Painting the car to make it like new
Damage to car surfaces often results in damage to the car’s paintwork. A damaged paint surface will cause metal parts to rust if the paint damage is not repaired. That’s why InCar always paints cars when the paintwork is damaged. Plastic parts, such as bumpers, are also painted for cosmetic reasons, even if the paint on the plastic part does not cause rust. Cosmetic repair preserves the value of the car.
We provide car painting services in our own modern, high-quality paint shops. With our own paint shops, we save both time and the environment by eliminating the need to move cars for painting. We use high quality, low emission automotive paints. This, combined with modern painting equipment and protective equipment, creates a safe working environment for our staff. At the same time, we minimise our impact on the environment.
Here’s how to look after the paint on your newly painted car – read the tips here!
How to perform an auto-painting
Before painting, the car is washed and damaged parts are carefully inspected. Based on this, we choose the working methods to achieve the best possible result. Damaged areas are roughened by sanding and uneven areas are smoothed and sanded. The sanded area is then cleaned and adjacent areas that are not primed are covered with plastic or paper.
The next step is to spray a primer suitable for each material on the car. The primer can be sanded to ensure a quality finish. Once the primer has been sanded, we move on to preparing the whole area for topcoating. The entire area to be painted is lightly sanded to ensure the adhesion of the new paint. Adjacent parts and areas are protected and cleaned again. The colour of the car is then carefully determined using a colour camera and colour maps. The final surface colour is then sprayed onto the surface of the car.
Painting is carried out with different types of spray paint in purpose-built spray booths. Once the car has been given its final colour, it is dried at around 60 degrees Celsius. The drying time is between 15 and 30 minutes, depending on the type of paint. However, it takes weeks for the paint to dry completely, but this does not prevent the car from being used. The paint surface is carefully checked and, if necessary, the paint surface is finished to ensure the final result. Finally, the car is cleaned and washed. The whole process of painting a car is manual and requires care, precision and professionalism.
Quality control and standards
The quality control of paintwork must be based on the instructions given by car manufacturers, the criteria given by paint manufacturers and the conditions of the garage industry. There are standards for assessing paint quality produced by car manufacturers, paint manufacturers, standard systems and quality programmes.
The quality of the paint surface is considered in terms of:
- Abrasion scratches and deformations must not be visible when the object is viewed from a distance of one metre.
- When using fillers, the instructions of the car and material manufacturers must be taken into account.
- The texture and shape of the aggregates and grouts must match the original.
- The structure and thickness of the paint film must meet the requirements and instructions of the car and paint manufacturers. Film thicknesses can be measured on metal parts, but not on plastic parts.
- Hue, which is assessed visually, preferably outdoors in daylight but not in direct sunlight. Any differences in tone may be faded into adjacent parts. If necessary, this is already done during the normal painting process. Fading refers to areas or parts adjacent to the damaged area which are painted to reduce the difference in tone.
When considering the quality of the paint finish, the quality requirements must be related to the quality of other paint finishes on the car, taking into account the correct repair methods.
Environmentally friendly methods
When it comes to the environment, the automotive sector is one of the biggest eyesores and refinishing is not considered an eco-act. Yet the sector is constantly evolving in this area too. There is an old perception, but it is wrong.
Spray booths, where painting usually takes place, have developed considerably in terms of energy efficiency over the last few years. New, more efficient and environmentally friendly ways of heating spray booths are constantly being developed, such as infra- and gas-heated CMC booths. An infrared heater allows heat to be focused only on the area to be dried, thus avoiding unnecessary heating of the entire chamber. In the past, paint booths have been heated with fossil fuels, but at InCar we prefer more modern and environmentally friendly paint booths. Airflow in the chambers can be controlled more precisely, which contributes to drying of the paint and energy efficiency during the painting process.
Since the early 2000s, legislation has tightened the limits on VOC emissions from chemical products. VOC stands for volatile organic compounds. In terms of paint emissions, we are working with our paint supplier to find lower emission products for our use. One example is UV-curable paints, which have a high dry solids content to reduce VOCs.
InCar is a Finnish pioneer in damage repair
Today, InCar is Finland’s leading damage repair chain and a pioneer in the development of the industry, with more than 500 employees who excel at their work in more than 60 locations across Finland.
InCar aims to eliminate the annoyance and stress experienced by motorists in the event of and after a car accident. It sounds impossible, but we like to fix dents in cars and our industry on a daily basis.
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