A new color base coat material makes it possible to use any exterior color, an automobile industry first.
Honda Motor Company said today that it would put into production a new paint process that uses less energy. Starting next July a new painting technology at its Yorii Plant at Saitama Factory in Japan will eliminate a middle coating process from a commonly used 4-coat/3-bake auto painting process.
In its place will be a 3-coat/2-bake water-based painting system. However, unlike existing 2-bake methods where eliminating the middle coating process restricts the paint colors that can be used, the Honda method allows for any exterior color.
Honda said that has developed a material for the color base coat used in the final coating process that makes it possible to use any exterior paint color, which is an automobile industry first for a 3-coat/2-bake process. Internal research at Honda verified the claim.
Honda also will introduce a wall-mounted paint robot system with a built-in quick load / quick wash paint tank. This will lead to a significant improvement in painting efficiency, reduction of the amount of paint materials and a 40% reduction in the number of processes compared to a conventional painting process. As a result, the amount of CO2 emitted during the painting process will be reduced by 40%.
