Tell me about automotive paints

[Phil Thien]

The Odyssey is going in for a bumper cover replacement.

They said I could drop the car off the morning of one day, and pickup the evening of the next.

I can't get a rattle can of paint to cure much in a day, it stays pretty soft for 5-7 days, may take weeks to fully harden.

How do they do the bumper cover (which I assume has to be painted and then clear coated) and give me the car back in 36 hours?

Are they two part paints with some sort of catalyst? Do they shine special lights at the paint to harden it up? Do they just give it back soft and figure it will cure while I'm driving it?

Also, this is a 2009 Odyssey. Is the original paint a water-based or volatile solvent based?

They are using water-based on cars now, no?

And when they repaint part of a car (collision repair), do they have to match the type of paint used in the first place? That is, if the car was painted with a solvent-based at the factory, can they use a water-based for the repair?

I find the entire industry to be fascinating. And I would have asked my questions at the body shop. But they are REAL, REAL busy. It is part of a Honda dealership and they have what looks like 10-12 cars they're working on, with about 10-12 guys, and none of them look like they're just standing around doing nothing, with any time to spare.

So I thought I'd ask here.

[mike holden]

Not sure about auto repair facilities, but I have knowledge of Chrysler manufacturing suppliers of fascia (the painted plastic cover for the bumper, front or rear, are called fascia) The paint was water based, applied with robotic arms, and heat cured. It took approximately 45 minutes from the time the fascia entered the spray booth to when it exited the heat booth. At this point the paint was dry and the part received any additional components (bright strips, brackets, etc.) and were then racked. Interesting thing is that the fascia are painted separately from the vehicle and are sent to a third party which reracks the parts in order to match the assembly line vehicles so that the worker simply grabs the next fascia and it will match the color and model of the vehicle on the line.

Since there is nothing special about either the paint or the drying process (heat lamps) I would assume that any competent paint shop could match the process, and processing time.

Welcome to the modern world of coatings.

Mike

[Ole Anderson]

Any automotive paint (since lacquer) I have used was a 2 part paint with a fairly short pot life, which means it chemically hardens after mixing as well as quickly giving up it's solvents. Water based may be a whole different thing though.

[Todd Burch]

You are spraying enamel from a rattle can, they aren't. If you spray lacquer, or any other modern finish, you'll get a fast dry too.

[Phil Thien]

I talked to the guy a bit when I dropped the car off. Pretty much all factory paint jobs are water based. Their shop has been all water-based for 2-3 years. Starting in 2013, they HAVE TO BE water-based, but they went a little sooner when the time was right for them.

I didn't ask if the paints are two-part. I will ask when I pickup the car.

[Jason Roehl]

I haven't price automotive paints recently, but 15 years ago it was normal to spend $175/gallon for auto paint (that rainbow chameleon paint they put on some New Beetles was $3000/gallon). What's the most you've spent on any paint you've used on or in your house or on a woodworking project? $50/gallon?

[Chris Damm]

I recently had a classic car painted. I supplied the paint. My cousin works at a paint store and I still paid almost $2K for the materials. Can you imagine the quality of the paint you're getting at the late night advertiser's shops?

[David Weaver]

I recently had a classic car painted. I supplied the paint. My cousin works at a paint store and I still paid almost $2K for the materials. Can you imagine the quality of the paint you're getting at the late night advertiser's shops?

Tractor supply's equipment enamel is about $29 a gallon. I wouldn't be surprised if it was not far different from that.

Presume that if you have anything other than a perfect surface, those late night special prices go up fast once you've already dropped your car off, too.

"sir, would you like to change your car color to john deere green? they had a special at TSC this week, so we can give you $10 off the paint job on your car" :)

[Phil Thien]

Fascinating stuff so far, thanks everyone for posting.

I thought of another question. How do body shops handle color matching? Do they stock and mix their own colors on the premises? Or do they order for each job from a supplier?

And whether they are mixing or ordering, how do they know the color? Is it tied to the VIN? Do they know the colors for a specific make/model/year and just mix/order some of that?

[ray hampton]

the VIN are a series of numbers and one of the numbers will tell you what color of paint to buy

[Dan Hintz]

The VIN rarely has color code info in it... the color code is often on a separate plate in the door jamb, under the hood, in the spare tire area, etc. Shops have access to a database of codes, just in case, but even so, they likely do not carry all paint ranges and will have to order it special... for example, they may have easy access to PPG but have to special order ColorKwik.

When I had my S2000 painted a custom candy color, I chose something out of the book (PPG, it so happens) so I could match it at a later date, should the need arise.

[Robert Todd]

I think you will find that most quality auto painting today is done with a base coat/clear coat system. The base coat gives the color and the clear coat gives the shine and durability. Base coats go on in a very light coat and dry within minutes, sort of like lacquer although they are not the same. The clear coat is a urethane with a catalyst added, and they cure within twelve to eighteen hours usually (for painting a single panel or spot touch up there are much faster curing clear coats). The clear coat is very hard and glossy and can generally be buffed if needed in twenty four hours.

[ray hampton]

[QUOTE=Dan Hintz;1996229]The VIN rarely has color code info in it... the color code is often on a separate plate in the door jamb, under the hood, in the spare tire area, etc.


It seems that I made a mistake [sort of ] it were not done on purpose

[Jason Roehl]

[QUOTE=Dan Hintz;1996229]The VIN rarely has color code info in it... the color code is often on a separate plate in the door jamb, under the hood, in the spare tire area, etc.


It seems that I made a mistake [sort of ] it were not done on purpose

If it makes you feel any better, there are some databases that link a particular VIN with its build sheet--which would include the paint codes. Generally, these databases are only available to dealerships, though.