BODY MATERIALS, TRIM AND MECHANICS

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Body materials:
1. Timber
2. Steel sheet
3. Plastic
4. GRP
1. Timber:
Before the introduction of plastics, timber was used in vehicle body construction, because it is readily available,
easily worked and economically competitive, so far as the smaller manufacturer.
2. Steel sheet:
The vehicle body building industry uses many different types of steel. Low carbon steel is used for general
construction members. High tensile steels are used for bolts and nuts which will be subjected to heavy load.
The steel sheet thickness various from 0.08mm to 1.5mm. This type of sheet metal is mostly used in vehicle body
construction.
3.GRP:
It is a combination of two basic materials. One is glass fiber and other is thermoplastic resign. The resign materials
are relatively low strength, brittle but when combined with glass fiber it becomes strong material.
4. Plastic:
The use of plastics for interior trim is well established, and new applications are being found for components
associated with the running gear, examples including reservoirs, air cleaner housings, belt covers etc.
Corrosion and Anti-corrosion:
A vehicle body exposed to corrosion through out its life and because of the load carrying structure determines the
service life of the vehicle, it is essential that it should be properly protected against such effects.
There are three types of vehicle body corrosion.
1. Chemical corrosion
2. Electro chemical corrosion
3. Fretting corrosion
Anti-Corrosion treatment
Corrosion can be prevented by three basic methods
1. Improve materials.
2. Protective coating.
3. Correct design.
Selection of paint:

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The colors for finishing the vehicle should be based on scientific principles of colouring, which can be briefly outlined
as follows,
All shades are based on three colours i.e Blue, yellow and red. The basic concepts of colour technology are
as follows,
TONE: The tone of colour can be defined by its position in the spectrum. i.e Wave length
VALUE: Value can be measured by the mixture of a natural grey, value corresponds to the concept of brightness or
darkness of colours
INTENSITY: Intensity is defined by the mixture of white in the colours, where full colour has no white mixed with it.
Painting Process:

PRE TREATMENT PROCESS

ELECTRO - COAT PROCESS
SEALER PROCESS

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SPRAY BOOTH PROCESS

WAX OPERATIONS
1.PRE TREATMENT PROCESS:

Before the Pre-treatment Process , all bodies are fitted with specially designed load bars to enable the body
to get loaded in Overhead conveyor and Slave tools which avoids contact damage of panels during the Paint
process and enables operators to open and close panels.
Pre-treatment provides the basis of corrosion and adhesion of Primer coat.
It is a 11 stage automatic immersion dip/spray process, gives full protection to all box sections.
Various stages in Pre-treatment Process :
Stage 1 : Pre wash spray rinse in which a chemical (surface active agent surfactant) is used to loosen oil and wash
of contaminants on the body in white.Cleaner spray rinse 1 where Pressurized hot water (45C) spray loosens the
oil left over in the Pre wash stage and pre-heat the car body for further processes .
Stage 2 : Cleaner spray 2 containing a Pressurized hot solution(52C) of Factory water and Degreasing chemical
further cleans the car body .
Stage 3 : Cleaner dip containing a hot solution (50C) of Factory water and Degreasing
chemical cleans all the interior portions and box sections of the car body thoroughly.
Stage 4 : Dip rinse 1 in which factory water is used for removing the Degreasing chemicals used in the previous
two stages.
Stage 5 : Activation dip containing Gardolene ZM solution prepares the surface of the car body for refined phosphate
coating.
Stage 6 : Phosphate dip where the car body is coated with a layer of Zinc phosphate at 49C bath temperature for 3
min.Phosphate coating prepares the basis for corrosion protection and better adhesion for Electro coat.
Stage 7 : Dip rinse 2 cleans the excess phosphate solution using fresh DI water.
Stage 8 :Spray rinse further cleans the car body using DI water recycled from Stage 10.
Stage 9 : Passivation rinse uses a chrome free Passivation chemical for filling the gaps between the phosphate
crystals and provides a smooth , uniform phosphate coating finish.
Stage 10 : DI water dip cleans the car body after passivation.
Stage 11 : DI water spray rinse cleans the car finally before E-coat using new DI water.

2.ELECTRO - COAT PROCESS:

Electro-coating provides comprehensive water based paint coating by Electro deposition.

Electro-coating is a fully automatic total immersion process for maximum coverage and performance and
allows uniform, run free coating for optimum quality.
Electro-coating provides good basis for all subsequent processes.

