Your newer vehicle is covered in a layer of paint that's got a very important job- to make your car shine beautifully for years while protecting its sheet-metal body. Components of today's cars and trucks are built to last longer than ever before, and paint is no exception.
The part of your vehicle's paint that carries its color is similar in thickness to a piece of paper- though it can often look a lot deeper. That thin coat of color has to stand up to direct sunlight, mud, gravel, snow and rain for years and years. Imagine what would happen to the colors of your furniture or clothing in the same conditions!
John Hall, Ford's lead designer of colors and materials, talks about how paint is vital for protection as well as looks.
"Paint provides durability in addition to color" he says.
"There are layers of paint that most people don't notice or see, like electro-coat primer, or maybe even the clear top coat, that provide protection and better appearance. The paint on cars and trucks is actually several layers that are a total system of coatings that all effectively bond to each other, preventing rust from inside, providing color and gloss, and protecting from sun and humidity from the outside."
Testing to ensure a given standard of durability includes subjecting paint to extreme conditions where painted 'test panels' are chipped, scratched, sanded or dented and then sent away to extreme weather sites for years and observed. Automotive paint experts think up dozens of ways to torture their paints so that they'll last for years in the hands of owners who take care of them.
A coat of wax can work wonders to protect paint from tree-sap and bug-splatter that can quickly eat away at the clear-coat, too. Each of those tiny bugs stuck to your bumper after a summer road-trip is slowly eating away at the paint- so any form of protection is a plus. Remember to leave the dish-soap in the kitchen- it's bad for your paint.
Hall adds "The best possible treatment for an automotive finish is to keep it clean and dry by washing it with lots of water and very diluted detergent. Rinsing and drying your car is also important. Use a clean towel or chamois and don't use abrasive materials like polishes and rags which contain dirt. Paint finishes come from the factory with a baked on paint film which has a glossy surface tension which is very durable. The more you abrasively rub at that surface, the more you will tend to damage that surface over time."
Don't have the time to clean and protect your vehicles paint yourself? Ask your dealership for information on washing, polishing and protecting your paint next time you're in.
Keeping your ride's body clean, polished and protected will help it look its best in your driveway, and help to fetch higher resale value when the time comes to sell.
photo:Justin Pritchard
The part of your vehicle's paint that carries its color is similar in thickness to a piece of paper- though it can often look a lot deeper. That thin coat of color has to stand up to direct sunlight, mud, gravel, snow and rain for years and years. Imagine what would happen to the colors of your furniture or clothing in the same conditions!
John Hall, Ford's lead designer of colors and materials, talks about how paint is vital for protection as well as looks.
"Paint provides durability in addition to color" he says.
"There are layers of paint that most people don't notice or see, like electro-coat primer, or maybe even the clear top coat, that provide protection and better appearance. The paint on cars and trucks is actually several layers that are a total system of coatings that all effectively bond to each other, preventing rust from inside, providing color and gloss, and protecting from sun and humidity from the outside."
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Testing to ensure a given standard of durability includes subjecting paint to extreme conditions where painted 'test panels' are chipped, scratched, sanded or dented and then sent away to extreme weather sites for years and observed. Automotive paint experts think up dozens of ways to torture their paints so that they'll last for years in the hands of owners who take care of them.
A coat of wax can work wonders to protect paint from tree-sap and bug-splatter that can quickly eat away at the clear-coat, too. Each of those tiny bugs stuck to your bumper after a summer road-trip is slowly eating away at the paint- so any form of protection is a plus. Remember to leave the dish-soap in the kitchen- it's bad for your paint.
Hall adds "The best possible treatment for an automotive finish is to keep it clean and dry by washing it with lots of water and very diluted detergent. Rinsing and drying your car is also important. Use a clean towel or chamois and don't use abrasive materials like polishes and rags which contain dirt. Paint finishes come from the factory with a baked on paint film which has a glossy surface tension which is very durable. The more you abrasively rub at that surface, the more you will tend to damage that surface over time."
Don't have the time to clean and protect your vehicles paint yourself? Ask your dealership for information on washing, polishing and protecting your paint next time you're in.
Keeping your ride's body clean, polished and protected will help it look its best in your driveway, and help to fetch higher resale value when the time comes to sell.
photo:Justin Pritchard