VMC Ltd (a company specialising in vacuum metalising) was asked to professionally spray paint the body parts of C-3PO. Established in 1951, the company got the job through their connections with the special effects team at Pinewood Studios. A second company called Pearl Paints was contracted by VMC to formulate the specialist paint (or vacuum metalisation product) needed. Protoypes of C-3PO's various parts were sent to the laboratory at Pearl Paints for the lab technicians to experiment with whilst developing the paint formula. The vendor's father worked at Pearl Paints during the 1970s and brought these boots home after the conclusion of the project.