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Electro-coat bath contains 82% DI water , 17% EC solids and 1% Solvent.

The process time is 4 to 5 min for a car body.
Electro-coat is the first layer of paint in a car body . The Dry Film thickness of Electro-coat thickness ranges
from 16 to 23 microns.
In the ED-system the electrically conductive car body is coated by applying DC-Voltage.
The product acts as cathode on which the paint is deposited.
The residual acid migrates to the anodic cells kept inside the sides of the tank through the ED solution which
acts as anode system.
The coated product passes through the subsequent ultra-filtrate and DI water rinse zones,in which the loosely
adhering paint is rinsed off.
Advantages:
The formation of protective films in highly recessed areas such as flanges and box sections provides critical
corrosion protection.
Use of water as practically the only carrier virtually eliminates fire hazard, materially reduces water and air
pollution, and markedly reduces the cost of facilities for controlling these conditions.
Unlike spray coating, electro-deposited paint will not sag during baking.
Unlike dip coating, electro-deposited paint is not washed off in enclosed areas by hot vapors during curing.
Freshly deposited paint is insoluble in water, permitting complete rinsing and recovery of dragged-out
material.
Since the process is automated, direct labor costs are markedly reduced.
Transfer efficiencies of better than 95% result in reduced paint waste, especially when compared with sprayapplied coatings.
Electro-coat curing:

The very last stage of Electro-coat process is to cure the paint in the Electro-coat oven at a temperature of
171C for 15 minutes.
This gives a smooth and resilient finish.
3.SEALER PROCESS:
Purpose of Sealers and Insulators:

Sealers and insulators are used to eliminate water, block out fumes, reduce wind and road noise, reduce the
vibration and to improve the aesthetics on clinches.
Types of Sealers and Insulators:
Thumbable Sealer
Flow able Sealer or Duplex sealer
Plugs and tapes:
Deadner Pads

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Roof Ditch Sealer

4.SPRAY BOOTH PROCESS;

All industrial products have to be protected in some way or another against corrosion.
The most common protection against corrosion is the application of paint materials.
The paint can be applied onto the work piece by dipping or spraying.
The spray procedure has to take place in specially designed paint spray enclosures(paint spray Booths).
The requirements have to be met according to the paint systems (Solvent-borne paints,Water-borne paints, 2components paints)which are very different from each other.
In order to make the object resistant to corrosion, and to minimize the paint spread, Gloss, etc. a certain
minimum paint coat thickness is required.This coat thickness is achieved by application in 2 or 3 steps.
For best results some basic application techniques has to be followed as per specifications for different paint
types and colours.
The Spray booth is designed for Primer, Basecoat and Clearcoat application on car bodies.
Processing of Topcoat paint is only allowed after prior thorough cleaning of the spray booth.
There are some important aspects in Spray booth to achieve product quality:
Filtered supply and re-circulated air
Air conditions
Temperature
Humidity
Regular air distribution
Constant air balance
Regular downdraft velocity
No dust or dirt in spray booth
Optimum lighting
Suitable clothing for workers and visitors
No materials containing silicone shall be used
Keep doors of spray booth and clean room closed
Regular cleaning of plant equipments (Flooding trays,Flooding plates, Floor grids, Spray guns, Booth walls)
Downdraft:
The air supplied from the air supply units through filters in the spray booth with a specified velocity in a
downward motion is Downdraft.
It controls paint over spray raised out of spray painting , increases fresh air circulation inside the spray booth
and prevents accumulation of paint on the operators and structures.
Humidity:

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The amount of water content in air is humidity.

The spray booth should be maintained in a specified humidity (71% +/- 6%) for preventing the solvent from
drying fast.
Temperature:
Maintaining of temperature is vital in spray booth since the evaporation of solvent rate also depends on the
temperature.
Temperature is maintained at 27+/-3 deg C inside spray booth.
Temperature and Humidity is measured twice a day using a Digital Temperature Gauge.
Primer:
Primer coat is applied between the E-coat and Topcoat to minimize the surface roughness problems and
adhesion problems.
Types of Primer :
1. Colour compatible Primer
2. Colour matched Primer
Basecoat:
Basecoat gives the colouring to a car body. It is also called as color coat. Basecoat is applied after Primer coat and
before Clearcoat.
Types of Basecoat :
1. Solid
2. Metallic
3. Pearlescent
Clear coat:
Clear coat is the colourless, topmost layer of paint on a car body.Clear coat gives gloss effect and it also protects
the paint layer from harmful UV rays.
Surface Preparation:

