The essential Q1® solutions for automotive refinishing
13 March 2023
13 March 2023
Q1 offers a huge selection of masking products for automotive refinishing. Plastic sheets, masking paper, masking tapes and many others. In this article, we deepen the Q1 essential products for automotive projects.
A good masking job ensures the success of any automotive refinishing project, even the most complex: before applying any car painting, parts of the car which are not involved in this process, need to be protected from unwanted soiling, damage or paint overspray. For this reason, choosing supplies produced with the finest materials on the current market and by the most innovative technological processes, helps not only to achieve excellent results but also to save time and money, bringing benefits to the business. Q1, due to its decades of experience in the design and distribution of masking solutions worldwide and its continuous investment in research and development of innovative solutions, offers a range of products specifically designed for the automotive refinishing sector, including the collision and repair sector. Let’s discover Q1® essential solutions for automotive refinishing.
Once this step has been completed, it’s time to use the masking tape, applying it half under the edges of the area to be masked and leaving the other half sticking out, ready to be used during the next masking step. Masking tape can be applied directly onto smaller and narrower areas to protect them from overspray. Easy to unwind and specially engineered to perform better used in combination with masking paper or masking film, Q1® Premium Masking Tape is an automotive masking tape made with premium crepe paper with natural rubber base adhesive, specific for automotive car refinishing applications during drying cycles high temperatures up to 110°C/230°F. Q1 Premium Masking Tape can be used on any surface, even those where other types of masking products cannot be applied.
Now, it takes to protect the surfaces around the area involved in the painting job by using masking paper or masking films. The automotive masking film is a protective solution for masking wide areas of vehicles, with an easy, fast and accurate application while the automotive masking paper is properly used to mask off wide surfaces and to seal windows and openings because the paper is thicker than the film and resists better in empty areas. Q1® Premium Masking Paper, for example, is the ideal choice when you need a solution able to offer both surface protection as well as and a good capacity for paint absorption. Q1® Premium Protective Film, made of a clear HDPE protective sheet, is the perfect tool to ensure paint adhesion due to its electrostatic property as a result of corona treatment.
When it is necessary to paint near headlights, sunroofs or doors, the best way to protect these areas is using specific products like Q1® Performance Foam Tape, designed for door jambs and gaps protection, fitting perfectly the grooves of the car. To prevent paint bridging, you can mask off rubber trims with Q1® Premium Trim Masking Tape, a product specifically developed to be applied around the trims.
The first step in the masking car project is to properly prepare the areas to mask making them smooth, dry, clean and free of dust: any dirt could compromise the effectiveness of the masking products and cause issues during the painting. For thorough cleaning, water or solvent-based degreasing products are utilized. Then, it could be necessary to remove the previous finish and reshape the surfaces with sanding products, such as sanding sponges. Q1 ® developed a range of sanding sponges with three grades of abrasion, designed for hard-to-reach areas, curved surfaces or corners.
Static electricity is a major cause of paint film contamination and non-consistent laydown of metallic. Generally, it is caused when materials come into contact or when they are cleaned before the painting process. To avoid static electricity, you can use Q1® Anti-Static Gun, an advanced ionizing gun with a cordless system that generates positive and negative ions capable of producing the necessary energy to neutralize static electricity.
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