Is Original Factory Paint Really That Important?

[Leilani]

Automotive original factory paint is very important, primarily used to protect the car body from corrosion. Original car paint refers to the paint applied to the vehicle when it leaves the factory. During the car body painting process, different stages use different coatings, forming distinct paint layers. On the car body steel plate, there are four paint layers: the electrophoretic layer, intermediate coat, color coat, and clear coat. A significant difference is that original factory paint is a high-temperature paint, baked at least at 130 degrees Celsius, resulting in stronger coating adhesion. In contrast, the repair paint used for later touch-ups is typically baked at around 80 degrees Celsius, with much weaker coating adhesion. This is because the original primer is applied in the factory's painting workshop by immersing the entire car body in a paint pool and attaching it through cathodic electrophoresis. Once the car leaves the factory, this process cannot be replicated. The primer used for touch-ups is usually a post-phosphating treatment coating, which is incomparable to the original factory primer, and the application process is vastly different.