Ford Rolls Out Sustainable Paint Process

Ford Motor Company is rolling out its sustainable paint technology that produces fewer pollutants and CO2 emissions to global paint shops in India, Romania, Mexico and China. The new technology will also be launched in the U.S. at the newly revamped Michigan Assembly Plant for small car production.

The 3-Wet paint technology developed by Ford and its suppliers eliminates several process steps, cutting process time by 20 to 25 percent and allowing three layers of paint to be applied one after another while still wet.

Ford says the high-solids, solvent-borne paint formulation produces fewer emissions than current waterborne and solvent-borne paints, while still providing long-term paint durability.

By eliminating equipment and associated pollutants, in combination with increased line speed with robotic processing, the new technique reduces CO2 emissions by 6,000 metric tons per year compared to waterborne systems and 8,000 metric tons compared to conventional high-solvent-borne systems. The process technology also cuts volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by 5 percent.