Working on my old (low mileage) 77 Stepside/Shortbed P/U. We all know that in the 50's through 70's
GM used Acrylic Lacquer for the most part. I could be wrong but I believe then they went to sometype
of Enamel then finally BC/CC. Does anybody know when aprox. the changeover came? I sure it was different
for certain models and certain plants. This was brought up on the P/U discussion board and was told by
a retired supervision at the Flint P/U plant that all the plants did not change over at the same time. In
fact he indicated that in certain years the same model P/U made at different plants used different types
of paint. For that matter when did the Corvette change to enamel? Does anybody know when the Chevy
P/U changed over? I am assuming my 77 P/U had some type of enamel on it. Thanks in advace-Larry
P.S. Here is some of the Flint Supervisor statements.: He is unsure when the P/U did the change.
After a bit more research -
It appears that lacquer was used for cars because it was more "forgiving", would "reflow" when baked, giving a nice finish without requiring highly skilled painters.
The transition to Dupont's new acrylic lacquer at GM started around 1956; Soon after, it had completely supplanted the older lacquer formulations. This would be the acrylic lacquer that was what GM identified as "Magic Mirror" on the Data Plates for a time. All of my mid 60's Pontiacs were acrylic lacquer originally.
There may have been some EPA/CARB motivation in the switch, but it may have been as much to do with economics and paint advances (probably OSHA too). At the factory level, they may have been trying to avoid health concerns for the guys in the paint booth.
To add to the confusion CARB (the California Air Resources Board) forced GM away from the solvent based lacquers at the Calif Plants. Doesn't indicate the year but suggests prior to the 3rd gen 'bird (that was '82).
One source states that Ford and Chrysler switched to enamels in the late '60s in response to Gov't air emissions rules while GM switched from solution based lacquers to high solids dispersion type lacquers.
GM used Acrylic Lacquer for the most part. I could be wrong but I believe then they went to sometype
of Enamel then finally BC/CC. Does anybody know when aprox. the changeover came? I sure it was different
for certain models and certain plants. This was brought up on the P/U discussion board and was told by
a retired supervision at the Flint P/U plant that all the plants did not change over at the same time. In
fact he indicated that in certain years the same model P/U made at different plants used different types
of paint. For that matter when did the Corvette change to enamel? Does anybody know when the Chevy
P/U changed over? I am assuming my 77 P/U had some type of enamel on it. Thanks in advace-Larry
P.S. Here is some of the Flint Supervisor statements.: He is unsure when the P/U did the change.
After a bit more research -
It appears that lacquer was used for cars because it was more "forgiving", would "reflow" when baked, giving a nice finish without requiring highly skilled painters.
The transition to Dupont's new acrylic lacquer at GM started around 1956; Soon after, it had completely supplanted the older lacquer formulations. This would be the acrylic lacquer that was what GM identified as "Magic Mirror" on the Data Plates for a time. All of my mid 60's Pontiacs were acrylic lacquer originally.
There may have been some EPA/CARB motivation in the switch, but it may have been as much to do with economics and paint advances (probably OSHA too). At the factory level, they may have been trying to avoid health concerns for the guys in the paint booth.
To add to the confusion CARB (the California Air Resources Board) forced GM away from the solvent based lacquers at the Calif Plants. Doesn't indicate the year but suggests prior to the 3rd gen 'bird (that was '82).
One source states that Ford and Chrysler switched to enamels in the late '60s in response to Gov't air emissions rules while GM switched from solution based lacquers to high solids dispersion type lacquers.
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