New Automotive Paints
Require New Cleaning Technologies

Automotive paints have changed significantly in recent years. Paints used on vehcicles used to contain lead, which helped it to dry. These lead based paints were appplied to vehicles in a thick coat. It provided both the color and the gloss for the finish. No automotive paint protection was afforded so bugs, bird droppings, acid rain and oxidation could directly attack the paint. The positive side was that since these paints were so thick they could be spread around by compounds and some waxes. This helped to cover scratches and imperfections in the paint. In the 1980's, lead was required to be removed from the paints because of the health effects associated with exposure.

In response to this, the industry adopted a new process for applying paint to vehicles. It was referred to as BASE COAT-CLEAR COAT. The base coat is a single layer of paint that contains the color. Then a clear coat is applied over the base coat. The clear coat is simply another layer or layers of unpigmented polymer paint. When applied over the base coat it gives the paint depth and a glossy finish. In 2000, there was another change in vehicle paints. This was partly due to federal mandates to reduce Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) in the paint.

Another reason was because of the flexible parts that are being used on vehicles today. The paints at that time were unable to move with the movement of these parts. So the newer paint formulations were softer to accomodate the flexing. The down side of this is that the newer paints are softer. This means they are also much more susceptible to scratches. Scratches that can occur from the typical methods of auto detailing. Also because the new clear coats are polymer based, the old wash and wax products are not as well suited as they once were.

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