In today's ever-changing, innovative and high-tech automotive refinish market, tremendous product information is imperative to successful results. Winning results can be defined as proper planning procedures for surface preparation, product selection, and ultimately the victorious application of primers, base-coats and clear-coats. In the following few paragraphs, it is our every intention to provide you with the latest in technology and trends, sharing our vast and limitless product information, understanding, and experiences.
Surface preparation is crucial to quality results in automotive refinish. The tiniest particle could mar a paint job. Whether it be a panel or spot repaint, tried and proven methods are utilized in providing "user friendly" means for optimum preparation success. Each application is unique.
There isn't just one type of car paint primer. You'll find there are several, such as epoxy primer, urethane primer, high fill primer, and more. It is a necessity to establish the type of primer you need for your particular job. Etching primer is ideal for areas where a little rust cannot be easily removed. It does not remove the rust, but will prevent its spread. With epoxy primer, there's the primer and the activator. You can use it underneath a filler, but it has to be on bare, prepared metal in order to bond properly. It prevents corrosion. Ambient air temperature needs to be high enough for epoxy primer to fully cure. If not, you could end up with topcoat failure. Urethane primer gives good coverage, and you can apply several coats of it over filler. With this type of auto paint primer, there's no loss of gloss in the topcoat of paint. It has become the preferred alternative to lacquer primer, since it covers better and gives better results.
No matter what type of auto primer is used, it will still need to be sanded before painting. This is a vital step to help the paint bond to the primer. Use a fine grit sandpaper and sand the primer to be completely smooth and level with the rest of the spot or panel.
Base coats are reasonably easy to use and offer appearance advantages. Follow these simple steps for a successful application. First, tape off any windows or non-painted trim on the vehicle. Next, strip the old paint in places that this is required using paint remover or be simply sanding all of it off the vehicle. If the paint is good then sand it with 360 grit sandpaper. You should be down to bare metal when done. Spray only the places that you repaired with primer. No exposed surface that you plan to paint should be left un-primed. Allow the surface to dry completely before you begin painting. Wipe down the entire surface with a painting prep solvent to remove any grease, wax, or oils. Spray the entire surface with your base coat paint. Hold sprayer 6" - 10" from surface and spray in smooth and level strokes, overlapping strokes by about 50%. Check the paint manufacturer's instructions about drying times before sanding. Last, wet sand the base coat until a smooth finish is obtained. This may not be a good idea for a metallic color, since it could remove metallic flakes from the basecoat.
There are notable and distinguished appearance advantages of clear coats. By using clear coats the manufacturer is able to create more specialized colors. Just look at some of the dazzling colors on the new cars today. This is made possible by the use of clear coats and techniques that can be utilized.
Believe it or not, some of today's clear coat paint finishes are the most durable ever applied to automobiles. This is true not only of factory finishes, but also in the aftermarket. Proof of the durability of clear coats over single stage paint finishes is evidenced by the warranties that auto manufacturers are offering on the clear coat paint finishes. Typically they do not offer the same warranty for single stage paint finishes. Durability is really a very real concern for car owners today. With the increase in airborne pollution and other environmental factors, a car's finish is subject to serious damage. Acid rain; jet fuel fallout; industrial fallout; hard water, not to mention high acidic bird droppings; insect residue; tree sap all are very dangerous to a paint finish if not removed immediately.
The durability of the clear coat goes even beyond the topcoat itself. By adding UV blockers to the clear coat you have a new level of protection for the pigments in the base coat. As you know oxidation and fading have always been the major problem with paint finishes and the biggest problem faced by detailers.
Now our biggest problem is to eliminate scratching and etching in the clear coat, which in many cases is impossible. It can be reduced, but not always eliminated. When it comes to repair and maintenance, clear coats make repairs and maintenance much easier. For example, a repair can be made on a portion of the panel and the color coat blended in that area, then the entire panel is clear coated. This will eliminate the problem of panel-to-panel color mismatches. Even a clear coat with scratches or water spots that has to be buffed is much easier to work on than an oxidized metallic single stage paint finish. If the correct compound and pad is used the first time the process is much quicker.
Those paint finish problems that can't be corrected with either an orbital or buffer can be handled by a light wet sanding, which only qualified detailers should attempt to do. However, if you know what you are doing and can properly evaluate the problem with the customer, you can charge far more money than for just a buff polish and wax. 璽?玲?/p>
While most car manufacturers won't admit it, the cost of applying clear coat/basecoat finishes substantially reduces their cost to paint the car. How so? First, recognize that the most expensive ingredient in paint is the pigments. With single stage paint finishes a manufacturer would apply at least 4 to 5 mils of colored paint. Compare this to no more than 1 mil of colored paint that is covered with 1.5 to 2 mils of clear coat. It doesn't take much to see using the right products saves money.
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