Underbody Coating
Underbody Coating & its purpose
Underbody coating is thick layer of paint coated on the underbody of the car to prevent corrosion, wear & tear. It is recommended for the car to avoid the damage created from the poor external conditions of the road.
Evolution of Underbody coating:
In the early days’ car is brushed with varnish like product and then the coating is sanded and smoothed. The Varnish is applied multiple times for establishing better thickness, later the enamel paints were used.
The modern-day process is refined with the inclusion of pretreatment, Electrodeposition, PVC (sealant), Primer and then finally the two coats of paints were added.
External coating layer thickness:
Types of Underbody coating:
Rubberized underbody coating, Asphalt based under body coating, Polyurethane undercoating, Wax/Paraffin undercoating, 3M, Penray & Rust/Oleum
Benefits of underbody coating:
Minimizes Sound: It minimizes the sound from underneath the car resulting a noiseless, smooth driving experience.
Heat Insulation: It insulates the interior of the car from extreme temperatures from beneath the vehicle providing a comfortable cabin experience.
Disadvantages of underbody coating:
It is expensive
Recent trends in coating process:
Powder coating:
The powder used is a mixture of fine particles of pigment and resin that is electrostatically sprayed onto the surface to be coated. The charged powder particles adhere to the electrically grounded surfaces until the powder is heated and fused into a smooth coating in the curing oven. The result is a uniform, durable, high-quality, and attractive finish. Powder coating is the fastest growing finishing technology in North America, representing over 10% of all industrial finishing applications.
3-Wet paint:
To eliminate spray paint, 3-Wet paint system has been developed. This new approach eliminates the primer oven in the coating process. Waterborne, 3-wet paint systems have been developed to reduce VOCs and CO2 emissions. These systems apply the primer coat, then basecoat and finally the clearcoat, after which curing is accomplished in only one oven.