I don't think automotive manufacturers would be worried about people knowing that their shiny paint contains glitter. Also, there are a lot of cars in the world, but most just get painted once.

My first guess would be a consumable. Maybe food-related, where we don't expect (or want) glitter. The "toothpaste" guess sounds like it's on the right track. "Fast food" wouldn't entirely surprise me, either.

It's still probably under NDA and the glitter suppliers are contractually forbidden from revealing their customers. It'd be up to the customer to reveal it.

I thought that too but I think that line was just worded awkwardly. It was meant as a change of topic to end the writer's insistence.

For reference:

> I asked if she would tell me off the record. She would not. I asked if she would tell me off the record after this piece was published. She would not. I told her I couldn’t die without knowing. She guided me to the automotive grade pigments.

I thought the answer was given in the article as Revlon. Nail polish, eyeshadow, lipstick, blush... all can contain micro glitter particles. I wonder, what is the total surface area painted by cosmetics each year?

That's hardly secretive or unexpected, though - everyone knows cosmetics contain glitter

I don't think most consumers know that their lipstic or eyeshadow contains microplastics.

I'd wager that they either know or don't want to know...

I didn’t. Had I considered it I would have assumed that at least in the US regulations would prohibit its inclusion.

Whatever the product may be, it sparkles, so it can’t be much of a secret.

Does this product contain glitter? https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-djINoSKP6FQ/T_2q9sPNqZI/AAAAAAAAA...

Probably, no. My guess is it contains small metal particles. But if I wanted to determine that, I wouldn’t look at a photo. I would read the ingredients.

A lot of cosmetics straight up contain phthalates as an intentionally added ingredient.

Makes sense and could be it, but somewhere in that reddit thread there's a car paint guy who claims they use pure aluminium particles and not just aluminium painter polymer.

This is the answer, the article isn’t being particularly subtle about it.