Team Uv To Produce Coatings Racecar - Brief Article

Automotive Finishing, Spring, 2001

Sixteen of the coating industry's leading companies have banded together under the TEAM UV banner to produce a racecar coated with the latest paint and coatings technology. The finished car will tour the automotive finishing circuit for about a year and a half. Targeted shows include the Coating 2001 show in Orlando, Finishing 2001 in Chicago, as well as the ICE (Industrial Coatings Exposition), SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturer's Association), SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), Automotive Finishing 2002 and RadTech 2002.

BASF, Southfield, MI, is supplying the liquid and UV coatings for the car's fiberglass body. A UV curable primer and clear topcoat, which use a hybrid cure mechanism for enhanced performance, have been developed. The vehicle's color base coat is a "flip-coat" that changes appearance at different lighting and angles. DSM Resins, Augusta, GA, is furnishing resins for UV powder coatings used on the car's components. CIBA Specialty Chemicals, Troy, MI, is a leading supplier for the photo-initiators and pigments for the UV paints.

The body will be coated with equipment supplied by ITW Ransburg, Toledo, OH. With the help of Fusion UV Systems, Gaithersburg, MD, ITW will install a facility for handling large-scale automotive parts like those used on the car. FANUC Robotics North America, Inc., Rochester Hills, MI, will be using its paint robot to coat the car body parts with UV cure paint. Govesan Powder Coatings, Woodbury, MN, is responsible for the UV curable powder coatings used for the car's frame, oil filter and other temperature-sensitive components. High performance Fusion UV lamps will be used to cure the powder coatings, and ITW Gema will supply the powder application equipment and application expertise. UCB Chemicals, Smyrna, GA, is also supplying raw materials for UV liquid and powder UV coatings, inks and adhesives.

Henkel Surface Technologies, Madison Heights, MI, is furnishing both the pretreatment for the alloy wheels and an Autophoretic [R] primer for the car's complex metal frame.

A few non-UV companies have joined the team to provide new technology in areas where UV may not provide an answer yet. Kalcor Coatings Company, Willoughby, OH, provides paint for some of the suspension components. These coatings are designed to pass the demanding OEM tests now required of many exterior, underbody components. The Magni Group, Birmingham, MI, provides zinc-rich metallic coatings used on the fasteners, fuel-filler tube and brake rotors. The alloy wheels will be vacuum metallized using a process developed by Vergason Technologies, Inc., Van Etton, NY. To protect and enhance the metallized parts, Red Spot Paint and Varnish Company, Evansville, IN, is providing a hard, clear coating.

Once the car is complete, the car body graphics and logos will be applied by Kay Automotive Graphics, Lake Orion, MI. Some of the pressure sensitive adhesives and coatings used for decoration will be cured using electron-beam technology supplied by Energy Sciences Inc., Wilmington, MA.

Aside from coordinating the project, Nutro Corporation, Strongsville, OH, will be providing much of the custom engineered curing and material handling equipment needed for the project, IR and UV process equipment for coating and spraying the car.

The entire process of coating the car's components is being documented with photography and video for the team's web site (www.teamuv.com), trade publications and seminars on the technology. The Team UV web site also contains links to each sponsor's web site to aid those interested in gathering further information.