Catalyzed urethane paint

Except in the case of natural disasters or something similar, every defeat in human affairs indicates a victory for someone else. The makers of acrylic lacquers and enamels are slowly wilting before the onrush of new paint forms and the demands of environmental legislation – yet those who have made the transition to making catalyzed urethane paint are destined to prosper. Urethane paint is the newest and highest quality paint now available, and will supplant all the others in time.

Urethane paint meets the new environmental regulations because it does not generally rely on the evaporation of thinners or reducers to dry – although there are some exceptions. Instead, they are two-part substances, much like two-part epoxy, consisting of a paint and a catalyst. When separate, the paint and catalyst are in a stable state and remain liquid. However, once they are combined, a chemical reaction begins immediately.

The two substances begin to “crosslink” – their particles locking together into a tough, dry matrix – within minutes of being combined. This crosslinking occurs best at certain temperatures, as will be explained presently, so like enamel, urethane paint is usually sprayed in a booth so that the car can be kept at the proper temperature overnight to ensure full, robust crosslinking.

This has several effects. In the first place, urethane paint releases very little pollution into the atmosphere as it dries, since it does not rely on evaporation to harden. It also produces an extreme tough, lasting, durable coat of paint on the car, only a few mils thick, but hard enough to resist most scratching and stone chips and almost totally immune to corrosive substances, especially acidic ones. This makes it a favorite for undercarriage coatings as well, since it will defy road salt and acidic liquids of all kinds that might splash up from the road.

Urethane is not without its drawbacks despite its generally superior qualities, however. Its slow drying and delicacy while still wet are problematic for those without a dedicated spray booth with regulated temperature inside. Furthermore, the spraying of urethane paint releases cyanide-like chemicals into the air which can cause rapid death through kidney failure if they are inhaled during the painting process. And, last of all, urethane is very expensive – specialty urethanes, such as those from House of Kolor, can cost hundreds of dollars per can.