Car paint knowledge popularization and popular paint recommendations
Classification：
Company News
Release Time：
2025-06-26
Cars are essential transportation for everyone. From the initial four-wheeled vehicles to the diverse models available today, cars have undergone countless changes alongside humanity. While performance is a top priority when purchasing a car, the color of the car body is also a major concern for consumers. Regarding how a car gets its color, everyone knows it's from paint, but the details of how the color is applied and the process involved may require further explanation.
First, let's talk about car paint.
Car paint is generally baked paint. In the factory, after the chassis and shell are welded (sometimes with manual repairs), the next step is painting. Generally, it starts with a primer (higher-end cars may use phosphating anti-corrosion technology first). The bare shell is immersed in a syrup-like paint tank, then removed and the primer is baked dry; then it's sent to a dust-free workshop and topcoat is applied using electrostatic spraying. It's then baked at around 200 degrees. For more refined finishes, a clear coat is added. This completes the paint process. There are several types of topcoats: regular paint; metallic paint; pearlescent paint. Regular paint is self-explanatory, consisting of resin, pigment, and additives. Metallic paint includes aluminum powder; therefore, it looks shiny after completion. Pearlescent paint contains mica flakes. Mica is very thin, so the reflection is directional, creating a vibrant effect. If metallic paint is combined with a clear coat, the car's paint looks very shiny and beautiful. In terms of color, white is undoubtedly the cheapest.
Next, the issue of car paint fading.
Regardless of the paint color, the pigments will fade in sunlight. In fact, not just paint, but anything with color may fade under strong sunlight. Here, the additives in the paint become crucial. For example, light stabilizers and antioxidants. Unfortunately, good additives are very expensive. Often, the quality of the additives determines the overall feel of the paint. People will naturally consider paint that shows significant fading after two years to be inferior to paint that remains bright and new after five years. However, there is no paint that doesn't fade. Often, manufacturers focus on even fading, minimizing color differences in different parts of the car.
Car Paint Knowledge and Popular Paint Recommendations
Finally, let's talk about repainting.
First, everywhere, including the factory, repainting after the car is assembled will never use "original factory paint"! If a repair shop tells you they use "original factory paint," they are definitely deceiving you. The reason is simple: as mentioned in the original factory spraying process, after the paint is sprayed, it is baked at 200 degrees. How many components on a finished car can withstand 200 degrees?
Second, the color of automotive repair paint is mixed before repair. The reason is also simple: your car may have been driven for several years, and the paint has already started to fade, although you may not notice it. If you park outdoors, the degree of fading will vary slightly in different directions due to sunlight. To match the original color as closely as possible, it must be mixed on-site. Also, to avoid color differences as much as possible, even if only a small area needs repainting, the entire section will be resprayed. For example, if there is a damaged area on the car door, the entire upper or lower half will be sprayed, depending on the trim, to minimize the visibility of any slight color difference.
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