Water based or "water-borne" automotive paints have been used in the auto paint industry since the early 90s in certain geographical regions such as Southern California. In an attempt to reduce ground level ozone (also known as SMOG), a side effect of solvent release into the atmosphere, certain air quality management districts in California passed laws in the early to mid 90s which strongly encouraged the use of water based basecoats in automotive collision repair. The industry responded with the first generation of water based basecoats for aftermarket collision repair. This new technology ranged from quite good in performance to poor depending on the brand and level of support given to new users. At the time the technology was very new and largely untested in real world refinishing environments which led to problems for many. Because the industry as a whole was not ready for the technology it was largely rejected amongst refinishers.
Also contributing to the demise of the first generation of water-borne auto paint was the "exemption" of certain solvents. Shortly after the first generation of water basecoats were introduced certain solvents that were proven to be less detrimental to the environment were exempted from the calculation of volatile organic content which essentially meant they were treated like water for regulatory purposes. This exemption allowed solvent based chemistries to be formulated for compliance even under the newer low VOC laws. This combined with the early problems of water-borne systems essentially put an end to the commercial application of the first generation of water-borne auto paint.
However, there were many key lessons learned during this early introduction that would make future commercialization easier for both North America and Europe. One key lesson learned was the need for more advanced equipment to solve the slow drying issues with water-borne paints. Equipment manufacturers responded with many options that featured better air movement and higher temps from various forms of drying and flashing equipment. Manufacturers also recognized better training was required for shops to master the new techniques associated with water-borne basecoat use. These lessons were put to good use by manufacturers who were selling material in Europe as the European Union mandated the use of water-borne coatings in the early 2000s. The preparation and launch of water-borne auto paints in Europe was an excellent proving ground for many aspects of water containing auto paints and when the use of low VOC automotive basecoats where mandated in 2007 by parts of California then industry was prepared much better than the previous attempts in the 90s. This has resulted in water-borne basecoat being received by much of the industry with open arms as more and more shops adopt the technology. Many shops outside of the VOC regulated areas haven even switched to water-borne basecoats as they see an opportunity to market their shop as "using environmentally friendly water based paint". The mandated use of low VOC auto paint appears to be on the rise with Canada now having adopted a law very similar to those enacted in California and now a group of states in the North Eastern United States considering adopting the law to help improve air quality in their states. In short, the future looks bright for the use of water containing auto paints in North America and beyond.
Also contributing to the demise of the first generation of water-borne auto paint was the "exemption" of certain solvents. Shortly after the first generation of water basecoats were introduced certain solvents that were proven to be less detrimental to the environment were exempted from the calculation of volatile organic content which essentially meant they were treated like water for regulatory purposes. This exemption allowed solvent based chemistries to be formulated for compliance even under the newer low VOC laws. This combined with the early problems of water-borne systems essentially put an end to the commercial application of the first generation of water-borne auto paint.
However, there were many key lessons learned during this early introduction that would make future commercialization easier for both North America and Europe. One key lesson learned was the need for more advanced equipment to solve the slow drying issues with water-borne paints. Equipment manufacturers responded with many options that featured better air movement and higher temps from various forms of drying and flashing equipment. Manufacturers also recognized better training was required for shops to master the new techniques associated with water-borne basecoat use. These lessons were put to good use by manufacturers who were selling material in Europe as the European Union mandated the use of water-borne coatings in the early 2000s. The preparation and launch of water-borne auto paints in Europe was an excellent proving ground for many aspects of water containing auto paints and when the use of low VOC automotive basecoats where mandated in 2007 by parts of California then industry was prepared much better than the previous attempts in the 90s. This has resulted in water-borne basecoat being received by much of the industry with open arms as more and more shops adopt the technology. Many shops outside of the VOC regulated areas haven even switched to water-borne basecoats as they see an opportunity to market their shop as "using environmentally friendly water based paint". The mandated use of low VOC auto paint appears to be on the rise with Canada now having adopted a law very similar to those enacted in California and now a group of states in the North Eastern United States considering adopting the law to help improve air quality in their states. In short, the future looks bright for the use of water containing auto paints in North America and beyond.
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