Covestro Introduces ‘Trendy’ Automotive Finish for an Evocative Appearance

At the K 2016 plastics trade fair, Covestro presented an innovative concept for electric cars incorporating the latest trends in exterior design. The exhibit will be the highlight of the Covestro booth once again at the European Coatings Show from April 4–6 in Nuremberg, Germany. “The developments implemented in the concept go way beyond previous limits, offering new solutions for attractively designing comfortable, functional and energy-efficient cars. Lightweight constructions with plastics are the focal point of the developments. Their use extends the range of electric cars and reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of gasoline vehicles. They also create new requirements for the coating.

To cast the proper light on the exhibit with respect to color, the project team relied on the shade and design expertise of BASF’s Coatings division and its premium R-M® brand. An exclusive shade was developed for the project, and its formulation was tuned to the specific requirements of automotive refinishing coatings. Comprising a pigmented waterborne basecoat and a clearcoat, the system used fulfills every requirement with respect to sustainability, efficiency and performance. It is comparable to modern polyurethane OEM coatings.

The clear coat protects the colored coating layer below. It is based on polyurethane raw materials from Covestro and cures rapidly even at low temperatures. Other advantages include very good coating adhesion and — thanks to the low viscosity — excellent flow. The finished coating is easy to polish to a high gloss. “It thus underscores the overall effect of the vehicle concept,” said Marc Schreiber, marketing manager for automotive refinish coatings at Covestro.

Isocyanate crosslinkers developed by Covestro, such as Desmodur N3900, enable the formulation of polyurethane refinishing coatings with particularly low viscosities. These coatings flow quickly and evenly, and cure rapidly. They also exhibit very good weathering, corrosion and mechanical resistance.

The pigmented basecoat ONYX HD from R-M contributes to the evocative appearance of the display car. “Verbosian Orange” is an exclusive shade that underscores the innovativeness and technical sophistication of the vehicle concept. “Orange demands attention and imparts presence. At the same time it is very warm and emotional, thus evoking the topic of energy. To achieve the special visual effects, we used a vibrant metallic orange that harmonizes ideally with the car’s black and anthracite add-on parts and positively draws eyes to it,” said Mark Gutjahr, head of Automotive Color Design Europe at BASF.

Year after year, the global design team at BASF’s Coatings faces the challenge of developing the latest hot colors for the automobile industry. The current collection under the PARALLAX name comprises 65 new shades reflecting global and regional trends. On the global level, the complex relationship between the virtual and real world plays a key role and is reflected in diverse color palettes for cars. Synthetic metallic blue, silver and white shades, for example, symbolize the trend toward the digitalization of working life.