Water based automotive paints have been around for many years. Due to federal EPA regulations under the Clean Air Act and separate state standards (i.e. California) activities like painting, which release so-called volatile organic compounds that deplete the earth's protective ozone layer have had to switch to alternative products. In an effort to reduce these emissions, paint manufacturers have been required to produce products like water-based paint. The same thing has happened in house paints with oil based paints almost nonexistent now. Twenty years ago, the chemical technology wasn't nearly what it is today so the water-based, catalyzed paint systems offered now are excellent. However, there are newer, petroleum-based solvents that are capable of meeting the low or no VOC standards (maybe not in CA). Ford Motor Company is beginning to use some of these newer petroleum-based paints on their 2010 vehicles. I suspect the petro-based paints still hold an edge over the water-based ones. The other factor concerning paints is human toxicity, and some of the old, petroleum based paints were highly toxic to workers. My 1976 Eisentraut was painted with Imron (one of the most toxic paints) and that paint is still as good as the day it left the paint line.
Greg Thies Vienna, Virginia
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Message: 12 Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:34:20 -0600 From: "Strickler, George M" <gstrickler@tulane.edu> Subject: [CR] Water Based Paint Question To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Message-ID: <63905F71CF9A794F80217187D219FA4B0200E25F@EX07.ad.tulane.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
In a recent posting on the restoration issue, Mr. Baylis said that "water based color paint is right around the corner here in Cal." or something like that. What does that mean? Are oil based paints to be outlawed like DDT? How will water based paint differ from paints currently used to refinish bikes/cars like Imron? Should I send off my bikes en mass for repaints now?
Nervously George Strickler New Orleans
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