Water vs. oil-based paint?

[smiller]

I have my top box in for color matching and the shop reports that the OEM paint (on a K1200GT) is water-based (this is the second shop that has told me this so I believe it to be correct.) They are getting the paint out of California (will have it tomorrow) as their paint guy and their local rep are recommending that they stay with the same formulation as the rest of the bike (vs. just doing a match with conventional oil-based paint.) I wonder what the reason for this is? Perhaps so that all the paint ages the same way? For my own edification I'm trying to get more info from the shop but wondering what any experts here might have to say...

 

[Tony_K]

No expert but water base is now the norm and it's always 2 stage. Base coat, clear coat. Since your bike is painted 2 stage, stay 2 stage.

 

Solvent base is going away...

[Ken H.]

Stringent emission regulations for vehicle production facilities. This change is not new, some vehicle manufactures started making the change in the ‘80s & ‘90s.

[smiller]

I didn't mean why does water-based paint exist, just why they didn't want to use an oil-based match. My best guess would be that the two don't age in the same way, possibly leading to a different fade rate over time. But maybe the two bases make the paint different enough that it's not easy to exactly match one to the other?

[Albert]

Some plastics don't respond well to solvent based paints either (as in chemical reactions I mean).

[smiller]

Ah, that's an interesting thought.

[effexer1]

So can I paint my helmet with water based paint?

[Twisties]

Most water based paints still have solvents in them, just less. The solvents are distributed as fine droplets, called an emulsion (milky appearance), in the water. The water is used as a vehicle to evenly disperse the pigment containing solvent droplets. As the water evaporates, the solvent droplets merge to form a continuous film. Some paints have fairly complex solvent systems that do this in stages.

 

I would not be blindly assuming water based paints are safe for plastics... likely they are, but I would confirm with the helmet manufacturer before putting anything (other than maybe a sticker) on a helmet unless it was made to purpose.

[Rocer]

Steve - you can't, in theory, put anything on your helmet and retain the DOT approval.

 

Ken - not only solvent based automotive paints but your everday house paint as well. We are beginning to see architect / engineer specs for low or no VOC paints already in both residential and commercial projects.

 

Smiller - you put your painter(s) in a difficult position by asking them to match a colour in a completely different system. Who will come good if the results aren't satisfactory?

[smiller]

Smiller - you put your painter(s) in a difficult position by asking them to match a colour in a completely different system. Who will come good if the results aren't satisfactory?

I didn't ask them to do that, rather I accepted their recommendation to go with the water-based OEM paint. I only posted because I was curious as to the difference.

[elkroeger]

My dad has a '76 Alfa Romeo (still!) that was damaged in shipment when it was new. The dealer had the repair done with laquer, and it faded after 10 years. They did a great job matching the paint at the time, but the car really looks crappy now that the repair has faded.

 

There are a lot of issues there (like they kept the damage a secret), but mainly I suspect that they didn't think the car would last long enough for the paint to fade. They were close.

 

My novice opinion is that any paint, other than OEM, will fade differently and the whole thing will end up looking funny. Either paint might last, and look fine by itself, but not both on the same vehicle.