Automotive painting is a process to make cars look more colorful and vibrant. But the process also has inherent risks, as it emits chemical toxins and cancerogenic substances, which is why follow-up purifying work is essential. Automotive painting is also susceptible to scratches or sun-induced fading.

In response to these factors, automakers have been trying to develop materials that do not require this process by carrying their own color.

These efforts recently produced fruit as LG Chem Ltd. and Hyundai Motor Co. won the 42nd IR52 Chang Young-sil Award of 2023 after jointly developing a material for exterior components called ASA. The material requires no exterior painting with its inherent color of Piano Black.

The paint-free material is resistant to scratches and exposure to sunlight. “Making use of such materials has become a trend among global automakers as the world has adopted a slew of environmental protection regulations,” according to Lim Myung-jun, a senior researcher at LG Chem, who took part in the joint development.

“Conventional materials primarily rely on PMM, which is susceptible to shock, but we identified a novel paintless material characterized by its exceptional shock resistance,” Lim added.

Unlike existing materials, the newest invention has a higher shock resistance even in extremely low temperatures. “The material maintains its integrity even at temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius,” according to Lim. Its impact resistance, or the ability to withstand impacts, is approximately six times greater than that of existing materials, and it boasts exceptional scratch resistance, measuring 98 percent, compared to the 94 percent for conventional materials. The new material is also resistant to heat, remaining intact at temperatures as high as 81 degrees, whereas conventional materials have a limit of 74 degrees, according to the research team.

Following its successful development, Hyundai Motor has applied the material to its vehicles and auto parts, such as Santa Fe’s wing mirror.

By Ko Jae-won and Han Yubin

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