HOW TO REPAINT AN ELECTRIC CAR? IMPORTANT TIPS

With the more number of electric or hybrid cars on the road, and consequently, at the?bodyshop,?while it is true that the process of repainting an electric car does not differ greatly from other types of vehicles, it will be advisable to take into account certain aspects to obtain a quality repair, to prevent impacting other vehicle elements.

The following post provides information on the most relevant aspects and tips for professionals to consider for?painting an electric car efficiently and safely.

Professional’s safety when painting an electric car

One of the aspects professionals shall pay attention to while painting electric or hybrid cars will be those related to their own personal safety first.

Firstly, professionals must use all the?Regulatory PPE? in regular repairs, such as coveralls, masks, gloves and goggles.

Before starting the repair process, you must ground the static charges of all the parts you are going to work on. You should?turn the power off and make sure that there is no voltage or that none will be connected throughout the whole repair process.

To do this, you should connect a?conductor cable from the vehicle to a ground power ?to dissipate this power. To further reduce the static charge of the parts, you should use special clothes to reduce attraction of particles and impurities.

Once all these safety requirements have been checked, you can the start repairing the vehicle.

Drying temperature

One of the most important aspects when repairing and repainting an electric car is?the drying temperature of the vehicle.?

Humidity and temperature are factors that can affect the correct operation of its electrical components, such as specifically the battery.

This is why vehicle manufacturers themselves??specifically indicate in the vehicle’s documentation ?the temperature limits that must be observed during the painting and drying process of the electric car. These must be observed at all times.

If these temperatures exceed the maximum level recommended (average maximum temperature 65°C), this may cause the battery to loose energy storage capacity or hinder its functioning.

Efficient solutions for low-temperature painting of electric or hybrid cars

In order to stay ahead of the sector,?AKEMI has always focused on developing designs of high performance products that can be used in?low temperature drying processes, to increase productivity in this context and repairs, as is the case of electric car painting.

Immediate coat paints

AKEMI?has a wide range of?body fillers?and?high performance fillers?whose versatility and efficiency allow drying at low temperatures.

As for bodywork putties, these can be used to get a surface ready to be sanded after drying at room temperature for 20 minutes. For more information, on AKEMI's range of body fillers, please click here.

Both the?sandable filler?and wet-on-wet filler are products that allow performing high efficiency repairs at low temperatures.

For example, AKEMI’s?Multi Talent 2K-UHS Filler 4:1, combined with its hardener, can be sanded after 30 minutes at 20oC room temperature, after 15 minutes at 60oC room temperature, or after only 8 minutes if using infrareds.

Without the need of a different product, the same?Multi Talent 2K-UHS Filler 4:1 allows applying the finishing paint directly on the surface after 5 to 10 minutes of evaporation, without the need for sanding.

Finish paints

Within this range of products,?AKEMI partners with DONGLAI's ONWAVES Series water-based system, this stands out due to its excellent drying performance at low temperatures in a spray booth or air drying. Furthermore, the air drying option also saves energy compared to accelerated cabin drying.

The W6000 Series system will allow professionals to obtain ready surface to apply the final clearcoat after?15 minutes at a 20oC room temperature. This time can be reduced to 5 minutes by using Venturis.

On the other hand, products such as?Turbo Gloss 2K-UHS Clearcoat 2:1 or Mirror Gloss 2K-HS Clearcoat 2:1 in combination with their respective fast hardeners, are specially designed for fast drying even at low temperatures. This makes them a perfect partner for the efficient painting of electric cars.

For example, the?Turbo Gloss 2K-UHS Clearcoat 2:1 is a product that has been formulated for basecoat water-based or solvent-based systems in partial repairs and stands out for its excellent?gloss appearance and speed in hardening. Your car can be available 60 minutes after applying the clearcoat, without any expenditure on heat energy in the booth, This can lead to very significant savings in the painting cycle, and an increase in productivity. A?drying cycle of 10 minutes at 60oC or 20 minutes at 40oCcan be performed.?With Infrareds it would be ready in 5 minutes.

Conclusion

As we have seen, the process for painting electric cars is quite similar to that of other types of cars. However, as these vehicles have electrical components, taking the necessary safety measures for this type of work, adapting the drying process and using the appropriate products will be essential if we are not to interfere with the proper functioning of these elements.