If It’s on the Internet, Then It Must Be True

Good news, powder coating fans! A major powder coating producer and JAC Motors of China have announced that they “have pioneered the first use of VOC-free powder technology for automotive body coatings.” This was proclaimed in a December 11, 2015, press release. This truly is good news as the consumption of powder coatings for automotive bodies has been spiraling downward ever since the barrage of assembly plant shutdowns associated with the Great Recession. Many powder coating experts had given up on the potential for new growth in this market due to the adoption of environmentally sound waterborne coating technologies and the advent of the “compact” finishing process which utilizes wet on wet liquid paint processes.

Regardless, this press release causes me pause. I don’t know who writes these things, but the use of the words “VOC-free powder technology” sounds a bit redundant to me. Powder coatings have been VOC-free since their inception in the 1950s.

Another issue I have is in regard to the vague terminology of “body coatings.” Automobile body finishing comprises a multitude of coating layers. Typically a car body is chemically cleaned and pretreated (technically not a “coating”), followed by an electrocoat primer, then a primer surfacer, followed by a basecoat (color) and finally a clear topcoat. Usually, each coat requires some amount of curing process before the next layer is applied. The emerging “compact” process eliminates some of this intermediate curing. So which body coating(s) are they applying? Is it the primer surfacer, or clear topcoat, or are they using a simple single-color topcoat (no basecoat)?

Another peculiarity is the use of the terms “pioneered” and “first.” The press release leads one to believe this is the “first” use of powder technology for automotive body coating. If it were, then the use of the word “pioneer” would certainly be apt. However, powder coatings have been used commercially as body coatings for automobiles since at least 1982 when General Motors commissioned the powder primer surfacer line for S-10 trucks in their Shreveport, La., plant. This was the first commercial scale use of powder as a body coat in North America, but Honda in Japan had coated some of their small trucks with a powder topcoat prior to the S-10 installation.

Moreover, the powder coating line in Shreveport was not a fluke. General Motors, over time, proceeded to build at least nine powder coating lines for auto bodies throughout the United States and Canada. Shortly after GM went on their powder line building spree, Chrysler engineered no less than 11 powder lines for car bodies. In Europe, the PSA Peugeot Citroen group installed two lines in Mulhouse, France, and another in Slovakia. Daimler Benz also initiated the use of an aqueous powder slurry.

In addition, arguably the pinnacle of powder coating technology occurred when BMW converted their liquid topcoat line in Dingolfing, Germany, to an acrylic powder coating clear coat. This amazing powder technology provided over 10 years durability in extreme sunlight and weather conditions, cured at a very low temperature to ensure the prior coats of paint did not degrade, possessed excellent chip resistance, and resistance to environmental chemicals and car washing.

So at least a couple dozen powder coating finishing lines for automotive body coats preceded these “pioneering” efforts with JAC Motors. Maybe the press release meant that this was the first automotive body powder coat in China. Or maybe the first automotive body powder coat produced by this powder coating producer. Or maybe the author of the press release forgot to ask anyone involved in the powder coating industry. I’ll go with that one.

Kevin Biller is technical editor of Powder Coated Tough and the president of The Powder Coating Research Group. He can be reached at kevinbiller@yahoo.com.