bodyshop guys please chime in on this paint discussion

[chip douglas]

Here`s the deal : i have a repair to be done on my car and went to couple bodyshops in my area, and since i`m curious and like to learn, i asked couple of question to those shop owners.



One told me that automakers paint is just not the same stuff as reconditioning paint used in bodyshops..................then i asked that to another, and he said : *the guy who told you that sure doesnt know what he s talking about !* Now, i wonder who`s telling the truth ??



The guy who told me that automakers paint is just not the same as reconditioning paint said he inquired into it, where ? i dont know but he says he did.



take care ;)

[SK2003TypeS]

What is "reconditioning paint" ? I thought that as long as the body shop knows the paint code for the color, they can mix x,y and z for the color. They also need to put in some kind of additive (for flex) in if they`re painting plastics (bumper faces) as compared to metal.

Misc. Note: I`ve heard from other Acura owners that the Acura`s touch up paint doesn`t match up too well.

Sry, I`m not a bodyshop guy, just some thoughts. Interesting thread. No intentions of thread jacking here...

[chip douglas]

SK2003TypeS, don`t know what is recondtioning paint myself, cause a lot of body shops and car makers use the same paint companies like Dupont, PPG etc...



The one who told me about *reconditioning paint* is the owner of a local bodyshop, he said that he inquired into the topic and found out chemicals were not the same in automaking, than it is in bodyshops.......mind you, i`m dubious about it.........as far as i know, automaker`s paint is different in that the paint is baked...but again there may be some details that im missing here, so correct me if mistaken.



take care and thanks :wavey

[huangdong28]

This is hearsay, but it sounds logical.



A VERY good body shop told me that there`s no way they can produce paint as hard as the factory since they can only bake it to 250 degrees without melting rubber/plastic/etc. whereas the factory goes to 350 degrees since the meltable stuff isn`t installed yet.



Can anyone confirm or disprove this?

[CRXSi90]

Not logical to me...they could spray lacquer paint which is a realitivly hard paint. Also, hard paint chips more because it can`t really "give" any when something hits it.



I thought baking just makes the paint cure faster, not change the hardness of the paint.



They may use different paint, but I don`t think the stuff a good bodyshop would use would be much worse than a factory paint job.



Keep in mind I know a little bit about everything, and a lot about some things, and this isn`t one of the ones I know a lot about. I`d believe other people before me. ;) I dunno why I even post in the first place...............

[jr weeks]

They use the same suppliers (PPG, BASF, DuPONT etc.) but the factory paint does differ slightly in makeup and how it`s applied.



Modern factory base coat is sometimes water based (deionized ) where the carrier evaporates via low bake heat before it`s cleared. It`s also electrostatically applied in that the paint has the opposite charge of the metal and they`re thusly drawn together.



The factory bake ovens are much hotter than anything a bodyshop has also, because oem paint is heat cured to achieve cross linking, whereas body shop paint is chemically cross linked(hardener/activator etc.). Body shops bake at lower temps merely to speed up the chemical cross linking, so they can wetsand or buff the finish as needed, and to get it back to the customer in a timely manner.



Some of that info is here; plus much more for those that haven`t read through the Autoint site. Cheers.





http://www.autoint.com/