Getting a cleaner paint job

Today, car manufacturers and accident repair centres operate cleanroom environments to ensure a high quality paint finish. Compressed air contamination can cause blisters, craters and loss of adhesion on painted surfaces, and lead some manufacturers and repairers to repainting entire cars rather than making spot repairs. By eliminating dirt and its resultant effects, such costly work can be avoided, quality can be improved and spoilage can be minimised. One source of dirt is particles carried by operators working in paint shops. The provision of lint-free clothing, shoe scrubbers and hair covers goes some way to preventing this kind of dirt from entering the paint shop in the first place. Another source of dirt is contaminated compressed air, as particulate and moisture are intensified when air is compressed. The purpose of a cleanroom environment is to improve the quality of the paint finish by reducing sources of contamination. domnick hunter offers a complete filtration solution, from high performance dryers that reduce the moisture content in the air through to filters that remove particles right down to 0.01µm in size, and breathing air purifiers. Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK, based in Sunderland, manufactures the Micra, Primera and Almera. Its plant has been rated the most productive in Europe for seven consecutive years, and it builds 60% of Nissan vehicles sold in Europe. While refrigeration dryers achieve a pressure dewpoint of 2°C for the general compressed air supply, the paint shop requires compressed air that is filtered and dried to a higher level.
Demanding requirements To help meet these demanding quality requirements Nissan uses a range of filtration and desiccant air drying systems, including domnick hunter's Oil-X filters and Pneudri dryers. The combined package achieves a filtration level of 1µm and a pressure dewpoint of -40°C. The installation ensures compressed air is suitably clean and dry and that there is no chance of desiccant carryover causing a defective paint finish. Following installation Nissan has seen a reduction in the number of filter elements required each year, which has in turn resulted in cost savings. Another essential element – besides quality – that employers cannot afford to forget in the paint shop is employee safety. Many substances in spray painting, such as paints, solvents, lacquers, paint removers, resins and adhesives, are hazardous to health, and can result in such problems as skin and eye irritation, respiratory sensitisation, asthma and reduced lung capacity. Employers are obliged to provide respiratory protection against harmful substances. In paint shops where there are high concentrations of hazardous substances, air-fed breathing apparatus offers the most appropriate respiratory protection, rather than simple cartridge-based filtering devices. The domnick hunter respiratory protection range includes breathing air purifiers suitable for individuals through to full facility protection. Continuous protection is provided as air from a standard compressed air line is fine filtered and dried to remove harmful particles and moisture as it passes through the multi-stage purification system.