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PPG Expects New System to Revolutionize Auto Coatings

10 August 1999

PPG Expects New System to Revolutionize Auto Coatings

    PITTSBURGH, Aug. 9 -- The first installation of a coating
system that developer PPG Industries expects to revolutionize how
vehicles are painted is operating at the DaimlerChrysler assembly plant at
Campo Largo, Brazil making Dodge Dakota pick-up trucks.
    Auto manufacturers around the world are evaluating the Power-Prime
two-coat electrodeposition (e-coat) process, which next month will receive an
R&D Magazine R&D 100 Award as one of 1999's most significant new technologies.
    A corrosion-inhibiting primer, and then the world's first full-body anti-
chip primer-surfacer e-coat, are applied by immersing negatively-charged
vehicle bodies in positively-charged coating baths.  Conventional spray-on
primers, used for at least 50 years to prepare vehicles for finish paints, are
eliminated.
    "The Power-Prime system improves coating application and performance with
less cost and environmental effect, using no more space than a typical primer
e-coat and primer-surfacer spray line," said Richard Zahren, vice president,
automotive coatings.
    Nearly 20 years ago, PPG patented cathodic electrodeposition coatings
chemistry that quickly became -- and remains -- the worldwide industry
standard for corrosion-inhibiting coatings.
    "Now, we've leveraged that expertise to extend e-coating benefits to
another major automotive coating process," Zahren said.  "We believe our
success in corrosion-inhibiting coatings will be replicated with this
extension to other coatings."
    Quality, a reliable process and cost advantages are key attractive
elements of the Power-Prime system, according to Zahren.  "An e-coat bath
system provides a more robust coating and costs less to install than a
traditional spray booth.  Operating costs are reduced substantially, largely
through reduced energy and labor requirements.  Also important, the system's
coatings combination assures stone-chip and corrosion resistance."
    Because application efficiency is nearly 100 percent and virtually no
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are generated, "the Power-Prime system will
help automakers improve their environmental performance and related costs,"
Zahren said.
    Pittsburgh-based PPG is a leading global supplier of coatings, fiber
glass, glass and chemicals.  Its sales exceeded $7.5 billion in 1998.