[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by atomicalex

No, lead has nothing to do with it. Water-base has a little bit to do with it, but there is a bigger contributor.

<-- currently working as an engineer in the paint industry

The problem is the transition to 2-wet and 3-wet processes. Formerly, each coat of paint was cured individually during the paint process. E-coat, color, clear. Three ovens is a lot of line space and a lot of energy consumption. The paint and pretreatment companies came up with a was to reduce the length and number of ovens, which cuts down dramatically on energy consumption and reduces the total line length. It also (in a kind of backwards way) cuts down on paint defects that occur during the painting operation.

However, it results in less total paint being applied and modifies how the paint cures.

This is the issue.

Either get a clear wrap job or just give up. It's going to be a while (5 years) before we get good paint again. It takes time to develop.

Yep. It all goes back to the international agreement on VOC reduction back in 2011. The problem is they changed the paint and coating but not how it is applied and cured. Several manufacturers (surprisingly Ford is a leader in this) have updated the process and have fewer issues now but some older plants such as Gunma are still a ways away from improving the process. They should have all their ducks in a row just in time for the rules to change again.