Undercoat And Clearcoat Developments

Today’s topcoat systems are a marvel of refinish technology. However, topcoat systems are part of a total system of coatings in which products such as tinted undercoats and a variety of clearcoat options play an increasingly important role.

For some translucent colors, tinted primers or primer/sealers help achieve a good color match in a minimum of coats. In such cases, also referred to as colors with poor "opacity," tinted undercoats also play a part in the success of the color match.

Clearcoat systems also need to give refinishers options for speed and gloss. In recent years, several refinish manufacturers have expanded their clearcoat offerings by adding "spot/panel" or "super-productive" clearcoat options, usually through the use of different additives.

Let’s examine what some of the major refinish companies are offering in terms of tinted undercoats, clearcoat options, as well as some notable new products.

American Standox
American Standox has introduced Standox 2K Color Filler in North America. Though Herberts Standox 2K primer filler can be tinted, the 2K Color Filler is designed especially for tinting with either Standox single stage or basecoat colors. The 2K Color Filler can be used as a sanding primer filler or as a wet-on-wet sealer.

Gary Scott, North American technical manager for Standox, points out that because tinting achieves a similar color prior to topcoating, a tinted undercoat can help hide stone chips that might occur to a vehicle.

"When used in chip-prone areas, tintable undercoats can help to minimize the visual effect of stone chips," said Scott. Tintable undercoats may also be used in design and special effect painting, said Scott.

Herberts Standox has a clearcoat specifically designed for high-production facilities. The 2K Clear 20-60 is a high-solid clear that utilizes a one-and-a-half coat process with a 20-minute bake at 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Standox continues to introduce its Standohyd waterborne refinish system in selected North American markets.

BASF
Both the R-M and Glasurit systems offer options to tint wet-on-wet sealers. Glasurit also offers options to tint their two-component (2K) primer surfacers. R-M has recently enhanced their wet-on-wet sealer, DP 21, to offer tinting capability with both Diamont basecoat and HS Solo colors or tint bases.

The Glasurit 285-22 MS primer may be tinted with 21 Line as a primer surfacer. Glasurit 285-81 may be tinted with 21 Line as a wet-on-wet sealer.

According to Mike Carroll, R-M brand manager, tintable undercoats offer numerous advantages. "An undercoat that resembles the color of topcoat will lead to less usage of the topcoat. Primers and sealers are generally less expensive than topcoats, thus saving money," said Carroll.

In the clearcoat category, R-M and Glasurit offer various options. R-M introduced DC76 Turbo Clear specifically for repairs in low airflow conditions. When used with DH15 Turbo Hardener Fast, DC76 dries to the touch in as little as three minutes.

A new addition to the DC76 Turbo Clear line is a "slow" hardener DH19. This hardener gives refinishers the flexibility to slow down the DC76 drying time for certain applications, including warm shop temperatures and larger repairs.

New products coming from BASF this year include the Glasurit 22 line (single- stage topcoat system) and the 55 line (base/clear system). New from R-M is Limco 1-2-3, a low-priced refinish system.

DuPont
DuPont offers various tinting options in its numerous undercoat products. Its Prime ’N Seal, URO prime and URO shade can be tinted. The mixing ratio is the same for all 10 percent, or 80 grams of tinting color to 800 grams of undercoat for a quart mixture.

According to DuPont, shaded or tinted undercoats are important for three main reasons: topcoat hiding, low contrast in case of stone chips, and having color-keyed undercoats for use under the hood and deck.

Clearcoat options abound in DuPont’s various systems. For instance, in the ChromaClear line, 7600S Super Productive Clear 5.0 VOC and V-7600S Super Productive Clear 4.4 VOC are designed for spot and panel repairs. For spot, panel and overall repairs, DuPont offers 7500S Multi-Use Clear 5.0 VOC, and V-7500S Multi-Use Clear 4.4 VOC. For overall and large panel repairs, DuPont has 7800S High Glamour Overall Clear 4.4 VOC and 3500S High-Glamour Clear 3.5 VOC.

For shops with high air-flow capabilities, the new ChromaPremier line offers 72200S Premier Productive Clear 4.4 VOC for spot, panel and multipanel repairs.

ICI Autocolor
Undercoat tinting options are available for both ICI’s "2K" system and its Aquabase waterborne system.

All ICI Autocolor wet-on-wet sealers are fully tintable with solid mixing colors from the 2K mixing machine. The core sealer for the 2K system is called Extraprime. This product is gray in color and is tintable up to 50 percent by volume.

Hi-Bond Rapide is a translucent sealer for use with the 2K system and can be tinted up to 50 percent by volume.

