
