A few years ago a good friend of mine, John Pfanstiel wrote an article on clear coat paint finishes. The presentation was directed to paint and body shop owners and technician, but the information can be very valuable to detailers too. With his permission, borrowing from this article, we can provide some good information about clear coat paint finishes.

It wasn't until the late 80's and early 90's that most U.S. auto manufacturers began to use clear coat paint finishes on their vehicles almost exclusively. For that reason every detailer must know, understand and be able to identify a base-coat/clear-coat paint finish.

The Early Clearcoats
In the 50's & 60's, the hey-day of customized cars, a thick topcoat of clear (usually laquer) was the final finish to a customized car's finish. The reasons that this was done for greater depth and gloss to the paint. It also protected any murals, custom graphics or striping that was on the car. You could also buff the finish time after time to keep it in showroom condition.

In those days "custom-painters" were under the illusion that more paint was better paint and you would see the error of this assumption when they laid on excessively thick laquer clear-coat finishes. If you were in the paint or detail business back then you will remember the paint finishes that cracked in less than a year, after all the solvent had evaporated.

In spite of the fragile nature of these early attempts at clear coating paint finishes, it was their durability that moved the automotive industry toward their almost exclusive use today.

The auto manufacturers use clear coats for a number of reasons: Appearance; Durability; Pollution Reduction (little solvent evaporation); Reparability; Cost of Application. Let's look at each one and the impact it has on the market.

Appearance
As mentioned, appearance was one of the main reasons custom painters in the 50's/60's used clear coats. This is no less important today for the auto manufacturers. Let's face it, appearance sells cars, both new and used. Think about it, when a consumer looks at a car the first thing they see is the paint. In fact, studies show that the appearance of the paint is the single largest factor when car buyers are selecting a late model used car.

The dependability of automobiles is so good today that the motorist expect a year or two old cars will be in good mechanical condition. Therefore the appearance of the vehicle is now the major factor in the purchase.

Add to this the fact that a clearcoat adds gloss and depth to the finish and you have higher consumer expectations with regard to a car's finish. If this car doesn't look as good as that car, they won't buy it. Many car owners today are very perceptive about the paint finish on their car and much more demanding of the work that is done to the paint whether detailing or body and paint repair.

How many of your customers complain about swirls, scratches and water spots?

There are other appearance advantages of clear coats. By using clear coats the manufacturers are able to create more specialized colors. Just look at some of the dazzling colors on the new cars today. This is made possible by the use of clear coats and techniques that can be utilized.

Durability
Believe it or not, some of today's clearcoat paint finishes are the most durable ever applied to automobiles. This is true not only of factory finishes, but also in the aftermarket.

As you may know the factory has the advantage of baking the paint at a high temperature because the wiring, plastic, etc is not in the car until after painting. In the aftermarket this high temperature is not possible so the paint manufacturers have developed chemically drying paints that cure at lower temperatures.

Proof of the durability of clear coats over single stage paint finishes is evidenced by the warranties that auto manufacturers are offering on the clearcoat paint finishes. Typically they do not offer the same warranty for single stage paint finishes.

Durability is really a very real concern for car owners today. With the increase in airborne pollution and other environmental factors, a car's finish is subject to serious damage. Acid rain; jet fuel fallout; industrial fallout; hard water, not to mention high acidic bird droppings; insect residue; tree sap all are very dangerous to a paint finish if not removed immediately.

The durability of the clearcoat goes even beyond the topcoat itself. By adding UV blockers to the clearcoat you have a new level of protection for the pigments in the base coat. As you know oxidation and fading have always been the major problem with paint finishes and the biggest problem faced by detailers. Now our biggest problem is to eliminate scratching and etching in the clearcoat, which in many cases is impossible. It can be reduced, but not always eliminated.

Pollution
In a very direct way, clearcoats help to reduce pollution because they allow the use of a water-based color coat. This may not seem like much but it has a major impact on the environment. By not using solvent based color coats you dramatically eliminate the release of VOC's (solvents) into the atmosphere. As yet they have not been able to develop a durable waterborne clearcoat, but that is coming too.

Repair & Maintenance
Clearcoats make repairs and maintenance much easier. For example, a repair can be made on a portion of the panel and the color coat blended in that area, then the entire panel is clear coated. This will eliminate the problem of panel to panel color mismatches.

As detailers you know that clear coats do create some problems of their own for you, but in general the clearcoat has really helped to reduce the amount of time we have to spend on the paint finish. Typically a 4 to 5 year old clearcoat that has not been abused can be brought back very easily, sometimes with even an orbital tool.

Even a clearcoat with scratches or water spots that has to be buffed is much easier to work on than an oxidized metallic single stage paint finish. If the correct compound and pad is used the first time the process is much quicker.

Those paint finish problems that can't be corrected with either an orbital or buffer can be handled by a light wet-sanding, which only qualified detailers should attempt to do. However, if you know what you are doing and can properly evaluate the problem with the customer, you can charge far more money than for just a buff polish and wax.

Cost of Application
While most car manufacturers won't admit it, the cost of applying clearcoat/basecoat finishes substantially reduces their cost to paint the car. How so? First, recognize that the most expensive ingredient in paint is the pigments. With single stage paint finishes a manufacturer would apply at least 4 to 5 mils of colored paint. Compare this to no more than 1 mil of colored paint that is covered with 1.5 to 2 mils of clearcoat. Doesn't take much to see they are saving money.

What a Detailer Should Know About Clearcoats
Although clear coats do provide additional protection, there is a limit as to how much clearcoat can be removed in the buffing or wet-sanding process without jeopardizing the long-term durability of the paint finish. When too much clear is removed by wet-sanding or buffing the problem is often not visible to the naked eye. In fact, the results must look fantastic. However, you can bet the UV protection has been dramatically reduce to the point that they color coat will be negatively affected by the sun and other factors.

For these reasons all car manufacturers now specify that the paint thickness be measured in 0.1mil, or 1/1000th of an inch before and after any wet sanding or buffing. If only 0.5 mils of clearcoat has been removed the integrity of the clearcoat is in danger. And, manufacturers could void a warranty if they know about this.

The following are the maximum allowable clearcoat reductions the major USA car manufacturers will allow: Chrysler  0.5 mils; Ford  0.3 mils; GM  0.5 mils.

As a professional detailer you really should have a paint thickness gauge and it should be used on every car that you will be using a high speed buffer and compound on to correct a paint finish problem. In principle you owe it to the customer, and you owe it to yourself should you damage the paint, or have the customer come back at some later time with paint damage.

Today's Factory Finishes
Chrysler Corporation was one of the first manufacturers to use clearcoat/basecoat paint finishes throughout their entire North American passenger car line. Ford utilizes the clearcoat finish on about 98% of their vehicles. They are a leader in the use of tinted clearcoat finishes.

General Motors uses clears almost exclusively. The exception would be some of their larger vehicles and fleet vehicles where the customer specifies single stage paint.

Looking at Tomorrow
Unquestioningly clearcoat paint finishes are here to stay. The clearcoat itself for the aftermarket will continue to be solvent-based urethanes chemically curing at low heat. Those for the OEM's will be mainly high temperature curing. That doesn't mean that research is not ongoing, but for the future this is what it is.

There is some work being done with powder-coating technology, but you won't see cars rolling out of Detroit with powder-coated clears in the near future. They have not been able to overcome the technical problems of producing a high-quality finish on large surfaces.

While this information may just be that in your day to day detailing, it is the type of information that makes you a professional and knowledgeable in your field. Don't ever stop learning.