A technique for producing water-in-water dispersions has been used to produce special-effect coatings for several years. This technique utilizes solid inorganic particles to produce an instantaneous interfacial barrier that allows for the formation of isolated pockets of water within a bulk water phase. It had been assumed that the barrier formation was like a layered armored shell on the isolated water pocket; similar in practice to the interfacial stability provided by inorganic particles in Pickering emulsions. Electron microscopic investigation has revealed a stable barrier coating around the paint droplets and a more complex three-dimensional structure embedding the droplets. This has led to improvements in traditional applications. Current work is focused on controlling the interfacial barrier to produce systems in which reactive species can be isolated in the same solution and then mixed upon application.