Automotive Paint Terms from Basecoat to Tinter
At Service King Germantown in Memphis, TN, we enjoy explaining our industry with all of our customers, colleagues and business partners, so that is why we’re here provide our blog readers with car paint terms from basecoat all the way to tinters.
Basecoat: The basecoat is the very first layer of paint, and is normally highly pigmented. A basecoat/clear is a type of a paint system in which the basecoat offers the color, gloss, and durability that are provided by an additional coat.
Clear Coat: The clear coat is the very top layer of paint, which customarily has no pigment or color. Its durability and overall gloss are to protect the pigmented layer it covers.
Chip Guard: Usually added to panels that are lower on the body, chip guard can protect these parts of the vehicle from sharp stones.
Coat: A coat is a layer of paint.
Direct Gloss: This is a type of paint that contains pigment, but customarily requires no top or clear coat. It contains significant pigment and gloss and is durable on its own.
Enamel: This topcoat is a layer of paint that forms a film during the drying process.
Gloss: This term describes how well a painted surface reflects light, such as with a mirror. The general level of gloss can vary depending on the type and brand of paint.
Masking: Masking is a temporary process where the areas that aren’t being painted are covered to protect them from excess paint.
Pigment: Pigment is what gives paint color. When mixed in, the pigment that can be mixed to create new colors of paint, but it’s always separate from the paint – pigment is insoluble.
Primer: A primer is the very first layer in a painting system, and can be applied to an unpainted surface. Its job is to completely protect the unpainted surface, called a substrate, and used to prepare it for the application of paint.
Primer-Sealer: A primer-sealer is an amalgamation of a primer and a sealer. It does the job of both, by sealing the surface underneath--usually, one that has formerly been painted and then sanded off, and whose purpose is to prep the surface for the application of new paint.
Sealer: A sealer is like a primer for previously painted surfaces that helps to seal in old sanded down paint, and thereby providing a surface adequate for new paint.
Substrate: This is a name for an unpainted surface.
Tint and Blend: This process involves mixing color and paint in an attempt to recreate a prevailing color, and then adding the paint to the surface and blending it in to match.
Tinter: Tinter is a colored pigment or basecoat that’s used to adjust the color of the paint so that it matches the desired color.
Service King Germantown in Memphis, TN 38125
Sources: Fender Bender and ABRN
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