* How to Reduce Pollution when Spray Painting a Vehicle.

 

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It is clear to us all that our planet is becoming more and more polluted over time and this has propelled various

 

government agencies and research institutions to start taking the necessary steps to reduce the amount of new

 

pollution as well as reduce the amount we already have in the environment.

 

The automotive paint industry is a field of concern because of the methods of applying automotive paint and has

 

had to abide by these same emission standards.

 

If automotive paint was applied by a brush or roller then the level of concern wouldn't be as apparent.

 

However by thinning paint by the use of solvents, making it possible for it to be sprayed onto surfaces easily,

 

allows for a great deal of these harmful solvents to escape into the atmosphere not only from paint overspray but

 

also from solvent evaporation (after paint is sprayed, the solvents must evaporate so that the paint can dry and

 

solidify).

 

Lacquer paints contain lacquer thinner and enamel paints as well and urethanes contain reducers. You may be

 

surprised to read that any gallon of paint can contain anything up to 90% solvent!

 

Unfortunately the types of solvents used in automotive paints are composed of volatile (evaporate easily) organic

 

compounds (VOCs).

 

The types of organic compounds in traditional auto paint solvents react with other molecules in the air such as

 

nitrous oxides resulting in the production of ozone, ozone being one of the main causes of smog.

 

To comply with government regulations, body shops use high-tech paint booths complete with downdraft ventilation

 

systems. Each booth must be equipped with special filtering systems that will burn off or filter out the VOC's.

 

Government agencies, auto paint manufacturers, auto painters and paint equipment companies have addressed the

 

problem of VOC's, paint overspray and material waste as contributing factors to atmospheric pollution and are

 

therefore currently looking for a solution to this pollution problem.

 

One effective solution to help reduce the amount of VOC and paint overspray pollution significantly involves using a

 

high volume spray with low pressure, referred to as High Volume Low Pressure (HVLP).

 

This process results in more paint sticking to the vehicles body and less overspray than conventional spray paint

 

systems. In principle, with more of the materials sticking to the sheet metal surface, less is released into the

 

atmosphere..