Is the plastic painted or it the color of the plastic?

[ronstaug]

Didn't take me long to get a minor scratch on right rear end of my red Smart Car Passion. Was in reverse @ local Chick Filet & so was someone else. We "met" in the middle, barely touched ea. other & no dents or damage. However, do have a small (about 1/2" chip) that I noticed behind rear right tire. I was under (probably false) the impression that the plastic had that color through & through. My dealer is holding a bottle of touch up paint that I'll pick up in a few days when I'm up in that area (Jacksonville). No one ever told me the color was solid, just a false impression?

[JPaul]

"Your" 08 red, like silver and blue, are painted on black. As will the upcoming grey.
The 09 red will be solid, like black, white and the discontinued yellow.

[Dunerunner]

What color? Red, Blue, Silver? or White, Yellow, or Black! Some panels are color integrated, others are painted.

[jediknight36]

When you are building the smart online, the three colors that are no charge (n/c) do not have paint on them. The plastic is the color. Great if you get get door dings. The other three are powder coated, which is why they cost more. Not so good for the dings, but nice colors none the less.

[Fredvon4]

Sorry Jedi... but you are incorrect about the powder coated panels

There is NO such thing as a "powder coated" smart plastic body panel (from the factory)

ALL six colors have a water based paint coating on them

Three of the color choices are MIC = Molded In Color...

The Yellow, Black and White are all MIC

Even these panels have a water based clear coat of PAINT

Three of the colors are water Based Paint on top of Black MIC panels..

For 08 the Blue, Red and Silver are painted with a metallic paint then top coated Clear

ALL the metal parts of the car are powder coated

Powder coating is a process where micro fine polymer Plastics are applied BY electrostatic charge to a uniform thickness then Heat cured in an oven between 300F~400F..

To get the "powder" to statically cling waiting the cure process, they pass a DC electrical charge through the Metal structure and they have the Opposite charge at the metal Nozzle of the Duster Gun

Usually the part to be dusted is at a Negative polarity and the Gun Nozzle it the Positive polarity... the plastic dust picks up the positive charge and is attracted to the Negatively charged Part to be coated

There are processes to powder coat some non conductive plastic parts...however these processes require the part to be washed in a Iodine Halide liquid compound that is NOT environmentally friendly. This wash of chemicles will dry to a thin conductive coating allowing a normal electrostatic powder coating process.

Mercedes Benz smart does NOT use that system as they are devoted to being as Green as is possibe...hence the inferior water based paint used on the Plastic parts...They loudly tout their Zero VOC water based process in all the literature

[jediknight36]

Originally Posted by Fredvon4

Sorry Jedi... but you are incorrect about the powder coated panels

There is NO such thing as a "powder coated" smart plastic body panel (from the factory)

ALL six colors have a water based paint coating on them

Three of the color choices are MIC = Molded In Color...

The Yellow, Black and White are all MIC

Even these panels have a water based clear coat of PAINT

Three of the colors are water Based Paint on top of Black MIC panels..

For 08 the Blue, Red and Silver are painted with the metallic paint then top coated Clear

ALL the metal parts of the car are powder coated

Powder coating is a process where micro fine polymer Plastics are applied BY electrostatic charge to a uniform thickness then Heat cured in an oven between 300F~400F..

To get the "powder" to statically cling waiting the cure process, they pass a DC electrical charge through the Metal structure and they have the Opposite charge at the Nozzle of the Plastic Duster Gun

Usually the part to be dusted is the Negative polarity and the Gun Nozzle it the Positive polarity... the plastic dust pick up the positive charge and is attracted to the Negatively charged Part to be coated

There are processes to powder cost non conductive plastic parts...however they all require the part to first be washed in a Iodine Halide liquid compound that is NOT environmentally friendly. This wash of chemicles drys to a thin conductive coating allowing a normal electrostatic powder coating process.

Mercedes Benz smart does NOT use that system as they are devoted to being as Green as is possibe...hence the inferior water based paint used on the Plastic parts...They loudly tout their Zero VOC water based process in all the literature

Thats not what the dealers are saying, but you are right. I remember reading that a few months ago. Thanks for the clarification.

[crashdiva919]

Wait a second here...i thought the panels were an injected molding process...? Isnt that where the ability to interchange them and thescratch resistant came from? AND the dent proof? I was told that when and if somone ever scratched your panel...it would show the same color as the panel because they are not painted. they are specially manufactured in a mold.

[rawlus®]

some are molded in color, some are painted. depends on what you've requested as a color. the painted panels are black underneath. the paint itself is pretty resilient - remember, most car bumpers are plastic too and they're often painted body color.

[crashdiva919]

well the panels i saw at the center near me, they all seemed to be the molded ones...there were tiny scuffs from people screwing around on the displays, metallic and nonmetallis were the same color all the way through...i visited the service center too and the cars that were there for service had tiny scuffs and scratches...again same color through and through. Maybe I will pay another visit to see if they know which panels are painted and which are not...thanks.

[Smarty3486]

Any paint that is non-metallic (2008) Crystal White, Deep Black, Light Yellow and (2009) Crystal White, Deep Black, and Rally Red are molded panels, so the color is solid all the way through. For paint that is metallic (2008) Silver Metallic, Red Metallic, and Blue Metallic (2009) Silver Metallic, Gray Metallic, and Blue Metallic are painted on top of the Deep Black paneling. I am also of course assuming that the two new paint options for 2009 will follow these same quidelines.

If your smart has metallic paint and was scratched, most dealerships carry the touch up paint. Also many offer the touch up paint for the Tridion Safety Cell as well.