To Paint or Not to Paint – That Is The Question

To Paint or Not to Paint – That Is The Question

We live in a world of ‘disposables’, one in which it is getting more and more ‘fashionable’ to use and discard – but today, in a scenario of unfavorable foreign exchange rates, price inflation, increased cost of living, and salaries not going up at the same rate, what we foresee is that, except for the well heeled, people will be keeping their cars for much longer, and used cars will be more in demand, especially those that are well kept.

The dilemma of whether to repaint the car or to just sell it and get a new one will happen with less frequency – not as a matter of choice, but as a matter of necessity. A new paint job, and perhaps some replacement of parts to refurbish an existing vehicle, is a cheaper alternative to getting a new one. Similarly,
buying a used car has its own merits too.

Nippon Paints, or at least the automotive paint division, predict that the above scenario will happen more often in the future; so they invited the motoring media to visit their facility in Shah Alam to share a bit of their paint technology and also to let us know what they do in order to make sure their products are the best in the industry.

Yellow CarAccording to studies made by Nippon Paint, vehicle owners may repaint their cars for various reasons, varying from trying to get rid of scratches and swirl marks, to damage caused by bird droppings, to aging or ‘gloss drop’ and car accidents. Their studies also indicate people’s personalities can reflect their colour choices (in cars), but also conclude that car makers here do not provide enough colours for their customers, sticking to the ‘safe’ colours such as metallic silver, grey, or white. As a point in passing, I do notice that car companies are becoming more adventurous of late, and we are beginning to see bolder and brighter colours.

DSC_0701Nippon Paint also suggests that apart from the conventional monochromatic colours (silver, black or white), there are consumers who are more inclined towards choosing bolder colours when it comes to repainting their cars. In comparison to the colour preferences derived from past years, red overtook black in being the trendiest colour among consumers today.

Nippon Paint believes that as vehicles today are an extension of our personality and an emblem of our achievements in life, automotive colours take on these dimensions as well. Hence it has come up with three ranges of automotive paints for its consumers, Wander-Lust, New Eco and We Are One. The following is what Nippon Paints have to say about the three automotive paint ranges:-

Wander-Lust Automotive Colour Range

Nippon Paints Wander-Lust Paints - Malaysia“As an extension of their passionate and lively persona, Wonder-Lust enables automotive owners to express their personality through colours that balances between energetic and flamboyance. Passionate yet controlled, proud yet not egoistic – cars clad with Wonder-Lust effortlessly portray confidence and desires a second glance. Wonder-Lust’s palette of colours range from deep shades of blues, burgundy, chili red to statement-making colours such as gold, and various shades of yellow. Wonder-Lust is more than just an automotive colour, it’s a persona. Great for vehicles that want to exude sportiness.”

New Eco Range

Nippon Paints New Eco Colours - Malaysia“Paying homage to Mother Earth and all its unique environment, New Eco is inspired by the openness of the sky, the foundations of the earth, and the depths of the sea. Contrary to current automotive trends of relating blue tones to sustainability, New Eco expands perspective by fusing dark earthy tones with blues, greens and whites into a palette of modern eco-colour schemes. Elegant, delicate yet rooted, New Eco is an admiration to everything natural and contemporary. With hints of autumn in it, New Eco projects a mature and refined choice of colour for luxury and hybrid vehicles.”

We Are One Range

Nippon Paints We Are One Colours - Malaysia“Similar yet different. We Are One defines a set of familiar colour schemes in fresh perspectives. We Are One is about being individually different yet connected as a human race. Multiple shades of blue, grey and green dominate this colour palette, offering consumers time-tested colours that transcend trends and seasons. Inviting, pleasant and calm, We Are One is versatile in application, be it compact cars, mid-sized sedans or MPVs.”

 

There are many reasons why people would want to repaint their cars, and here are some of them:-

  • It is more affordable to repaint a car in comparison to purchasing a new car, if the owner hopes
    to own a car with a new look.
  • It increases the lifespan of your car with better paint protection
  • Allows one to experience the excitement of a new car just by changing the old car colour with a
    new colour.
  • Presents an opportunity to reflect one’s personality of colour preference by repainting with the
    colour of the car owner’s choice.
  • Enjoy higher resale value by repainting with a fresh layer of coating.

There are other compelling reasons for one’s car, the most common of which would be an accident, which could be minor or major. Sometimes it is just due to age and UV degradation or simply because the car has accumulated ‘battle scars’ over time.

Nippon Paints has a complete Coating system for the vehicleNippon Paints supply the entire range of coatings necessary for a car, from surface preparation to undercoats, top coats and clear coats. It goes even further into the supply of polishes for maintaining the paint. There are many paint types available, and these paints are very different form normal paints as they have to be scratch resistant, chemical resistant, and must be highly durable and flexible. In addition, the paints must be resistant to damage by bird droppings and petrol stains.

In order to make sure its customers get the best paints, the laboratory here at Nippon Paints Shah Alam conducts many tests on its products to make sure they meet the standards set. These include durability tests for adhesion so that paint does not peel off so easily, and use a sharp pencil to test the paint harness, perform salt spray testing, soak panels of paint in water, and also do place paint panels in humid containers, all to ensure that the paints they make surpass their own standards. Nippon Paints also does an accelerated weathering test (QUV) by simulating outdoor weathering by using special UV lamps and weather spray. This accelerated test can simulate damages that occur over months or years.

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