Tcoat. There is tons of plastic in cars. SMC is a Lotus or Corvette. Ranger Step-side bedsides were also plastic. Saturn, Pontiac, Kia and Smart Car all have/had offered plastic body panels. IIRC the Old F-Body Firechickens and Camaro's had plastic front fenders too. They all also used paint though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spuds
In a car application it would weather differently than the rest of the paint, and you couldn't touch up or polish it, and coatings would look different... It would look like crap on a car after about 6 months even if you could get it looking good out of the factory.
|
Correct. 10 out of 10 people surveyed could not distinguish it from a painted part in finish. That being said it doesn't have a serviceable life and was rolled out far too soon without proper testing.
Older versions like CM-TEC have already been in production and on some cars here in the US, sport bikes for 5+ years and PWC for the last 3. It is more common on smaller parts and even smaller cars in which the body panels are swapped like a fender.
It's just a newer formula that got OEMs more complex, paint like looking finishes that is new. With the leap in looks the application is being used more. It's already being commonly used for Pearl and Gloss Black front end trim by 60% of OEM's and their goofy grilles and fake vents.
Funny enough there is a bible-thick repair manual by the OEM, preformed by a major paint company on how to repair it. We did so following it, using that companies owm products and paints. You could sheer the paint off with a garden hose (no pressure) as the surface is impregnated with a wax-like release agent to aid in cleaning. For shit 'n giggles we used 40 grit sandpaper and then cleared over it. Still didn't stick!