TECHNOLOGY OF CLEARCOATS

by Tom Horvath

In the last 100 years, humans have produced a lot of VOC (Volatile organic compounds). All industries have had to look at ways to reduce VOC, and hopefully repair any damage to the earth that has been done either by just waste or by vapor.

When I started painting cars professionally 35 years ago, there were no limits to how much paint could be applied; you simply painted until you achieved the desired finish or it ran on the floor. Today, topcoats or clearcoats are measured at every stage of completion, from the amount of clear mixed with the hardening agent and in some cases the amount of reducer, to the amount of coats applied to the car. This simple process has been instrumental on controlling waste and making a better overall surface.

Changing Technology

Topcoats and clearcoats have really changed over the years and because most cars that are painted or repaired are repaired with clearcoat, this will be the topic of discussion.

Boy oh boy! Paints are really changing fast these days. Forty years ago, when I was just a boy going to my dad’s shop, there really weren’t that many different kinds of topcoats and clearcoats. I remember a pale and yellow-looking clear muck and asking what it was.  My dad went on to explain that it was clearcoat, but it looked more like some kind of glue that had started to get hard. Back then not many cars had an actual clearcoat as a topcoat. The clear was mixed as a gloss enhancer to the topcoat.

As a body shop owner, this is what I’ve been told as to why there has been such a big driving force behind all the changes in the industry regarding topcoats. And I would have to say none of the changes have been easy or inexpensive, but at the same time I see a much cleaner environment in California and in the body shops I visit every day.

The Problem

The problem is how to care for this new surface, because it’s not the same as the surface that was sprayed 35 years ago. As for detailing products, the industry has been very slow to change as the paint refinish manufacturers have been forced to make great strides at a better overall finish.

The products to polish these older surfaces were completely different than the polishes of today. The polish and compound of yesterday was called diminishing abrasive and worked as a friction product breaking down as it removed the painted surface. As these diminishing particles are being worked into the surface, they are removing paint to take out imperfections in the surface, which can cause burning or rub through.

The worst problem here is that the industry has been slow to recognize the problem of using diminishing abrasive particles on the newer paint surfaces. The newer auto manufacturers, because of the VOC rules, have had to paint cars with a very thin overall mill thickness (between 3.0 mils and 5.0 mils on the autos we measured). This being said, the use of diminishing abrasives could be very harmful to a new car’s finish.

The Answer

The answer is SPP, or Single Product Polishing. The way SPP works is a lot like sand paper only much, much finer. All particles are engineered to be as close to the same size as possible, giving a controlled cut or polish throughout the process with only one product.

For minor swirl marks, the SPP program works with different foam pads to achieve a perfect finish on any polishable surface and because the SPP program can control its cut rate, there is less chance of burn-through than the old-fashioned diminishing abrasive. For major surface imperfections, SPP can completely remove any defect that is polishable using a more abrasive pad (like wool) and then finish with foam pad, all with one product.

The SPP system of polishing paint makes the old-fashioned way of polishing paint with diminishing abrasive completely obsolete. The SPP way of polishing is changing the way surfaces are polished throughout the detailing industry, manufacturing industry and even auto body shops all over the world. It has been mil-gauge measured to be the safest way to polish paint and because SPP only uses one product to complete all polishing, it is also the most user-friendly and cost-effective way to a perfect finish.

Tom Horvath is owner of Tom’s Custom Auto Body and Paint located in Anaheim Calif. and has been around for almost 30 years. He is also an owner/ inventor of System One wax and polish products. The sole purpose of Tom’s Custom Auto Body and Paint is to repair high line automobiles including Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Corvettes and Ford Panteras. Tom Horvath has won many first place paint and show awards including a “First in Class” at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance. He is the co-author of Pro Paint and Body by HP Books. For more information, please contact tomsautobody@earthlink.net.