Self-healing paints for cars were yesterday. BASF Coatings starts solving the problem much earlier. It is important to "avoid the crack as such", explains Juan Ximénez-Carillo Gerber, Group Vice President of BASF Coatings AG in an interview with "Automobil Industrie", issue 4 from April 6, 2010. With the so-called "iGloss", BASF Coatings has developed a new, long-lasting scratch-resistant clear coat. The resistant "polymer chain network" is set to go into series production as early as 2011.



Customers will be pleased. The coating is scratch-resistant even under adverse weather conditions, hardly tends to run and is resistant to chemicals, which should ensure a significantly longer-lasting shine. "The scratch resistance," says Gerber, "is still as high as on the first day, even after two or three years."



Now BASF has to convince the automotive industry. Pilot applications in the premium segment have already led to excellent results. If this step is successful, BASF expects "iGloss" to be introduced quickly in other vehicle classes. The big advantage: existing painting processes do not have to be significantly modified.



"Automobil Industrie" is aimed at management in the automotive business. The monthly trade magazine has a circulation of around 10,000 copies and has been a must-read in the industry for over 50 years. Daily news from the entire automotive sector is available at www.automobil-industrie.de and in the regular online newsletter. The parent company Vogel Business Media is one of the leading German providers of specialist information with around 100 trade journals and 60 websites as well as numerous international activities. Its headquarters are in Würzburg.