BASF presented a case study on the successful first use of its scratch-resistant iGloss® clearcoat technology in North America at the 29th annual SURCAR Conference.

A global automotive Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) adopted the iGloss technology at one of its North American production plants to help achieve longer lasting protection on its vehicles. The customer found that scratch resistance and appearance improved by more than 25 percent using iGloss clearcoat technology.

“iGloss clearcoat technology provides a superior, long-lasting finish that protects against micro-scratches,” said Bill Kosteniuk, Account Manager, Asian Accounts North America at BASF. “Collaborating with our customer allowed BASF to help them meet and exceed their customers’ quality expectations.”

Automakers have long used clearcoat to give their vehicles a high gloss appearance and to help protect the car’s exterior from environmental influences and wear and tear. BASF’s iGloss technology uses a new clearcoat chemistry that combines the flexible, elastic finish and strong weathering resistance of inorganic components with the high scratch resistance of inorganic glass-like nanoclusters.

This combination allows iGloss to repair minor scratches via “instant reflow,” where the clearcoat springs back from external pressures, such as the bristles of a car wash brush. This allows the clearcoat to recover 90 percent of scratch deformation, whereas conventional clearcoats only recover about 70 percent.

The iGloss technology not only repairs minor scratches, it also offers increased scratch and weathering resistance. The unique chemical properties of the clearcoat allow for high gloss retention on a vehicle even after numerous scratch cycles and accelerated weathering tests that featured extreme temperature and radiation conditions.

Despite the unique composition of the iGloss clearcoat, it can be applied with existing OEM paint lines without requiring any major changes.