Why do body shops bake cars after painting?

[Turbo1002]

I am a new member and I was woundering if it is necessary to bake a car after painting and what is the purpose of baking. Thank you for the help.
Sal

[jezr]

hi, im no expert but can help you here. 'baking' expediates not only drying but curing aswell. so a bodyshop can handle a higher number of cars, with finnished jobs ready to go. its not necessary to have an 'oven' for a an individual, there are smaller heaters available to help in this regard.

[Jayson M]

jezr pretty much said it all,we bake a car so we can get them out faster.All we have to do is bake it for 20-30 min @120-140F then the techs can put it together.Much faster than waiting 12 to 16 hours for full cure.

[pane2k]

the heat also helps the clear flow out a little better too.

[isprayum]

production, production, production.

[SHOWCAR FINISH]

Yep, production would be the biggest reason. It also leaves less chance of lint and junk settling on your wet paint and will cure it to a harder finish. Factory is the real deal at 360ish which bakes an even more durable coat, and are able to do that due to not having any plastic pieces on the car at that stage of assembly.

[pane2k]

heh they baking at 360...maybe thats why 90% of factory finishes look dull and shitty

[SHOWCAR FINISH]

heh they baking at 360...maybe thats why 90% of factory finishes look dull and shitty

Speaking of... I saw that new Jeep model (can't recall name) at a stop
sign the other day and noticed it had possibly the worst orange peel I've
ever seen.

[isprayum]

I vote Kia as the worst peel. saw one the other day I couldnt believe.

[88GT]

Speaking of... I saw that new Jeep model (can't recall name) at a stop
sign the other day and noticed it had possibly the worst orange peel I've
ever seen.

the Jeep Wrangler, or anything mostly flat always has bad orane peel

[Len]

The shape of the panels has little to do with the amount of peel. Poor quality OEM finishes are usually a product of poor materials and/or poor application techniques and/or a rush to get the products out the door.

[fixdent]

I think baking is a thing of the past, except mayby for high production shops.

Heck, you can use hardners that allow you to air dry, sand and polish in 2 1/2 hours....how fast is that. (good enough for my shop)

Baking was alot bigger back in the old enamel days.

--
Gordon

[pane2k]

well...Sikkens just came out with a clear recently that allows you to sand and polish in 15 minutes when baked at 140. Thats a hell of alot quicker than 2 1/2 hours.
And most of the time when you use a booth clear like the sikkens one im speaking of and you bake it..the finish comes out alot nicer than a clear that air dries in 2 1/2 hours.
Believe it or not some shops do 40 cars a week and more... And when they do that they need the car in and out of the booth as fast as possible, thats why theyre willing to pay high prices. Some shops i know have 3 spray booths...they just couldnt get enough production out of one.
The Sikkens clear not only bakes to a cured finish in 15 minutes..but you mix one cup of clear all day and keep reusing it.. It has a rejuvinator to keep the clear fresh every time your about to spray it. Some wild stuff if you ask me.

[Len]

I think baking is a thing of the past, except mayby for high production shops.

Heck, you can use hardners that allow you to air dry, sand and polish in 2 1/2 hours....how fast is that. (good enough for my shop)

Baking was alot bigger back in the old enamel days.

--
Gordon

It's all about moving the vehicles through the shop quickly. It's rare that a "production" collision shop does full paint jobs. Most of the paint work is just a few panels and baking allows you to do a lot more work per day than air drying.