Vehicle Paint quality flaws revealed in new book

Two new book released in the US by Zestar Corporation have detailed the impact of outsourcing automotive paint operations, with the books summarising more than 11,000 vehicles’ paint factory film thickness data.

The same data the factories use for quality control were used in this analysis. Millions of individual measurements were analyzed and correlated with nine million production vehicles.

The data collected showed 94 out of every 100 vehicles produced would be classified as a factory paint defect, with the vehicles painted below the required film thickness specifications.

Multiple newscasts throughout North America have featured consumer complaints with vehicles’ paint failures. Consumers worldwide have also expressed complaints.

The books summarise internet search results for “vehicle brand paint problems by automaker”. The internet search results for “vehicle brand paint problems” totaled in the millions.

US automakers have adopted new business practices since the mid-1990s in which they receive a service, “painted vehicle”, instead of buying paint from the paint suppliers.

University professors and paint suppliers have separate textbooks that contain details of these new business models.
The “painted vehicle” is delivered to the automaker from the paint supplier for a fixed fee with the automakers pay for staffing, engineering, paint and services under this business practice.

The “painted vehicle” is required to meet the automakers’ specified film thicknesses for each of the layers that constitute a vehicle’s finish.

The current paint failures differ from the paint delamination of the 1980s to early 1990s. This paint delamination occurred due to the introduction of a new technology. The new technology was a “high” film build electrocoat that eliminated the primer coat. This process failed and the auto industry returned to the use of primer on multi-layer coatings.

Information on the differences between past and present paint failure issues is presented in the two books released by Zestar Corporation. The books are titled: “MAKING IT RIGHT Why your Car Payments are lasting longer than your FACTORY PAINT JOB” and are available in either Basic Guide or Technical Guide editions.

For more information visit www.zestar.com