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This paper presents two new methods to quantitatively evaluate the mechanical durability of multi-layered automotive paint systems. The first examines the resistance of the paint system to particle impacts and involves the impact of hard particles against the painted surface, under controlled conditions. The second test examines the resistance of the clearcoat layer in the paint system to surface abrasion, or mar. The test uses a steel sphere which is rotated against the paint surface in the presence of a slurry of fine abrasive particles. These two techniques have been successfully applied to a set of commercial automobile paints, and were found to discriminate well between them and give reproducible, quantitative data. The effects of the bake conditions on both the erosion and abrasion resistance of a full paint system and the abrasion resistance of a range of commercial clearcoats are examined in detail.

The automotive industry in the past few years is experiencing a significant growth in the application of highly engineered plastics, particularly in bumper fascia applications. It is now very common to find one of several variations in Thermoplastic Polyolefins used as the base material (substrate) for bumper fascias. Durability of painted TPO's to various service life conditions is a matter of significant concern to the automobile manufacturer. Erosion durability of painted plastics (particularly bumper fascias) in a touch free car wash environment, where the surface is subjected to high-pressure water jets cycle is matter of concern to the automobile manufacturer. In addition, there is also a concern in self-serve car wash stations equipped with high-pressure water jets. This paper reports a part of a major study that was undertaken to address this title subject.