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Car paint and protectant technique

History of Automotive Coatings

Ever since the first automobiles were made in the late 1800’s, there have been many changes in paint technologies to protect and beautify these man made transportation devices, from natural products to high tech polymers. In the first part of the 20th century automotive paint technology was based on the same air-dry varnish systems that were used for wooden furniture and horse drawn carriages. The major drawback was that the only choice of color offered was black. In addition, they required tedious brush application of multiple coats and days of drying time, which created a production bottleneck.

In 1923, E.I. DuPont De Nemours developed nitrocellulose lacquer systems, which offered many color choices and easier application using spray guns. However, lacquer systems required spray application of 3-4 coats of paint to achieve the desired properties. Lacquers also by their very nature have poor resistance to certain chemical solvents. Repeated exposures to gasoline spills could stain and damage lacquer finishes. In fact, in the 1960’s some cars had their gas tank filler located under the license plate to avoid spilling gasoline on the lacquer paint. Nitrocellulose lacquers were used on some passenger cars until about 1957, when solution acrylic lacquers were introduced. Acrylic lacquers offered much improved durability and a wider range of bright, pleasing colors – especially metallics. (more…)

Technology for scratch-proof car body

Few things can put you in a sour mood faster than a new scratch on a formerly-pristine car. But an international team of scientists are working on a “self-healing” material that could protect your ride from keys, branches, and jilted lovers.

How does it work? The polymer-based material is composed of small molecules with sticky ends that serve as a “molecular glue.” When exposed to intense UV light, the polymer assemblies become unglued and turn into a liquid that can fill any cuts or cracks. And when the light is removed, the structures re-assemble and—presto!—goodbye scratches, explains Professor Stuart Rowan PhD, a researcher at Case Western University who helped develop the material.

“What I think makes most sense for this material is to use it as a coating, like paint or varnish,” Rowan says. (more…)

Back to 2006 : Paint technology

What does the climate look like when it comes to new paint technologies in 2006? The impact of ever stringent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, the growing pressure to reduce cycle time and the demands of a varied consumer market are driving the products and strategies of automotive coating companies today.

Growth of Waterborne Technology

Although waterborne technology is not new, its growing importance, spurred by new environmental regulations in California and possibly other parts of North America, is driving the need for more waterborne basecoats in the next few years.

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Europe unveiled a new volatile organic compound (VOC)-compliant line of products in Europe last year in an effort to meet new European Union VOC regulations that will take effect Jan. 1, 2007. Besides the reduction in VOCs, waterborne technology is popular for its fast-drying applications, which can help reduce cycle time. (more…)

Scion for dealers: Online sales for customer’s benefit

Toyota’s Scion division wants dealers to consider adopting Amazon.com-style online retailing tactics that would appeal to the brand’s youthful customers. The idea is for a shopper to configure the vehicle, find it in the regional inventory, get credit approved, and make the purchase at a no-haggle price–all without setting foot in a dealership. The vehicle could even be delivered to the customer’s house.

Scion Vice President Jack Hollis said he has had several conversations with the Scion dealer council about how to implement the plan, which is still in the concept phase. The plan would not require dealers to sell exclusively online. But Hollis said he believes the Gen Y customers targeted by Toyota’s youth brand use the Internet to such an extent that finding and buying a car online is not far-fetched.

“People shop for homes online when they are moving. People buy boats online. So why not a car?” Hollis said in an interview at the press introduction of the Scion iQ subcompact.

(more…)

BMW i released concept of electric car

BMW revealed two new electric car concepts that will be launched under its new i brand in Germany early this morning. The BMW i3 city car and the BMW i8 will be the auto manufacturer’s first production vehicles designed from the ground up as electric or plug-in hybrids, rather than starting as an existing model and swapping the gas engine for an electric motor.

The BMW i3 is an electric vehicle designed for urban environments. Formerly called the MegaCity Vehicle, the EV is powered by a 125 kW electric motor that offers drivers an 80-mile electric driving range. The BMW i3 has a 0-60 mph time of less than eight seconds, which is on par with other electric cars on the market, and its high-speed charger achieves an 80-percent battery charge in just one hour. (more…)

Guides on car brakes

If you saw a deer step out in front of you on the road ahead, at 55 miles per hour in a typical automobile it would take you approximately 228 feet to bring your car to a stop. What percentage of the total distance it takes to stop your car would you estimate will be due to your own reaction time? Maybe 20 percent of the distance, or as much as 40 percent?

The fact is that most drivers would take about 50 percent, or half of the emergency stopping distance just to react. That means by the time you have recognized an emergency situation, processed the decision to hit the brakes in your brain, and then planted your foot on the brake pedal — you’ll already have traveled more than 100 feet. Now, if your brakes are in good working order they’ll go to work to mechanically stop the car during the next critical 128 feet.

How about if your car has marginal brakes — brakes that are worn down, or poorly adjusted? Then how far before you stop? According to statistics, about a third of the vehicles on our highways have unsafe brakes. With more than 150 million vehicles on the road, that means there are 50 million vehicles on American roads with the potential for brake failure. (more…)

How to maintan car’s paint

As we are into a new century, it is easy to reflect on the advancements that have occurred since 1900 and how significant advancements are in science, medicine and technology that are reported virtually every day.

Just a few decades into this past century several of the world’s most visionary individuals used to spend hours together camping and recreating away from their stellar careers.  As they were enjoying the chances to witness their achievements reaching the masses, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone used to sit for hours together socializing in the humble outdoors.  During those visits, each one of them reportedly coveted their shared openness to ideas about what the future of technology would bring for humanity.

To a certain extent, the contributions of each of these individuals helped prepare subsequent generations for the incredible succession of inventions and “possibilities” that would follow in this century. (more…)

Investing fuel-saving technologies to fasten green car realization

Special report on oil and gas (March 21) highlighted renewed investor interest in biofuels and tar sand oil following recent rises in the oil price. But it failed to mention California’s low-carbon fuel standard or the European Union’s revised fuel quality directive, two recent regulatory developments that will have important implications for these alternative sources.
These laws reward investments in low-carbon fuel technology and make it harder for carbon-intensive fuels such as those produced from tar sands, and most biofuel feedstocks to compete. Connie Hedegaard, the EU climate commissioner, has made it clear that tar sands will be subject to higher greenhouse gas “default values” when the final implementation guidelines for Europe’s fuel law are published later this year. The California standard already does this. (more…)