The invention relates to waterborne effect base coats containing 1 to 99 wt. %, relative to the waterborne base coat, of at least one liquid crystalline aqueous preparation (WZ), at least one film-forming polymer (FP), and at least one effect pigment (EP). The aqueous preparation (WZ) preferably contains 10 to 99.9 wt. %, relative to the non-volatile portions of the aqueous preparation (WZ), of at least one water-dispersible polyester (PES), for the production of which 7 to 50 mol %, relative to all the polyester units, of bifunctional monomer units (DME) are used that comprise aliphatic spacer groups (SP) of 12 to 70 carbon atoms between the functional groups (Gr), and 0.1 to 30 wt. %, relative to the non-volatile portions of the aqueous preparation (WZ), of positively charged, layered inorganic particles (AT). For said inorganic particles (AT), the ratio D/d between the mean layer diameter (D) and the mean layer thickness (d) of the individual layers that cannot be further intercalated amounts to > 50, and the charge is at least partially compensated using singly charged organic anions (OA).