Smart's paintless roof - WIP - DaimlerChrysler's SMART division

Automotive Design & Production, Dec, 2002

One of the reasons that automakers don't use more molded-in color plastic exterior body panels is the difficulty of consistently delivering the Class "A" finish that paint provides. But BASF Corp. thinks it may have that problem licked and it has the production parts to prove it. Earlier this year the DaimlerChrysler's SMART division began turning out cars with Class "A" roof modules that never met a paint gun.

The modules, which are manufactured by ArvinMeritor in Germany, use BASF's "paintless film molding" (PFM) system to produce a high-gloss black finish which meets all chemical resistance, weathering and scratch resistance requirements. The module is made by thermoforming the PFM film to the shape of the roof and then injecting it with a long glass-fiber reinforced polyurethane foam. The PFM method has been used since SMART'S introduction of the all-plastic roof in 1998, but until this year the surface was textured. Now that high-gloss Class "A" surfaces can be achieved, BASF projects their PFM system will become a much more competitive alternative to expensive painting operations.