Whether your goal is to deliver more cars per day by increasing throughput from your existing paint booth, to save energy by using a shorter or lower temperature bake cycle, or getting the clearcoat “dust-free” faster in an imperfect environment to reduce the amount of buffing, today’s productive clearcoats can meet multiple objectives from one can. At the same time, they have evolved to be more user-friendly and versatile, according to representatives of the paint manufacturers with whom ABRN spoke, from AkzoNobel, Axalta, BASF, PPG, and Sherwin-Williams.
“Technology continues to evolve as companies develop newer, faster reacting resins that can be used in clears for short/low-bake conditions,” said Brian Koevenig, technical manager, paint technology, for BASF Automotive Refinish. “For fast air-dry, one is still limited by the choice of catalyst technology or needing ambient humidity to drive the reaction quickly, but progress is also being made in that area.”
Clearcoats have evolved to meet a variety of needs with one product, said PPG Automotive Refinish application specialist Darin Poston. “The market is driving fast dry and bake times and still demanding the great look of a glamour-type clear, which is a very hard thing to achieve,” he said.
Cris Sykes, premium product manager of undercoats and clearcoats for Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes, said today’s clearcoats allow collision repair centers to push productivity with a low-bake clearcoat without sacrificing quality.
“Our Dynamic Clearcoat delivers on speed, cutting application time in half compared to traditional clears, as well as on gloss level and holdout,” he said. “Our Ultra System Dynamic+ Clearcoat CC200 is our best-selling clearcoat because of its speed and the resulting high-gloss finish. We expanded that category with a low VOC option, CC250, which can also be used for any application and any environment. This clearcoat not only meets VOC regulations, but it minimizes the shop’s footprint and utility expenses with its low-temp bake cycle requirement.”
Axalta product manager Marcel Blais said, “Productive clearcoats (e.g., Spies Hecker Permasolid Air Dry Clear Coat 8094) support a body shop business model that is based on restoring vehicles to their pre-accident condition, while optimizing repair cycle time through the repair process. In this model, the clearcoat can easily produce an invisible repair consistent with the OEM finish of the vehicle.”
Blais said 8094 allows a reduced bake time, along with minimizing the wait time needed to handle for assembly. Low-bake temperatures — typically 120 degrees Fahrenheit — and short-bake clearcoat properties are features that can support different shop priorities.
“The shop may want to be productive with a minimum of energy consumption, out-of-dust time, booth cycle time, in time to assemble, or pre-delivery stages,” he said.
A low-bake clearcoat can reduce booth fuel consumption, he said, while also aiding in the repair of vehicles sensitive to bake temperature, such as electric vehicles. A short-bake-cycle clearcoat can help free the booth for the next repair, while a glamour clear may be the best choice for efficiency for some vehicles because it reduces the need for pre-delivery polishing.
“Traditional productive clears can be productive in time to assemble or time to deliver. Low bake clearcoats are more robust to typical market environments. Not all booths yield the same results. Meeting the low-bake requirement is more achievable by many shops, compared to high-bake.”
According to the AkzoNobel technical team, the company’s new clearcoat, Sikkens Autoclear Xpress, reduces booth time with a 1.5-coat, back-to-back application. It’s designed to be applied in a wide range of temperatures, from 60 to 95 degrees. It can also reduce the shop’s gas bill in the winter, as less time will be needed while the booth is operating in spray mode, which is when air is not recirculated and more makeup air is exhausted.
Additionally, shorter time in the booth spraying the clearcoat means less of a chance for dust inclusions to find their way onto the finish. Quick ambient-temperature “out-of-dust” times are also beneficial to shops that have a safe place for the vehicle to finish air-drying while using the booth for the next job.
There are many factors for a painter and/or shop manager to consider when selecting a clearcoat, Blais said.
“Axalta’s Spies Hecker Permasolid Air Dry Clear Coat 8094 is an example of using both low-bake and short-bake curing to support customer requirements,” he said. “There are component recommendations to use with 8094 that have specialized benefits for specific repairs, including cut-ins, small parts, single panel, bumpers, repairs in cold conditions, and repairs in extremely hot conditions. These recommendations cover a wide range of shop requirements.”
According to AkzoNobel, there are a number of reasons for a shop to select a productive clearcoat, and working with the local distributor will help assess the shop’s specific needs. Shops looking for throughput gains may be drawn to a clearcoat with this technology to improve their booth cycle times while also saving energy. Other facilities may find that, because of their extreme winter temperatures, they benefit through efficient application times because of the ability to spray clear with little to no flash time between coats. (Not having to spend as much time with the booth in the spray cycle in the cold winter months saves significant energy since the spray cycle does not recirculate the air).
For many shops, it is a combination of greater productivity and energy savings, BASF’s Koevenig said.
“Everyone likes to spend less on energy costs, but even shops that air-dry their clears will see an advantage, if only because these newer clears become dust/dirt resistant faster, so there is less detailing required due to dirt, dust, etc. Of course, every shop wants more cars out the door.”
Although shops are concerned with both benefits, productivity is likely the largest driver in shops today, PPG’s Poston and Sherwin-Williams’ Sykes said.
“Cycle time is what everyone is looking at these days, and how fast they can turn the car around and back to the customer,” Poston said. “The short bake times are key, and the low bake is an added benefit. The cost savings for the shop using low-bake clears helps the shop be more profitable in the end.”
Paint manufacturer representatives said productive clearcoats are no more or less problematic than other clearcoats, and within the same quality product line, durability is the same. Most issues arise from not following product recommendations for temperature, flash time, and humidity.
Additionally, they said, it’s important for the painter to understand and factor in how quickly the booth ramps up to the baking temperature to ensure the clearcoat achieves a thorough cure.
“This has to be added to the recommended bake times stated on our P-Sheets for whatever clear you are using,” PPG’s Poston said. “If you over-bake or under-bake clears, you can cause some problems down the road.”
Sherwin-Williams’ Sykes said the bulk of problems are from a painter rushing to get a job done too quickly and move onto the next one.
“For the most part, any error in the application process comes down to the painter trying to push the envelope,” he said. “There’s also improper use of reducer and/or hardener or film-build, and problems also occur when the painter doesn’t wait long enough for the basecoat to flash, especially when spraying a waterborne system.”
Representatives advised that painters refer to the technical data sheet/product data sheet for instructions, particularly when spraying a new product, and contact the distributor for assistance in selecting the proper clearcoat for their unique conditions and needs.
“Our technical and training team works one-on-one with painters to ensure the proper application of our clearcoats,” Sykes said. “We recommend painters always refer to our Product Data Sheet (PDS) for proper mixing instructions and the overall application process.”