Aquabase Wet-on-Wet Sealer is a tintable product specifically designed for use with Aquabase. Grey Wet-on-Wet Sealer is low in volatile organic compound (VOC) content and can be used with both 2K and Aquabase. Other products that can be used with 2K or Aquabase are Tintable Wet-on-Wet Sealer and Hi-Dur Rapide, a fully tintable primer surfacer.

According to Arwel Griffiths, ICI Autocolor’s North American marketing director, tinted undercoats, particularly when using lead-free paint systems, aid in reducing the total number of coats of topcoat required for coverage.

ICI Autocolor offers a single MS clearcoat for spot, panel and overall refinishing. Different hardeners allow for adjusting of the clearcoat for the particular job at hand. For instance, Hardener Express provides very fast process times for small repairs. Four additional MS hardeners provide varying degrees of speed.

Martin Senour
Martin Senour offers a 2K tinted primer/surfacer called Tint/ Prime and a 2K tintable primer/ sealer called Tint/Seal. Both of these product utilize resin technology. Tint/Seal comes in 12 colors and Tint/Prime is available in 27 colors.

"Tinted undercoats provide many distinct advantages over their standard counterparts," said Robert Gray, NAPA/Martin-Senour marketing specialist. "Because a similar color ground is achieved, professional refinishers will realize significant time and materials savings."

The company’s Tec/SYSTEM clears offer various options to refinishers. The Tec/SYSTEM clears were developed for cut-in, spot and panel, overall refinishing and high-solid formulas for high production. Martin Senour also offers clearcoats designed for baking and heated booth applications and low VOC clears.

The company’s new Tec/SOLVENT #3 is a reducer that can be used in all Tec/SYSTEM undercoats and topcoats.

PPG
PPG offers a variety of tinting options in its undercoats, including: DP (Epoxy Primer), which can be tinted with itself; DCP 21 urethane primer, which can be tinted with DMC, DMD or DMHS mixing bases; K36 (PRIMA urethane primer surfacer), which can be tinted with DMC and DMD bases, or DCC color; and NCS (NCT sealers) can be tinted with DMD, DMC bases or DAU, DBU, DBC and DCC color. Gary Reedell, a PPG technical service representative, agrees with other paint experts that stone chip considerations, color match and proper hiding with translucent colors are the primary reasons to use a tinted undercoat.Reedell also says that while PPG clearcoats are versatile and interchangeable, some of them can be used for specific tasks. These include:

Although the Deltron premium system continues for PPG, the company is launching a new premium refinish system the Global Refinish System.

Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams offers Color Prime, a 2K tintable primer surfacer and color sealer, along with Color Seal, a 2K tintable primer sealer. These 2K tintable products utilize the ULTRA system’s toners to provide an array of color for use under any ULTRA topcoat.

Cost savings and improved color match are the name of the game with tinted undercoats, says Kurt Bazil, product manager for Sherwin-Williams Automotive.

"Fewer coats means time and material saving for any refinisher. Tintable undercoats can also make color matching much easier, especially if the color is transparent," said Bazil.

Sherwin-Williams offers various clearcoat options. These include ULTRA 7000 clearcoats designed for cut-in, spot and panel, overall and high-production clears that utilize high-solid resins. There are also clears designed for baking air dry, and high-solid, low-VOC clearcoats for regulated areas.

Spies Hecker
The company’s Permacron Tinting Surfacer 5100 can be tinted for wet-on-wet or sanding applications. The speed will vary with hardener and reducer selection. The 5100 product is a transparent 2K acrylic surfacer from Spies Hecker’s 2K acrylic system that can be blended with both the Spies Hecker 2K acrylic topcoats and the company’s basecoats.

Spies Hecker offers three clearcoat products for different situations. The Permacron MS Vario Clear Coat 8000 is a fast-drying, high-quality 2K acrylic urethane clearcoat used for fast or spot repair situations. The Permacron MS Clear Coat 8100 is a high-gloss clear from Spies Hecker’s 2K Acryl system especially designed for poor conditions medium to large jobs. The Permacron HS Clear Coat 8030, available in April, is a high-solids product that includes a high proportion of solid particles (56 percent at spray viscosity). It is specially designed for large jobs and high temperatures. New binding technology from Spies Hecker makes 8030 time efficient. One application of a half-coat, then a full coat without any flash-off time reduces the drying process to 30 minutes at a metal temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

A new offering from Spies Hecker in 1996 will be the addition of gray to the Priomat 1K Surfacer 4080 and Permacron HS Surfacer plus 5110. The neutral gray tone of the surfacer provides faster opacity for most colors.

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Undercoat And Clearcoat Developments
AutoInc. Magazine ®, Vol. XLIV No. 2, February 1996