The use of UV-cure coatings has been successfully demonstrated in applications involving automotive components, spurring interest in use of the technology in automotive-refinish and other areas, BASF said. Joining members of BASF's marketing and research and development groups at the symposium in Southfield, MI, were representatives of automobile manufacturers and national collision-repair industry associations.

"BASF has proven expertise in UV-cure technology," said John Gilbert, BASF Corp. Technical manager, Coatings. "We see a lot of potential to transfer our tangible results in the automotive assembly plant to the refinish area. In the future, we will see UV-cure coatings more widely used in a host of markets and applications.

"UV-cure coatings have the potential to improve productivity in the body shop as well as at the assembly plant," Gilbert said.

Ken Perry, Technical director, BASF Automotive Refinish, said UV-cure technology offers the opportunity to reduce cure times dramatically. "Going from hours to minutes or even seconds to achieve a full cure can significantly improve the way a collision repair shop operates."

Joe Skurka, manager, OEM Relations, BASF Automotive Refinish, said UV-cure technology could help automotive-repair products provide the same level of protection as OEM coatings. He said the consensus of those participating in the symposium was that UV-cure technology offers "an exciting development for coatings technology."

BASF's UV-cure products for automotive applications include the DynaSeal UV hybrid sealer, a dual-cure (UV and thermal) sealer for coating of sheet-molded composite (SMC) materials used extensively in the automotive industry. The company says the sealer prevents porosity defects in the finished surface.