Pigment Red 179 is known to chemists as Perylene Maroon. Perylene molecules result when two naphthalene molecules are joined back to back. This is called a “peri” arrangement (hence the Perylene name) and has many interesting properties. For a start it is very stable and therefore resistant to light. it also has properties that make it useful in research into photovoltaic cells and LED lighting. As a pigment it can be a bit of a frustrating color for the manufacturers of the color. It has the good qualities that a pigment should have. It is highly permanent, non toxic, resistant to chemicals and weathering, generally compatible with all painting media, (although it can provide some difficulties for acrylic paint formulations) and it comes in a wide range of shades from black to red. The frustration is that the color is not a bright pretty red and instead we have here a deep maroon color. It is hard to dispute that bright and pretty is desirably for many people thus limiting sales, but for the artist it is ideal.
Chemical Description: Perylene
Pigment Number: PR179
Lightfastness Rating: ASTM I
Pigment Opacity: Semi-Transparent
Paint Opacity: Opaque
Series 6