What layers does the car paint consist of?

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Recently updated on September 22, 2023 at 07:49 am

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Car paint is the largest, but also the most sensitive and high-quality surface on the car. The paint surface is always exposed to strong external, chemical and mechanical influences. That's why car paint is usually made up of five different layers, which ensure long-term stability and protection of the sheet metal underneath.

Car paint consists of the following layers:

1. As a pre-treatment, the car is sprayed and dipped with various phosphate salt solutions. This creates a crystalline metal phosphate layer.
2. An anti-corrosion primer is then applied to the sheet metal. This primer leads to good adhesion and ensures that corrosion is prevented or at least greatly slowed down.
3. Now filler is applied. This fills in unevenness in the substrate so that these are not visible in the thin top coat. The filler also acts as protection against stone chipping. In the case of scratches, the layer is usually visible as a white layer. After drying, the filler is sanded smooth.
4. The colored base coat is then applied. This is often enriched with effect pigments such as metallic or pearl effect.
5. Finally, a clear coat is applied to protect the paintwork against external, mechanical and environmental stress.

Tips for determining the depth of scratches in car paint.

Scratches in the car paint are unsightly, as particularly deep scratches can easily lead to rust and the sheet metal is permanently damaged. That's why it's important to check the depth of the scratch immediately after discovering it, and then to take appropriate corrective action as quickly as possible. Whether you can repair scratches yourself with little effort and on your own, or whether it is better to go to a professional, depends on the depth of the scratch, but also on the size. But also from the general condition, the current value and whether you want to resell the car or not. The brand and the associated prestige of the vehicle can also play a role in the decision.

At this point we are only addressing the depth of the scratch as the other factors may vary by vehicle.

How can you determine the depth of the scratches in the paint? This can be done in two steps.

1. Take a close look at the scratch first, use a magnifying glass. Can you see a different color than the top coat on the damaged area? Then the scratch goes into the primer. Unfortunately, polishing does not help in this case.
2. Now run your fingernail over the scratch. If you get stuck on it, the scratch is also too deep to buff out.

Damage to the clear coat

In the case of slight damage to the car paint, usually only the clear coat is affected. Such scratches can easily be removed with a scratch remover or a Touch-up pen with clear lacquer remove. After that, polish it up and you can't see anything anymore.

medium deep scratches

These are medium-deep scratches if they have penetrated into the paintwork. In this case you will see a different color in the paint. However, you should not see the white or gray of the primer or even the underlying metal. In order to be able to find the right paint for the touch-up, you need the color code of the car, which can be found on the VIN plate.

deep scratches

If you can see a white or gray stripe or even the metal in the scratch, the scratch in the paintwork is probably very deep. In order to be able to repair this, you need not only manual skills but also good ones Repair kit with sandpaper in different grits, a degreaser, primer and car paint spray in the color code of the vehicle as well as clear coat.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it!

tuningblog has countless other articles on the subject of car and auto tuning in stock. Do you want to see them all? Just click HERE and look around. In part, we would like to provide you with news but also off the tuning. In our category Tips, products, information & Co We have reviews of car or accessories manufacturers, new ones Tuning Wiki Terms or one or the other Leak veröffentlicht. Following an excerpt of the last articles:

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