AZEqualizer
02-02-2009, 10:50 AM
http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/The-New-%27Black%27.jpg
California is in the process of requiring a change in the chemical makeup of paints applied to vehicles sold in the state. Because the global automotive market is served by only a handful of paint companies, the change will likely effect cars and trucks sold worldwide. Above, standard black paint (left) and a major paint company's current effort at a heat-reflecting black that's much closer to brown.
Edmunds GreenCarAdvisor (http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/02/a-change-in-paint-might-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-greening-of-cars-and-trucks.html) reports that:
The California Air Resources Board is so keen on getting automakers to use less carbon black in the paints they spray their cars with that the agency is in the process of drafting "cool-paints" legislation that would require the carmakers to do so.
As currently drafted, the proposal would apply to makers of 2012 and subsequent model-year passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles weighing less than or equal to 10,000 pounds.
It would also apply to collision-repair shops and repainting facilities.
But there's a hitch: The three biggest suppliers of automotive paint worldwide haven't yet figured out how to make the rich blacks, browns and other dark automotive paints we're accustomed to seeing without using carbon black.
"When you remove carbon black and put in either IR-reflecting pigments or IR-transmissive pigments, you lose some of the dark color," Connie Poulsen, global director of product management for PPG Industries...
There are two different ways to meet the legislation, Poulsen said: IR-transmissive or IR-reflective paints.
IR-transmissive paints contain a transparent pigment that allows the hot infrared and near-infrared light to get through to the primer layer. They are then reflected off the primer layer.
In this case, a very light-colored primer goes underneath the base coat. This technology allows the paint companies to get a closer match to the rich automotive colors we're used to seeing.
But - and this is a big but - having a light-colored primer layer means that when your car is stone-chipped or badly dinged, a light-colored spot of primer will appear where the base coat had been. The chip will be rather apparent. Traditionally, primer is close in color to the base coat so chips aren't very noticeable.
The other way paint companies are approaching the subject is with IR-reflective pigments, in which an infrared-reflecting pigment is used in the base coat. The problem with this technology, as you saw above, is that the paint companies thus far have been unable to achieve the true colors they've wanted in what they refer to fondly as "the darker space."
California is in the process of requiring a change in the chemical makeup of paints applied to vehicles sold in the state. Because the global automotive market is served by only a handful of paint companies, the change will likely effect cars and trucks sold worldwide. Above, standard black paint (left) and a major paint company's current effort at a heat-reflecting black that's much closer to brown.
Edmunds GreenCarAdvisor (http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/02/a-change-in-paint-might-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-greening-of-cars-and-trucks.html) reports that:
The California Air Resources Board is so keen on getting automakers to use less carbon black in the paints they spray their cars with that the agency is in the process of drafting "cool-paints" legislation that would require the carmakers to do so.
As currently drafted, the proposal would apply to makers of 2012 and subsequent model-year passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles weighing less than or equal to 10,000 pounds.
It would also apply to collision-repair shops and repainting facilities.
But there's a hitch: The three biggest suppliers of automotive paint worldwide haven't yet figured out how to make the rich blacks, browns and other dark automotive paints we're accustomed to seeing without using carbon black.
"When you remove carbon black and put in either IR-reflecting pigments or IR-transmissive pigments, you lose some of the dark color," Connie Poulsen, global director of product management for PPG Industries...
There are two different ways to meet the legislation, Poulsen said: IR-transmissive or IR-reflective paints.
IR-transmissive paints contain a transparent pigment that allows the hot infrared and near-infrared light to get through to the primer layer. They are then reflected off the primer layer.
In this case, a very light-colored primer goes underneath the base coat. This technology allows the paint companies to get a closer match to the rich automotive colors we're used to seeing.
But - and this is a big but - having a light-colored primer layer means that when your car is stone-chipped or badly dinged, a light-colored spot of primer will appear where the base coat had been. The chip will be rather apparent. Traditionally, primer is close in color to the base coat so chips aren't very noticeable.
The other way paint companies are approaching the subject is with IR-reflective pigments, in which an infrared-reflecting pigment is used in the base coat. The problem with this technology, as you saw above, is that the paint companies thus far have been unable to achieve the true colors they've wanted in what they refer to fondly as "the darker space."