Universal Coatings In the Automotive Industry

Within the past several years, the automotive industry has depended more upon plastics in the design of automobiles than ever before. With the introduction of plastics, both flexible and rigid, has come a new demand on paint. Current technology employs a “flexible” coating for use on flexible plastics, and a “rigid” coating for use on rigid plastics and steel. However, employing two types of paint, “rigid” and “flexible”, increases the potential for problems associated with color match, weatherability, etc. This paper will discuss recent developments in automotive coatings, with emphasis on the requirements and uses of “universal” coatings - those that can be applied over both rigid and flexible substrates.