TOKYO - Honda Motor Co. Ltd. has developed the Honda Smart Ecological Paint (Honda S.E. Paint) process, a painting technology that eliminates a middle coating process from a commonly used four-coat/three-bake auto-body painting process to a three-coat/two-bake water-based painting process. Honda will introduce the technology at its Yorii Plant at Saitama Factory in Japan, which is scheduled to become operational in July 2013.

Conventionally, eliminating the middle coating process restricts the paint colors that can be used. Honda overcame this challenge by developing a highly functional material for the color basecoat used in the final coating process. The material used for the color basecoat makes it possible to use any exterior paint color, a first for a three-coat/two-bake process.

In addition to the Honda S.E. Paint, Honda will introduce a wall-mounted paint robot system with a built-in quick-load/quick-wash paint tank. This will provide a significant improvement in painting efficiency, a reduction in the amount of paint materials and a 40 percent reduction in the number of processes compared to a conventional painting process. As a result, the amount of CO₂ emitted during the painting process will be reduced by 40 percent.