GM doesn't prep plastic before paint...

[Explicit_Spade]

GM Post this on their facebook: Beyond Now - General Motor's Environmental Blog

It will be interesting to see the longevity of their painting process.

[Mad Monkey]

only time will tell.

[TLSheff]

"The process is used on the Chevrolet Cruze, Sonic, and Volt. Using it on the Cruze alone, GM suppliers:

• Reduced solid and liquid waste (filters, cleaners, solvents and coatings) from 48 tons a year to less than one.
• Decreased air pollutants from 810 tons a year to 80 tons a year.
• Eliminated landfill waste like paint sludge and painted scrap material from 25 tons to nearly zero."

The savings and "green" factor is always a plus tho

[Sandman]

The savings and "green" factor is always a plus tho

And that's all most people want to hear. If I had a car I'd want the paint to survive for a while if I'm taking proper care of it.

[dpzelenak]

yup^^
they just found a way to make themselfs look good and save some cents

[Mad Monkey]

do you know if this process doesnt work as well/better then traditional methods? so far id have to say give it a chance

[darkhorizon]

Paint science is a huge deal... Its not that they are not doing something, they are just trying to smooth out the process by making a solid base that goes to paint.

[whitehead]

Give them credit for atleast trying to do something... Im sure the paint will stick fine. I doubt they would let that go out the door without first testing it and making sure it works good. But again, props for doing something!

[Explicit_Spade]

Maybe it's because I grew up around muscle cars, but to me vehicles and emissions were never meant to get along...

Which brings up another point, if less than 50% of the world is doing something to help the environment, its a lost cause.

[Mad Monkey]

not really, its 50% less emissions going up in the air..
i know its cliche, but every little bit helps.

[Explicit_Spade]

not really, its 50% less emissions going up in the air..
i know its cliche, but every little bit helps.

The air is already polluted. Look at it this way, you fill a room with smoke, then once it's full, you continue to fill the room at 50% of the original rate. The room will never clear out, it will thin out in such an insignificant amount that the reduction would have little impact on the outcome.

[Neil98gt]

I don't think the title is appropriate at all, just because they don't prime it doesn't mean it isn't prepped for paint. Who knows, this could last longer than paint with primer under it

[Taz Magister]

I bet it works out fine if not better than the old way paint is changing all the time you see more and more new cars and trucks paint look brand new after hundreds of thousands of miles and years of hard use and neglect and yet they still look good...

it used to be a cars paint job was pretty much toast after a few tens of thousands of miles

[Explicit_Spade]

I bet it works out fine if not better than the old way paint is changing all the time you see more and more new cars and trucks paint look brand new after hundreds of thousands of miles and years of hard use and neglect and yet they still look good...

it used to be a cars paint job was pretty much toast after a few tens of thousands of miles

And yet cars are being built to only last for one crash now or 250k miles at the most, so the paint doesn't matter. My 79 Malibu had factory brown paint with less clearcoat peel than most pregens.

When plastic is heated it produces fumes that are toxic to the envrionment and people, is this not an issue with this process? If it keeps things out of a landfill, but pollutes the air, is it any better than the old method?

Here's a related link I found to the process itself (which looks to be by a manufaturer of the equipment and highly biased)
http://www.ftstechnologies.com/Docum...20Overview.PDF

I see this going over as well as dexcool.

[Taz Magister]

And yet cars are being built to only last for one crash now or 250k miles at the most, so the paint doesn't matter. My 79 Malibu had factory brown paint with less clearcoat peel than most pregens.

When plastic is heated it produces fumes that are toxic to the envrionment and people, is this not an issue with this process? If it keeps things out of a landfill, but pollutes the air, is it any better than the old method?

Here's a related link I found to the process itself (which looks to be by a manufaturer of the equipment and highly biased)
http://www.ftstechnologies.com/Docum...20Overview.PDF

I see this going over as well as dexcool.

in 79 they were still using lead in everything thats... when the 80s came they started taking lead out of everything and making emmisions and all that... basically the automotive industry had to start over... also those cars that survied more than one crash... well their owners didn't cars frames are designed to fail in places in a crash sending the energy around the passengers

[RegalGS98s]

I don't think the paint or clearcoat they're using now is as good as 10 years ago. On my 2010 Malibu, I've been as careful with it as can be, but it has scratches all over. Really pisses me off.

[ZR1Vette09]

Very interesting, thanks for the link

[whitehead]

Except unlike a room we are an atmosphere
Its not to late to stop surprise butt-sexing the environment. Every little bit helps like that one guy said lol.

[I800C0LLECT]

Didn't they try this in the 80's? It failed horribly for all the manufacturers.

[matt5112]

So you're saying....

Its better to keep on chugging at current pollution rates than to slow down?