The Development of Automotive Paint and Colors Today
Nothing says “come ride with me” like a shiny and lustrous auto body paint job. Just like the old saying of ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ a quality auto paint job is an incredible statement. It turns heads. It raises eyebrows. It almost feels as if it helps your car glide through the atmosphere more efficiently. The colors are like the car’s distinctive skin and can completely alter a car’s appearance. . The story of automotive paint is one born out of historical coincidence and, interestingly enough, war. We’ll get to that in a minute. First, let’s talk about how auto body paint restoration has grown over the decades into quite the craft with improved technologies and materials. So let’s dive into how all of this got started.
In the early part of the 20th century, there were several paint manufacturers working in the burgeoning industry of auto exterior paint and several of them were dabbling with nitrocellulose lacquers. In 1921, it was a manufacturer that was in the movie-film manufacturing business that would have a significant breakthrough in the material, kind of accidentally. The story goes something like this:
One July afternoon in 1921, a worker at the DuPont film plant left a drum of gun cotton on a loading dock beneath the hot summer sun. When the drum was found there Monday morning, the workers brought it in and expected to find a disaster. Instead, they found a pleasant surprise. The gun-cotton had turned into a viscous liquid. This was the foundation of nitrocellulose lacquer, which became the leading material for automotive paint for the next five decades or so. It was also a leading material for many acoustic instruments like guitars and saxophones. The material is mostly solvent-based and comprised of plant-based substances like cotton, mixed nitric, and sulfuric acids.
Not long after, an automobile called the Oakland was the first to be spray painted. The process was still pretty rudimentary but the concept of spray paint opened up tremendous possibilities for the industry. The following decade, nitrocellulose lacquer and alkyd enamel were used in automobile production. The style of the day varied and many manufacturers chose to use a combination with black enamel fenders and color lacquer for the body.
War Paint: How the War Affected the Automotive Paint Industry
After the war, some of the former Axis powers like Germany—who we all know excel at automobile engineering— were prohibited from using certain materials, as they could be misconstrued or misused for weapons and explosives. This meant that nitrocellulose was prohibited and this, in turn, forced these companies to look at enamel much more closely. With some clever engineering, the Germans used a high solids acrylic urethane paint system for automobiles. This synthetic enamel would improve the materials used for automotive paint.
Environmental regulations also play a role in the materials used for automotive paint today. The federal government began imposing strict standards on volatile organic compounds, transfer efficiency, high solids paint, and more. The industry struggled to find a way to meet these standards without massively raising prices and finally in the 1980’s paint manufacturers began making the necessary changes to assure compliance.
In the 1980s, a lot of car manufacturers began using urethane and polyurethane paints on their vehicles. This produces glossy finishes that have long-lasting capabilities. The process has also evolved quite a bit as well.
Today, the paint industry continues to change based on what people want and look for in their cars. As part of the auto collision repair industry, we aim to provide the highest quality paint jobs and most desired colors in the industry. Modern colors are pretty impressive compared to those used even a few decades ago. Mica flakes in a lot of the paint allow for that pearly appearance we all recognize.
Although there are many possibilities in color, some might be surprised to know that some of the more traditional colors remain the most popular. As Forbes magazine discussed, colors can have a different meaning when it comes to resale value, if you ever plan on reselling. Perhaps that might be why people stick with black, white, and silver. In 2013, for example, white was the most popular car color, according to some paint manufacturers.
We’ve come a long way since the days of automobile paint in the early 20th century. Back then, most automobiles were painted black and kept simple due to the fact that the application process was so tedious and the drying time took forever. This prompted Ford Motor Company to develop asphalt-based baked enamels. This made it far more accessible and affordable to get your car painted, which made a great difference for the consumer in the early 1900s. Today, the process is so refined and sophisticated that a proper paint job can be done in a matter of hours.
Quality Automotive Paint and Repair with Sergio Lewis Body Shop
If you’re looking for automotive paint or repair work, Sergio Lewis Body Shop will have a professional technician work on your vehicle. Whether you are looking for a reconstructive job or simply getting a new paint job for your favorite ride, go with the professionals that can do the job right.
