A basic manicure requires a little over an hour of your time. If you find a chip on one of your nails, it stinks, but it’s easy to fix. But imagine finding a chip in the paint on your brand-new car, which is probably at least 100 times more expensive than your manicure and requires several days to fix.It’s enough to make your heart sink to the bottom of your stomach. Plus, that small chip that looks like nothing now can potentially cause your car to rust prematurely. Ouch.
Luckily, this is something that Ford drivers don’t need to worry about. Ford uses its 3-wet paint technology on most of its cars in Asia Pacific. This technology ensures that your car’s paint is tough as nails (the metal ones), and can take on even the harshest of conditions while keeping its lustrous appearance.
This is how the magic happens:
The first step in the process is the pretreatment. The sheet metal vehicle body is dipped in a series of baths that clean, etch and protect it.
The vehicle is also dipped into a paint bath charged withan electric current, which strengthens the bonds between the paint and metal body. Additionally, in Asia Pacific, Ford applies its vehicles with a layer of polyvinyl chloride, which acts as an anti-chipping coat to prevent stones and other irritatingelements from chipping the paint.
Next comes the 3-wet process:
Step 1: Primer
Like any painting procedure whether it’s painting nails, painting a house or if you’re about to paint an artistic masterpiece on canvas –you have to start with a primer. This primer layer protects the lower coatings of the vehicle. It can even absorb some of the impact of kicked-up stones and gravel, which helps the paint last longer.
Step 2: Color coat
This is the fun part.At this stage, the car gets rolled into a chamber where it’s sprayed top to bottom, side to side, inside and out with the paint that brings the vehicle to life with vivid color.
Step 3: Clear top coat
Wrapping up the process is the clear top coat. Just as a top coat prevents freshly painted nails from chipping and gives them an added luster, the top coat in Ford’s 3-wet process gives the paint on your car an additional layer of protection to prevent even the slightest nicks and chips. And of course, it makes sure your car stays looking good.
On the surface, the steps of Ford’s 3-wet paint technology may seem comparable to painting your nails, but let’s face it, the similarities are skin-deep. Ford’s 3-wet process will cause you less stress and aggravation in the long run, and will keep you looking good on the road for many years to come.