Surface Preparation is a vital function of Paint shop in getting the units ready for both Primer and Topcoat.
All traces of contaminations such as oil, dirt etc. must be removed since they will affect the final Paint finish.
Sanding:
Sanding is done for finding as well as identifying the defects.It is necessary to sand the paint surface after
application of each layer.Sanding can only be done after the unit has been cured in the ovens when the paint is
hardened.
Types of sanding
1. Scuff Sanding
2. Detail Sanding
3. Orbital Sanding
Scuff Sanding :

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Scuff sanding is done on E-coat bodies for highlighting the defects.All the horizontal and upper vertical surfaces are
lightly sanded in a front-to-back motion.
Detail Sanding :
Defects found by scuff sanding are removed by detail sanding.Light, Circular motion should be used for removing
the defects.
Orbital sanding :
Orbital sanding should only be used where absolutely necessary. The Orbital sander uses self-adhesive
paper discs and is powered by compressed air. Defects which cannot be removed / difficult to remove by
Detail sanding are removed by Orbital sanding.
Cleaning Methods:
Cleaning is one of the most important ways of keeping defects to a minimum as the units progress through the Paint
shop.It plays a vital part of the preparation for corrosion protection, primer and topcoat.
Tack-off:
Tack-off takes place before the car enters into the spray booth for Primer and Topcoat.Tack-off is a special cloth that
has a slightly sticky surface.When it is used to wipe the unit, it picks up loose dirt and dust, and because it is lint-free
it doesnt leave any contamination behind.
Blow-off :
Blow-off takes place after sanding operations. It is a process for removing loose dirt or dust with compressed
air.Automatic blowers are fixed at the exit of Primer sanding and entry of spray booth.
Solvent wipe :
In some plants a process called solvent wipe is carried out. It also takes place after the sanding.Solvent wipe
is used to remove Contamination on the unit before painting.
A small amount of polishing compound is put onto the sanded area and spread around with the pad before it
is started.
The pad is used flat against the surface. A little pressure is applied for few seconds to remove the sanding
scratches,Finally the Polished area is wiped with a wet scotch brite.
Defects which cannot be removed at Polish Deck are sent to Spot repair or Major repair according to the
severity.
5.WAX OPERATIONS:
Air dry Blackout:
Air dry Blackout is a cosmetic treatment thats applied to the rear wheel housings and certain other areas of a
body. Its a black colored paint that dries in atmospheric heat.It is usually applied after the final paint
application with an airless spray gun to control overspray.
After the blackout the wheel arch is finally visually checked to make sure there is no overspray on the exterior
paint surfaces. If there is, it is removed by the approved solvent.

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Anti-Corrosion Coating Methods:

Anti-corrosion coating is an effective way or preventing rust, and the
damage it can cause, on the undercarriage of vehicles. If you are thinking of
having this important protection installed on your vehicle, you should
understand the various methods that are used to apply anti corrosion
coatings on cars and trucks. This article will provide you with information
on the most common methods use to apply the protectant coating and the
benefits of each type of application.

1.Cavity Wax:
Cavity wax, which is a paraffin wax, is applied to add further corrosion protection.
The wax is injected into cross members and box sections of the A Pillars , Rocker panel , Hood interiors ,
Deck lid interiors , Floor panel. It is also sprayed into the lower parts of the door using Wax spray gun.
Different nozzles are used for different applications and different models.The long lance model is used to
reach right to the ends of the box sections. With this type of nozzle, the trigger is pulled continuously while the
lance is drawn out smoothly and evenly.
The trigger is released just before the end of the lance reaches the opening.
An airless spray gun with a long, slightly bent nozzle to reach the corners is used to spray paint in the door
interior sections.
2.Electronic Rust Protection:
The process involves placing anodes on the underside of the car body that are electronically charged. In
theory, the anodes prevent rust between the spaces they are located by charging the anodes with a small
electrical charge which polarizes them which helps to neutralize rust and corrosion cells before they form.
While the process has been proven effective for sea vessels, the process has many critics in its application
for cars. Those opposed to the process being used in cars, relate the fact that seawater is a conductor that
helps to complete the electrical circuit that is needed for the process to effectively combat rust and corrosion.
Many say, because there is no additional conductor available on the car (unless it is immersed in water), then
the process simply does not work.

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