It's been a long time since I did automotive body work. But the fillers and flake in most modern paints are not metal at all. They're glass, ceramics and polyme

It's been a long time since I did automotive body work. But the fillers and flake in most modern paints are not metal at all. They're glass, ceramics and polymers. There was a steel coated flake I saw at an auto show that used magnets in the process to put effects in before drying. I know I saw a titanium at some point, but I wasn't doing the work. So I don't know much other than "metal flake" is largely an effect and not always ingredient.