Overspray free future

But does this also mean that classic application technology is now a thing of the past? There is no question that the overspray-free painting of contrasting colors in the automotive sector is one of the major highlights of recent years in the surface industry. It is an application technology that fits perfectly into a time when increasing individualization meets a growing awareness of sustainability. And a classic two-color coating with extensive masking and additional dryer passes is not only expensive and time-consuming, but also does not have a particularly small ecological footprint. In general, overspray-free painting could realize incredible savings in painting processes. Apart from the thermal energy required for the actual paint drying process, large amounts of energy still have to be used for ventilating and conditioning the air in the paint booth and for paint mist separation - even though both recirculating air operation and modern separation technologies have already contributed a great deal to optimization here. So will we all be painting without overspray in the future?

Well, the process is extremely complex, and requires - at least so far - a level of precision in web control and application technology that is only affordable for selected applications. Also, development is still in full swing to be able to coat vertical surfaces - so far, only horizontal surfaces are possible in the automotive sector. In addition, the number of available coatings and color shades is still small. The application of coatings with effect pigments is not yet within reach.

As spectacular and promising as it is, overspray-free painting is still at a very early stage of development compared with classic application technology and can therefore so far only be an economical competitor to classic application technologies in special applications. From today's perspective, it is therefore unlikely that overspray-free painting will achieve widespread penetration in the surface sector in the short term and actually replace conventional application technologies on a larger scale. However, computing power and sensor technology, among other things, play a key role in the manageability and affordability of the process - and in this area, as is well known, development is not linear. If the investment costs and complexity for the user can be reduced accordingly and the required coatings and color shades made available, many doors will be open to overspray-free coating in the future.