While formulas for manufacturing automotive paint over the last few decades have changed significantly, the individual paint products still remain classified in a few familiar categories. While environmental concerns and worker safety regulations have guided the automotive paint industry away from solvent-based paints into acrylic and waterborne products, automotive paints are typically divided into the following four categories.
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Lacquer-Based Paints
- Lacquer-base paints flow well because they are thin bodied and fast drying. Lacquer-based paints and finishes spray on easily and dry to a high-gloss finish. However, because lacquer-base paints are thin body products, they offer little resistance to UV radiation or harsh road chemicals. Therefore lacquer-based paints are typically top coated with clear acrylic urethane to provide long-lasting protection.
Enamel Paints
- Heavier bodied enamel paints are more difficult to apply. If heavy-bodied enamels are applied too thickly, they can pool, run or create an orange-peel effect as they dry. Enamel paints dry more slowly than lacquer-based products and therefore are more likely to pick up imperfections such as dust or lint if the work area does not feature a filtered air supply. Nonetheless, enamel paints ofter superior performance because of their heavier bodied carriers. Enamel paints come in a wide variety of styles including metal flake in pearlescent products that are often used in high-performance and custom car fabrication.
Urethane Paints
- Heavy-body urethane paints are more durable and longer lasting than lacquer based or enamel paints. Heavy-body urethane products are also adapted for high-temperature applications such as engine parts. Urethane paints have two component products. A catalyst is added to the paint to accelerate the drying process. Urethane paints cure chemically as they dry, creating a hard shell finish and wet-look gloss finish.
Waterborne Enamels
- Increasing levels of environmental concerns are the driving factors behind the development of waterborne or water-based acrylics and urethane paints. Waterborne products are more versatile paints. Waterborne paints can be applied to bare metal or over primer or existing coatings. These nontoxic paints are the most favored choice for do-it-yourself car finishers working from a home auto shop. Waterborne paints should be top coated with a waterborne or acrylic clear coat urethane to ensure long-lasting results.
Paint Classification Systems
- Automotive paints can be separated into classifications among a number of unique categories. Another automotive paint classification system separates paints into undercoat, single-stage, base-coat, mid-stage and clear-coat products. This system classifies paints in terms of when they are used in the painting process rather than their composition.
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