Car paint job adds to production costs and makes the car appealing to a buyer. People engage paint job services their cars for different reasons. For example, aesthetics, paint protection or car customization.
Your car paint job is as important as everything else that’s in your vehicle and any damage to it will not make you happy. For example a keyed car paint job would be such a turn off.
Therefore, you will need some knowledge about the different types of car paint jobs in order to ensure that your car body looks attractive.
Types of car paint jobs.
There are three main types of car paint jobs. They are all meant to serve different needs that you may have. For example paint correction and paint protection. Further, you can engage car paint job services to change the auto body paint appearance completely. For example if your car faces a paint fade.
a]. Whole body paint.
Firstly, the whole body paint involves the application of automotive paint through out the vehicle incase of any paint damage. For example in the occasion of rust repair.
This option ensures that your vehicle has a uniform finish. You have the option of getting a fresh coat of the same paint or a completely new automotive paint.
b]. Spot paint.
Secondly, the spot paint involves applying paint touch-up when there has been some paint damage. This car detailing activity is great for scratch repair or incase you have an accident. Firstly you the professionals will perform a bodywork repair and then they will paint over the damaged spot.
c]. Clear coat automotive paint.
The role of this type of car paint job is to keep your auto body paint looking shiny and new. Further, it helps with automotive paint UV protection and protection from other elements like acid rain. It is advisable to get a clear coat when you notice that your car’s clear coat is peeling off.
Stages of painting a car.
The process of painting a car is not straight forward. It requires a dust free environment, sanding, protection for the areas that shouldn’t be painted over and rust treatment.
a]. Vehicle preparation.
This stage involves the removal of impurities from the vehicle’s body. It is done by sandblasting the paint, rust and other impurities in order to remove them. Spray high pressure water onto the car body.
b]. Primer application.
This is a type of paint that contains resin, solvents and additives. The purpose of applying primer is to prepare the car body for painting. This is the deepest layer of the car body paint.
Further, the primer helps to fill out any deep scratches that may be in place. Hence leveling the car body surface for painting.
Further it is essential to apply primer in order to protect the car body from rust, UV protection and high temperatures.
c]. Base coat.
This is the step that gives the car its color. It involves the application of the different types of car paint color options.
d]. Clear coat.
This is a transparent coat that is applied on top of the base coat in order to ensure that the base coat is protected. It is important to have a clear coat the is long lasting. Because this will prevent the base coat from scratching, fading and other harmful elements.
Types of car paint.
The different types of auto body paint available in the market have different characteristics. Additionally, the offer different benefits to the user.
They are the common ones that you’re going to consider when undertaking custom car painting. These types of car paint have different car color options for you to choose from. But the technicians will advice you concerning this.
a]. Clear coat.
Some people get confused between car paint wax and polish when it comes to paint protection. The clear coat is usually transparent and shinny.
Car paint job technicians apply the clear coat after they have applied the base coat. The purpose of doing this is so that the base paint can have protection.
If the base paint is left without a clear coat, it is susceptible to fading and scratches. This is where the auto body paint wax comes in. It gives the car body a gloss finish.
Incase there is a scratch on the clear coat only, it can be buffed off without much effort. However, if the scratch reaches the base paint, it will be noticeable and you will have to perform extensive automotive paint job repair.
b]. Metallic paint.
As the name suggests, this type of paint has some metallic powder within it. Therefore, the metallic powder mixed into the paint reflects light hence providing a shiny effect.
The car body will still have a shiny out-look even when there is no direct light. This paint job adds to the value of the vehicle because it is not a cheap option.
Therefore this car body modification should be declared to the insurance if you expect to be reimbursed incase of an accident.
Disadvantages of metallic paint.
The paint is quite expensive and car’s that are produced with this paint will usually cost a little bit more than those that have a solid paint.
Secondly, dust and dirt stands out more on metallic paint jobs. Therefore, you will have to clean your vehicle more often.
Further, scratches and swirls will stand out on a metallic paint finish. In fact this paint scratches much more easily. Therefore, you will have to be very careful about the material you use to wash the vehicle.
Lastly, getting an exact color matching your metallic paint finish is much more difficult. Therefore, repairing it is such a hard thing and you might have to undertake a whole body car respray.
c]. Pearl paint.
Thirdly, the pearl paint is known for its shiny properties. It is usually more shinier than the metallic paint. That means that this paint is more expensive and it requires much more maintenance.
Manufacturers avoid offering many cars that have the pearl paint. However, the high end brands usually offer a long range of different pearl paint colors.
Pearl paint contains ceramic powder crystals mixed into it. Therefore, it has the ability to reflect and refract light. Meaning that the paint has a unique color depth. This makes the paint to have different color appearance from different angles.
Disadvantages of pearl paint.
It is more susceptible to marks, scratches and swirls.
Pearl paint is much more difficult to repair because finding a color matching your automotive paint job is quite difficult.
d]. Matte finish.
This auto body paint has a unique texture coating that does not shine at all. In order to achieve a matte finish you need a primer that contains epoxy or PVC paint content and lastly a flattening agent in the lacquer.
These will make the paint to absorb more light than it reflects. Further, the paint will have a dull sheen finish. Matte finish requires a lot of maintenance.
Whereby any bird droppings should be removed almost immediately. Because the bird droppings have acidic components that may eat through the paint work if left there.
Disadvantages of matte finish.
The matte finish does not have a large range of car color options. It is available in silver, black or grey colors only.
It is more costly in comparison to pearl paint and metallic paint.
e]. Acrylic paint.
This is a water-based paint that is easily applicable through spray painting. Further this paint dries up quite fast in comparison to the others. However, acrylic paint does not last for a long duration.
f]. Enamel paint.
This is one of the most durable and damage resistant automotive paint amongst all of them. It is oil based meaning that it has a shiny and gloss finish. The paint is resistant to fading, chipping, scratches and swirls. Therefore, it does not have a high level of maintenance requirements.